Money, A Mythology of Darkness

Money, A Mythology of Darkness (Greek: Το χρήμα - Μια μυθολογία του Σκότους) is a 1998 feature Greek film directed by the Greek director, writer and producer Vassilis Mazomenos.^[1] The film is the first European 3D animation feature film and deals with the influence of wealth on humanity.^[2] In 2015, The Hindu's film critic, Naman Ramachandran, called it "[t]he Greek film that is most relevant today..."^[3]

Money, a Mythology of Darkness
Official Poster
Το χρήμα - μια μυθολογία του σκότους (Romanization: To hrima - Mia mythologia tou Skotous)
Directed by	Vassilis Mazomenos
Written by	Vasilis Mazomenos
Produced by	Yiannis Koutsomitis Vasilis Mazomenos Myron Papoutsakis (Co-producer)
Narrated by	Yorgos Karamihos (credited as Giorgos Karamihos) Efi Theodorou
Edited by	Petros Augerinos
Animation by	Antonis Doussias (Animation director, credited as Antonis Dousias) Stelios Pappas Vangelis Zouboulis
Layouts by	Alexander Hemery CG Artist
Production companies	Greek Film Centre Horme Pictures Oionos
Distributed by	Horme Pictures All Media WW: 1998
Release date	17 November 1998 (1998-11-17) (Greece)
Running time	70 minutes
Country	Greece
Language	Greek

Synopsis

A scene from the first European 3D animation feature, "Money, a mythology of Darkness" .

A Christ-like figure explores the degeneration of society caused by the cult of wealth.

Background

It was the first European feature 3D animation film. This was Mazomenos' third feature film, however he had previously worked with computer-generated images in The Triumph of Time, although these were two-dimensional.^[4]

Reception

Vrasidas Karalis wrote in A History of Greek Cinema:^[5]

Vassilis Mazomenos released his mesmerizing and terrifying apocalyptic phantasmagoria Money—A mythology of Darkness (Hrima, mia mythologia tou skotous) in 1998. A visual essay on the impact of money on humanity, it is a film that deserves more attention and which proves the potential of new technologies in the creation of a new kind of cinematic language. With this film, Mazomenos created a trilogy of philosophical essays by means of visual experimentations.

— Vrasidas Karalis, A History of Greek Cinema, p. 257.

Part of the film trilogy about the end of the West, that was presented and awarded in the 2001 retrospective in Fantasporto.^[6]

Awards

1998: Greek State Film Awards (Second Prize for Documentary or Animated Film Awarded to Animated Film) - Won^[7]

1999: European Fantasy Award (George Melies Award) - Nominated^[2]

1999: Fantasporto Special Jury Award - Co-winner - Won^[2][8]

References

1. "The profile of the Greek director - producer Vassilis Mazomenos". European Film Academy. Archived from the original on 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
2. Novőć, Ana, ed. (28 February 2016). "Greek History Made Cinema". Greece & Servia Bilateral Trade & Regional Synegy 2016: 39. ISSN 1451-7833. Archived from the original on 2020-09-16.
3. "It's all Greek to me". The Hindu. 2015-07-11. Archived from the original on 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
4. "The first ever European feature film using 3D animation". OZON. 2018-07-26. Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
5. Vrasidas Karalis, A History of Greek Cinema (Continuum International, 2012), p. 257.
6. Fantasporto Archived 2015-09-11 at the Wayback Machine awards
7. "Βραβεία του Διεθνούς Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου" [Awards of the International Film Festival]. Thessaloniki International Film Festival (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
8. "FANTASPORTO & Prémios Carreira" [FANTASPORTO & Career Awards]. Fantasporto (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2020-09-16.