Café-finovo is part of my Master Thesis for the M.A. program in Visual and Media Anthropology at Freie Universität Berlin. The film is based on research conducted with a DSLR camera and a TASCAM. The filming was done over the period of a full year and the Thesis was written just after the editing of the film was finished. For those curious and patient to read what led me to the creation of this film and to the methodology of my research and editing, find below my Master Thesis.

Eleftherios Fylaktos – Master Thesis Final

Synopsis: With patience and beauty, our understanding of mortality is altered as this film unfolds on life, laughter and Wilhelm Grimm. Set within the walls of the Alter St. Matthäus cemetery in Berlin, we meet artists, story-tellers and grave sponsors—the cultural life revolving around the lively Café-Finovo and it’s reputable cakes.

Berlin’s Alter St. Matthäus cemetery, which became famous as the final resting place of prominent figures of German life, including the brothers Grimm, frequently hosts activities that are far removed from death and mourning: literary mornings, concerts, art installations, botanical guided tours, school field trips… If cemeteries exist more for the sake of the living than for the dead, can we live better lives by accepting the certainty of our limits and our mortality? If the fear of death is simply a lack of familiarity with it, what better consolation than an unplanned, delightful and tasty walk through the cemetery? Café-Finovo is the first café in a cemetery in Germany.

German with English subtitles: www.vimeo.com/efylaktos/cafefinovo
German with Greek subtitles: www.vimeo.com/efylaktos/cafefinovogr