Canadian Filmmakers
Festival to present Chairman George
In Canada, George is a statistician. But in China, George is Elvis...
SCREENING:
Friday,
March 24th, at 5:30 PM
Location
: Cineplex Odeon Carlton Cinemas, 20 Carlton St. (Yonge & Carlton),
Toronto
Tickets : $9 + tax available at: Carlton Box Office after March 13th
(Ottawa,
ON): March 14, 2006. The Toronto premiere of the documentary
feature film Chairman George will be part of the 2006
programming line-up at this year's edition of the Canadian Filmmakers
Festival to take place March 23 - 26, 2006.
Produced by
EyeSteelFilm, the documentary follows George Sapounidis, a shy,
Greek-Canadian statistician and Chinese folk-singing sensation on his
quest to perform at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic
Games. In Canada, he is a statistician who lives with his mother. In
China, he is a pop star. George Sapounidis defies every effort at
categorization. The latest film from Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin is a
delightful portrait of this zany troubadour who regularly makes the trip
from Ottawa to Beijing to climb on stage. His bouzouki, guitar and cell
phone in hand, he sings in faultless Mandarin for a delirious—mostly
female—audience. With unquenchable optimism in the face of adversity,
this obsessive-compulsive who never quite grew up goes for the main
chance, a spot in the closing ceremonies at the Athens Olympics. The
multilingual Sapounidis, “the only Greek in the world who can sing in
Chinese,” wants to deliver his own ingenuous lyrics as the Olympic flag
is passed from Athens to Beijing. Chairman George follows the
trials and tribulations of this sensitive, eccentric man as he beats the
drum in a full-out campaign between China, Greece and Canada.
George
Sapounidis will attend the screening and the Festival March
24-26.
The film was
a hit at the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal
in November 2005. It appeared internationally in 2005 in the United
Kingdom on BBC TV and on Denmark TV2.
For the
complete film schedule and for more information
about the
Canadian Filmmakers Festival, visit
For more
about Chairman George visit
For All Media Inquiries or to schedule an interview with George
Sapounidis, please contact:
George Sapounidis
Phone
(613) 951-6439
** During
the Festival please contact George at the Delta Chelsea Hotel at Tel:
(416) 595-1975
John
Christou
Phone (514)
937-4893
