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"When I hear the word crisis, I feel the opponent’s futility," said Kyriakos Katzourakis. "Obviously, capitalism is suffering a crisis of age and admits it openly, but is it sharing it with common people, instead of sharing its capital?" The director and artist, whose latest film ''Small Revolts'' (starring Katia Yerou) was recently screened for the first time, perceives the crisis as a word from the new economic vocabulary that obscures ordinary things. "You hear the word 'crisis' and you are horrified," he said, "it defeats you and you feel a terrible shock because of your courage to request a pension, salary, education and care. Who will give you these things, when your boss is in a crisis?"

A round-table discussion on “Art in the Crisis” has been organised at the Benaki Museum in Piraeus on Sunday, 2 June, with the participation of Katzourakis. It is being held on the occasion of the author’s retrospective exhibition, covering 50 years of his creative work, from 1963-2013, which can be visited until 28 July. The same round-table will be a presentation of Kyriakos Katzourakis’ book ''Order in Chaos'' (Taxi sto Chaos) (Kaleidoskopio Publications). Journalists Nikos Xidakis and Kostas Arvanitis will also take part, as well as writer and professor of aesthetics, communications and technology at Athens University, Peppi Rigopoulou.

Born in Athens in 1944, Kyriakos Katzourakis studied painting at the School of Fine Arts as well as in England at St. Martins School of Art. He also studied stage scenery. In 1968, he was awarded the "Parthenis Prize". He lived in England from 1972 to 1985, where, with the help of Eduardo Paolotsi and the Arts Council, he organised an exhibition of his works at the Serpentine Gallery (1976). He has been working permanently in Greece since 1986. He is founder of the group "5 Young Greek Realists."

In movies, among other things, Katzourakis was scenographer of Pantelis Voulgaris's "To proxenio tis Annas" and he also created the costumes for "Days of '36" by Theodoros Angelopoulos. Besides "Small Revolts", he also directed the films "The Way to the West" and "Sweet Memory". His films are currently being shown at the Benaki Museum.

I decided to make "Small Revolts" as the end of the trilogy, which is about women’s strength. In the first film, "The Way to the West" Irina could not stand it anymore and committed suicide; in the second movie, another Irina resisted and creates new situations, but withdrew. Therefore, I decided to describe the life of Anna, who managed, living somewhere in the countryside, to resist and "rise" in her colourless and sick life, marked by a trauma in her childhood. Her rebellion was the spark for the start of small changes in the place where she lived - a soothing end to the trilogy.

I added Mr Michael Panselinos’s character in the movie for two reasons: firstly, because of the script. The hero of the film enters Anna's life, when he notices her resemblance with a portrait by Panselinos. The second reason is that I wanted to mention this great artist. In the late 13th and early 14th century, Panselinos made an incredible leap in art, matching that of Giotto. He created a new realistic look; he collected material from reality: nature, sky, people's passions, etc. His example was followed by first-class masters - from Theofanis to Rublev. Nevertheless, he is unknown in Europe. As Manos says in the film: "Panselinos is an artist, a contemporary of Giotto ... Well, probably everybody knows Giotto - he had the chance to be Italian. Is there a Greek who cannot identify themselves with this phrase today?

Everything starts with fine art. Cinema, photography and visual arts have a common root - the 

optical perception of the world. Even photography has clearly defined “before” and “now” moments. In the end, however, it does not matter what comes first and what second. In my humble opinion, poetic speech always exists in good works of art and this precisely connects various arts.

Life in the countryside is no longer charming and idyllic. It's cruel, lonely, limiting, full of hardship, and we who live in the capital city ignore it. We are all tourists when we go to the countryside on holiday or to visit relatives. The crisis has a direct impact and even the few hopes for the revival of the countryside have disappeared. The countryside has been exhausted by uncontrolled exploitation. The people, who live there out of conviction, and not just out of habit or need, are its only hope - the initiatives of the countryside’s residents are the only hope.

My small revolt was when Sotiris Petroulas was killed. Everything within me acquired new dimensions. Something which I knew only as part of the history of my city happened before our eyes. The murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos just reminded that suppression of every protest against the government has never stopped.