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Anastasia Balezdrova

For a few hours, Athens was able to steal a piece of Hollywood glamour. Two days before its release on the big screen, the film "Before Midnight" was presented at its premiere in Athens. The fear of bad weather did not allow it to take place at the summer cinema Thission which is defined as the most beautiful in the world. However, the lights in the glamorous indoor Pallas Theatre compensated the audience.

The acting pair, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, arrived shortly before the show. They passed through the escort of journalists and cameras behaving quite naturally. They were smiling and did not refuse anyone who wanted to take pictures of them.

After the obligatory photos against the background of the wall panel with the title of the film, the two sank into the twilight of the cinema hall where the selected audience was ready to enjoy the third part of the love story between the characters presented by them.
 
"Before Midnight" is the third part of the romantic love story between Celine who is from France and Jesse who is an American writer. It had started in a train to Vienna 18 years ago, in the film "Before Sunrise". Nine years later, the two characters met again and confirmed their love in Paris in the second part of the film entitled "Before Sunset". In the third part, "Before Midnight", we meet Celine and Jesse, and their children, during their vacation in Greece. Things are no longer so romantic for the mature couple but the love between them is still strong.

During the press conference after the premiere, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy said that they had not expected that the original idea for the film would become a trilogy. When asked how they were able to keep alive their film love, Ethan replied jokingly, "This is very easy because Julie is charming."

Returning to the characters of Celine and Jesse is always funny and unique, according to Julie Delpy. "But on the other hand, it is very tiring. We are very happy when shooting the film but we feel relieved when we finish it."

Ethan and Julie are co-authors of the screenplay along with director Richard Linklater. "It is always believed that in order for a work to be good, it must be based on a dramatic story. Actually, making a good comedy is not an easy task," said Julie.

"Working on these films after a nine-year pause, writing the screenplay with the same people is a unique and strange process," added Eaton.

The screenplay and the film were completed in Greece. The two actors and the director said that they were enchanted by the landscape and atmosphere in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese. Immediately after the press conference, Ethan Hawke left for the region of Messinia for a short vacation with his wife and children.

"We would certainly like to shoot other films here. After the shooting, nobody from the team wanted to leave," the director said. The three of them thanked Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari and producer Christos Konstandakopoulos for their support in realizing the film.

Photo: in.gr

"Before Midnight" involves several Greek actors who attended the premiere at Pallas Theatre as well. They are actress Xenia Kalogeropoulou, who is already middle-aged, Yiannis Papadopoulos, Panos Coronis and Iota Argyropoulou.

The film premiere was the social event of the week and was attended by Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogiannis, Athens mayor George Kaminis, former chairman of the liberal Drasi party Stefanos Manos and representatives of the Greek film industry.