Western Macedonia is a mountainous region north of Greece. A place with impeccable natural beauty but a big geographical and financial disadvantage in comparison with all the other Greek regions.

The absence of direct access to sea. In the past, following the decades after 2nd World War, the region, having mineral wealth and especially lignite deposits, had taken up the responsibility of the biggest percentage of energy production in the country (thus the nickname used mostly by the locals “energiaki kardia”= “the heart of energy” of Greece).

Due to the global ecological crisis the region is forced to undergo abrupt and radical changes. Thousands of highly trained technical workers and communities that were financially based mostly on the mining of the coal must find solutions and alternative forms of employment in a very brief period of time. A violent transition.

But Western Macedonia isn’t only a place of mineral wealth. It is an amalgam of people coming from faraway lands, traditions with deep history, rich cultural and artistic life. An untapped pool of potentials.

All in all, this is the beginning of the journey of a community towards its new identity.

 

THE PRODUCER:

This documentary is a production of the cultural organization “Methexi”. Methexi is an international cooperation of people from 3 European countries (Greece, Italy, Romania). All the activities and initiatives of Methexi have an international character and are always structured to address to an open and diverse audience. The main subject of the documentary is about the global energy crisis and the transition of the specific society of Western Macedonia.

A society passing from an economy completely based on lignite mining to more sustainable and ecological solutions. The same problems are now faced up by different countries in all Europe especially where energy production is or was based. In reality the documentary is about the journey of a community towards a new identity and a matter of global concern.

THE DIRECTOR:

Dario Patriarchi (Rome, 1985), is a freelance in marketing and videomaker. Degree in Communication Sciences (Roma Tre University, Communication in the society of globalization), Master in “Marketing Management”. He collaborated in video production with the Dante Alighieri Society, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture. In recent years have made videos for educational institutions, musical videoclips, commercials for companies, sport filming, musical and cultural events, public and private.