Greek-Australian cinematographer Eirini Alligiannis has received a special mention at the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival (AIMAFF) for her award-winning documentary ‘Louis (KR.ONE) Gasparro 5POINTZ’.
The short documentary, released in 2018, follows New York graffiti artist Louie Gasparra, whose love for the arts was rekindled at the legendary ‘5Pointz’ building in Long Island City.
Since then, the documentary has received international recognition, earning Ms Alligiannis the title of Best Female Director at the 2022 Carpe Diem Film Festival earlier this year.
Speaking with Greek City Times, Eirini discusses how her documentary came to be and how being mentioned in one of the world’s top 100 most popular film festivals is a “huge honour.”
“I’m a first-generation Greek Australian born and raised in Sydney and am honoured by a national Greek film festival for a piece of work I produced in America. It’s an extraordinary and special thing,” Eirini says.
“I made this short documentary on Louie Gasparro while on my travels to New York in 2013,” she says.
“While in New York City, I was eager to visit 5Pointz as it was rumoured it could be torn down. I wanted to have a final look. This is where I met Louie, and I was inspired to share his passion for graffiti.
“He shared with me what 5Pointz personally means to him and what it means to those in the local community and also to arts worldwide.”
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Since filming, 5Pointz no longer exists as the buildings have been torn down, and replaced with luxury apartments taking their place.
“It's heart-breaking to know that it's gone, especially considering it was also a safe and legal place to showcase art and creativity,” the award-winning documentarian says.
“Ultimately, the graffiti community in New York and the world will find places around the 5 boroughs of the city to exhibit their art but there will be no place like 5Pointz.”
