Stella Grammenos-Dimadis Blog

The Edge of creativity-Whiplash & Dior and I "The Edge...there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." Hunter S Thomson Having had the benefit of watching two very different but successful films this weekend, I came to the conclusion that art will be groundbreaking, when and if, the limits are pushed beyond the edge and humanity is explored.  Our senses must be challenged to the point that an alternative to the static perceptions and views of the world, is provided for.  When this happens we are left astounded and wowed with the potential of differentiated thinking, as it applies to humanity.   Whiplash's writer/director,  Damien Chazelle, and Dior and I's artistic director, Raf Simons, create artistically edgy work in their very disparate mediums, of film and Haute Couture.  It is no wonder that Whiplash has taken out so many awar...

International Women's Day screening brought to you by Women in Film and Television Victoria and Deakin University. "I need to have my hands on the DNA of a film". Kathryn Bigalow A special evening for staff and students of Deakin University who work hard in bringing stories to life was staged on Thursday the 12th of March, 2015 at Deakin Edge, Federation Square as part of International Women's Day.  Ten female filmmakers from Deakin University who have graduated were showcased in collaboration with WIFT Vic to showcase the talent of women in the film and television industry and to celebrate the achievements of these women.   A Wiftvic is a membership based non-profit organisation made up of women who are either working or wanting to work in the film and television industry.
 WIFT's aim is to encourage and support women already working in the industry and to also assist more women get into the industry, in particular areas where women are under-repres...

50 Shades of Grey, but looking for colour. "There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another." Edouard Manet. I have to say, I found it difficult to get through the trilogy of Fifty Shades of Grey, and am still half way through the last book.  I doubt I will ever finish it.  In any case, I have seen the value of these stories, they provide an escape; they are stories that can woo us, tantalise our senses, take us to another world and of course move our world, if not, just a little.  I liken the experience to reading a sci fi story, it is not quite real, but the possibility of it becoming real is always there.  I decided to wait a few days after the opening of Fifty Shades of Grey just to see what kind of hype it was able to generate.  Audiences have flocked to see it and the box office has been lucrative, but the comments have not been all that illustrious. Ultimately it is a formulaic fairy tale, virginal damsel is pursued by a ...

I always enjoy imparting a little of myself.  This is an excerpt of the talk that I gave at the Melbourne actors and filmmakers networking event, hosted by Brenton Foale. Foremost, I believe actors possess the key to a successful film. A film cannot hold itself on production or directorial value alone, so how does one best prepare for the role to make sure that Number one they will be the successful one at the audition and Number two be the one that will bring that film to the level that it needs to get to? I'm a visual person, which is why I'm a filmmaker. I like to watch, but it is the world around me that I watch, its minutiae, the detail in a drop of rain, or the streak of pale pink that lines the clouds at sunset, the joint of a crab's leg when it moves, and how it moves. The details in nature thrill me, and it is where I am most happiest, simply watching. These observations I then take to film and deploy them throughout the various scenes. I...