Christopher Vourlias It’s not every director who gets to turn Cate Blanchett down. Rarer still for a first-time filmmaker from Europe whose arty, offbeat debut — a poetic, surreal, soulful meditation on memory and grief — might have easily escaped the attention of Hollywood royalty.
But “Apples,” by Greek director Christos Nikou, charmed audiences after its 2020 premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where Blanchett presided over the main competition jury.
After being wowed by a film that would go on to complete the fall-festival trifecta at Telluride and Toronto, Blanchett reached out to the filmmaker for a sit-down on the Lido.
When he read the text, Nikou couldn’t believe his eyes. “‘No, that’s a joke,’” he recalls thinking at the time, adding with an embarrassed laugh that he considered skipping the meeting altogether.
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