Shot on 16mm film Memories of a Teenage Storm her Sofias Georgovasilisthis is a bittersweet drama that manages to talk delicately yet very realistically about abortion and the generation gap at a time when the issue remains frighteningly timely.

A true growing up story

Award winning film Memories of a Teenage Storm, is based on the real experience of the director’s girlfriend Sophia Georgovasilis, who, secretly from her parents, accompanied her friend who wanted to have an abortion. Georgovasili learned this story many years ago. The screenwriter and director of the film felt that this theme continues to resonate today, because the stigma surrounding abortion, not only in Greece, but throughout the world, has not changed.

During the production, she interacted with several teenagers, including the actors. They all confessed to her that they would not tell their parents if they had an abortion.

“It’s in our lives. It can happen to anyone. But even if they feel good, society is not okay. Unfortunately, in recent years in many countries we hear voices straight from the Middle Ages, saying what should or should not be done female body.” says the creator, referring to a New Yorker.

The entire history of the film Memories of a Teenage Storm, the action takes place during a school day, and the path of 15-year-old Anna to adulthood is limited to a short secret excursion. This narrative then comes full circle, bringing Anna and the audience back to where we started.

Film production Memories of a Teenage Storm, it took three years. Early in the process, the script was rejected due to government funding, and Georgovasili struggled to find filming locations.

“It didn’t occur to me that the reason would be to make a movie about abortion in 2020,” she declares herself. “I figured it out a bit later. The answer was ‘no’ after they heard what the movie was about.”

Finally, the public school allowed her to film the scenes on the condition that they stay outside the classrooms. It took a year to get permission to film the clinic scenes, which were filmed in a government hospital. Until then, Sofia Georgovasili decided, like the young Anna in her film, that she would not reveal much about her plans. “I wrote more vaguely about the synopsis and story. I hid a few items. A year later they said yes. she declares herself.

The 14-minute film was ultimately shot in two and a half days. During those few days, filming was threatened by a storm, which eventually gave the film its title. The filmed sudden storm fits the story’s atmosphere, in which social views on abortion and women’s bodies are put on hold during the girl’s transition into adulthood. Reminding viewers that some storms still pass unnoticed.