Oxi: An Act of Resistance

The Screenplay and Commentary, Including interviews with Derrida, Cixous, Balibar and Negri

Ken McMullen, Martin McQuillan

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield International
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781783482702
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophie
• Subtopic: Dekonstruktion in der Philosophie

Oxi (Gr. Determiner, lit. ‘No’, fig. ‘Resistance’, pronounced ‘ochi’) retells Sophocles’ Antigone through the contemporary Greek crisis and modern European philosophy. A collaboration between the renowned British auteur Ken McMullen and the literary theorist Martin McQuillan, the film draws upon and responds to the importance of the Antigone of modern thought (Hegel, Arendt, Lacan, Derrida, Butler), while coming up close to the politics of the street and the malign effects of the austerity experiment in Greece today. The screenplay weaves together a range of idioms, including performance, fiction, documentary, interview and literary collage. The result is an intensely moving reflection on the tragedy of austerity today, with contributions from Hélène Cixous, Etienne Balibar and Antonio Negri, as well as several significant figures in Greek cultural life. The volume includes full transcripts of the interviews with Cixous, Balibar and Negri, and a previously unpublished interview with Jacques Derrida on the question of Oedipus, as well as critical commentary from the filmmakers.

OXI Screenplay

Cast

In Order of Appearance

JOCASTA	ELENI KALLIA (GR)
INVESTIGATOR	DOMINIQUE PINON (FR)
MAN WITH HAT	BRET ROBERTS (US)
THE SPHINX	GABRIELLA WRIGHT (FR)
OEDIPUS	LEX SHRAPNEL (UK)
TIRESIAS	DON MOUSSEAU (USA)
CREON	JOHN SHRAPNEL (UK)
ANTIGONE	JULIA FAURE (FR)
ISMENE	DELLA SABA (UK)
GREEK CHORUS	THE TRAVELLING PLAYERS

Interviews

In Order of Appearance

MANOLIS GLEZOS	WWII Resistance Hero and Politician
HÉLÈNE CIXOUS	Writer and Philosopher
ANTONIO NEGRI	Political Philosopher and Activist
THEODOROS TERZOPOULOS	Theatre Director
GIORGOS VICHAS	Doctor and Medical Volunteer
ANTIGONE LYBERAKI	Economist and Politician
KOSTAS VAXEVANIS	Political Commentator and Journalist
VALERIE KONTAKOS	Documentarist and Citizen of Athens
CHRISTOS KARAKEPELIS	Film Director and Citizen of Athens
MARTIN McQUILLAN	Cultural Theorist
YANNIS SAKARIDIS	Citizen of Athens
ÉTIENNE BALIBAR	Philosopher
ARTHUR I. MILLER	Physicist
PETROS SEVASTIKOGLOU	Film Director and Citizen of Athens
NIKOS CORNELIOS	Film Director and Citizen of Athens
MARTHA FRANGIADAKI	Medical Volunteer

Opening

Long Ago and Far Away

Time-lapse shot across an ancient seascape with distant islands—

Sunrise—

CAPTIONS

Superimposed on Lower Screen over Time-Lapse Shot

________________

It will be enough if my words are judged useful

by those who desire insight into the past.

________________

Into events which—human nature being what it is—

will inevitably be repeated in the future.

(Thucydides 460–400 BC)

________________

1. EXT—AN ANCIENT GREEK VILLAGE—DAY (ANCIENT GREECE)

The Greek Chorus is represented by a group of ‘TRAVELLING PLAYERS’.

At other times in the film when individuals give political commentary INTERVIEWEES and CITIZENS OF ATHENS become The Chorus.

We hear lines from Antigone by Sophocles.

TRAVELLING PLAYERS (VO)

(Attempting to sooth a violent issue)

Creon, listen to your son . . . learn from what he says . . .

Haemon, you learn from your father too . . .

You both have spoken wisely.

CREON

(With increasing irritation)

So . . . men of my age . . . are supposed to learn from men of his?

HAEMON

You should look at my merits, not to my years.

CREON

Am I to rule by the judgement of ...