SUNDANCE 2023 Interviews: AIRHOSTESS-737 director Thanasis Neofotistos

AIRHOSTESS-737 (Director Thanasis Neofotistos)

The synopsis: Traveling on a Boeing-737, a 39-year-old flight attendant Vanina, collapses on the flight, convinced that her problem is her new braces. However, her fellow flight attendants discover Vanina’s unusual behavior has something to do with the fact that she is accompanying her mother’s body back to her hometown, while seeking a reconciliation – which her mother is clearly unable to provide.

My personal thoughts: Let me begin by applauding lead actress Lena Papaligoura, who was awarded Vimeo’s Special Jury Prize for Acting at Sundance. Now, regarding the film – I always have great admiration for someone who makes a well-crafted short film that can lead us down a path, entertain us, and manage to have a legit beginning, middle, and end within its brief runtime. And if you can pull that off by having your camera focused on a single person for the most part, literally a head and shoulders shot for the majority of the short film and STILL keep us on the hook? Well, hat’s off to you. Airhostess-737 is funny and unnerving and we can relate to this poor woman, even as we discover that while she is up in the air on this plane, she may very well come off the rails before they land. Final thought: The film will make anyone who never has had to deal with it, eternally grateful that they never got lipstick on their teeth under their braces. Just the thought of that…