Among the names of the creators announced by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a few days ago, for the short lists of the coveted Oscar Awards it includes one more Greek director apart from Giorgos Lanthimos. He is the Giorgos Siougas for the masterpiece “The One Note Man” in the category of Short Films.

With the voice of the famous actor Ian McKellen (Ian McKellen) the film tells the tender story, during Christmas, of a bassoonist who is attached to his routine, which is only interrupted when he goes every morning to his orchestra to play a note and return home. One day, as he accidentally hears a stirring violin solo, the musician is faced with the most important dilemma of his life.

“It all started when I heard an interview of Hitchcock talking about the movie “The Man who Knew too Much” with James Stewart and Doris Day,” director Giorgos Siougas tells APE-BEMO and explains:

“In the thriller, the suspense meter chooses to ‘assassin’ the British Prime Minister during an opera. And in fact the shot coincides with the impact of the cymbals of a musician who is waiting for his turn from the conductor. In the audio I heard, Hitchcock revealed that he owes the discovery of the scene to a 1921 cartoon by British H.M. Bateman.

As soon as I heard it I said, “Here’s a great idea for a short film. A musician who plays just one note in the orchestra, waits his turn, then gets up and goes home.” When I saw the cartoon that describes his routine, I laughed, while at the same time it raised some questions for me like why he plays only one note…maybe he is experiencing some kind of loss and how would he change the routine…”.

“My enthusiasm”, continues the Greek creator, “for the hero led me to get the rights from the family, specifically from his 73-year-old granddaughter. And I enriched him with an ingredient that none of us can ignore… Love. “The One Note Man” is about Hope, Perseverance, but above all about Love. The world in this dark time it lives in needs it and must pursue it at any age because it heals”, he underlines.

The film is also unique in that it contains no dialogue, but gives audiences the opportunity to enjoy it through an original score by Academy Award-winning Shakespeare in Love composer Stephen Warbeck.

As the creator explains, this happened by accident. “Thus I was given the opportunity to apply the ‘golden rule’ of cinema that Spielberg reminds us at every opportunity ‘don’t tell if you can show it.’ And of course it is a tribute to Charlie Chaplin and the silent cinema that I love so much. I knew from the beginning that choosing the right musician is as important as choosing the right actor because they are co-stars. So Steven was my only choice. He came first to the team starting five months before the shooting and “translated” the emotional paths of the hero into notes for me. A generous and amazing person.”

Starring BAFTA winner Jason Watkins and Louisa Clein, Crystal Yu and Paul Barber.

For the director, it was a desire of many years to collaborate with Watkins, especially after his participation in “The Crown”. “When I sent him the script he liked it so much that he immediately said yes. He is amazing, without any exaggeration in his role with absolute measure and control like Charlie Chaplin” he notes.

As for the journey of creation, he emphasizes that “it had difficulties and especially because the format involved a short film where every second is precious”.

“The Hunger Games” star Sam Claflin serves as an executive producer along with Joshua S. Friedman and Sean Mathias.

The film was shot in five days in July with the score already recorded, and in August won its first prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Within five months it has won 23 awards at international festivals, including 11 Best Film, 3 Best Director and 4 Music awards.

“I never expected this. And it’s the nicest thing when you make a film to see that it communicates to the world”, says Giorgos Siougas. “We ask some questions, we don’t answer them and we hope to create a dialogue between the viewers where everyone gets their own message. And of course it will be another miracle if she continues her upward trajectory towards the Oscars. I feel very proud to represent my country, but let’s not rush. Wait until January 23 when the nominations will be announced.”

The talented creator also told APE-MPE that he is preparing an action film with the title “The Carnival” while he is writing the script for his feature film “The One Note Man”. In addition to the protagonists, new names will be added to the cast with music of course by Stephen Warbeck. “If you liked the 20 minutes, get ready for 100 minutes,” reveals Giorgos Siougas and wishes for 2024 only “Love, Love, Love”.