Chairman George CTV special: the Greek-Canadian who sings Mandarin Chinese like Elvis
George Sapounidis is a cool guy. He is the Montreal born, Mandarin speaking, Greek-Canadian, who was featured in the CBC TVspecial "Gung Haggis Fat Choy." I first met George in person last year when he came to Vancouver for a Chinese Spring Festival concert. We hit it off immediately and had a great time.
George loves China and Chinese people... he even volunteered to be a translator for the Chinese Olympic team in Athens 2004. As well, George is a eccentric, eclectic, intercultural Canadian with the "Gung Haggis Fat Choy" spirit, whose universal good will transcendns racial and cultural boundaries. Watch "Chairman George,"and I will work on having George Sapounidis at a Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner in Vancouver, Toronto... or maybe Ottawa.
CHAIRMAN GEORGE - Quest for the Torch
a CTV Television Documentary Film
SATURDAY August 19, 2006 7-8 PM national broadcast
In Canada, George is a statistician. But in China, George is Elvis...
Produced by EyeSteelFilm
Directed by DANIEL CROSS and MILA AUNG-THWIN
in association with CTV, BBC and TV2 Denmark
Featuring the music of GEORGE SAPOUNIDIS
"heart-warming … you will be rooting for George long before it's over! " - The Times (London, UK)
Sterling Feature Grand Jury Honorable Mention , Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival - Washington DC
"A delightful road movie about a career statistician who dreams of performing one day at the Athens Olympics!" - The Montreal Gazette
" A brilliant documentary ! " - The Montreal Mirror
"A Troubadour-Savant…George, you are a perfect human bridge. I can’t imagine any other candidate on the earth more perfect then you to perform at the closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympics." - CBC Radio, Sheila Rogers
"Il y a de ces individus qu’on croit sortis de l’imaginaire. Sapounidis en est un. Il est pourtant reel, ce statisticien Greco-Canadien." - La Presse, Montreal
Closing film of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal !
Special Jury Award : Canadian Filmmakers Festival , Toronto, Canada
Special Jury Award : Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, Saskatchewan, Canada
Synopsis:
Produced
by EyeSteelFilm, the documentary follows George Sapounidis, a shy,
Greek-Canadian statistician and Chinese folk-singing sensation on his
quest to perform at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic
Games. In Canada, he is a statistician who lives with his mother. In
China, he is a pop star. George Sapounidis defies every effort at
categorization. The latest film from Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin
is a delightful portrait of this zany troubadour who regularly makes
the trip from Ottawa to Beijing to climb on stage. His bouzouki, guitar
and cell phone in hand, he sings in faultless Mandarin for a
delirious—mostly female—audience. With unquenchable optimism in the
face of adversity, this obsessive-compulsive who never quite grew up
goes for the main chance, a spot in the closing ceremonies at the
Athens Olympics. The multilingual Sapounidis, “the only Greek in the
world who can sing in Chinese,” wants to deliver his own ingenuous
lyrics as the Olympic flag is passed from Athens to Beijing. Chairman George
follows the trials and tribulations of this sensitive, eccentric man as
he beats the drum in a full-out campaign between China, Greece and
Canada.
