Sugartown: The Day After (Zakharo: I Epomeni Mera)
Documentary, Germany/Greece, 2009, 68 minutes
Director: Kimon Tsakiris, Producers: Rea Apostolides and Yuri Averov

Reviewed by Mischa Geracoulis

This eye-opening, albeit sad and ironic, documentary centers on Zakharo, a Greek town ravaged by the 2007 wildfires. The film opens with a Chinese proverb which sets the stage for what's to follow: "When the itch comes from inside the boot, scratching from the outside provides little comfort."

To fully understand what's happening in this documentary, it's useful to have a little historical background. From June to September of 2007 more than 3,000 forest fires broke records across Greece. Devastating wildfires engulfed Zakharo in August 2007—three weeks before local elections—and raged out of control for nearly a week without containment. The fires were put out in early September, just in time for the mayoral elections. The film begins at this point, and then moves forward in monthly segments as a query into the repair process.

To put Zakharo's significance into perspective, the municipality is situated in the western Peloponnese peninsula. It lies in the middle of a main thoroughfare that runs into the district's (or prefecture as it's known in Greece) capital, Pyrgos, and onward in various directions towards Olympia, Kalamata and Athens. Because of its geographical position, Zakharo is one of the most rapidly growing towns in the region.

Panagiotis Kyriakopoulos, mayor of Zakharo, is depicted as a self-professed local hero. Each time Kyriakopoulos appears on the screen, a slow and dramatic rendition of the theme from The Godfather plays in the background, offering a clue into this man's integrity (or lack thereof). Whether attending post-blaze town meetings or walking through the ashes of Zakharo, the mayor seizes every opportunity to mention his bravery and leadership throughout the crisis. From his self-declared post of savior, he seizes on another opportunity—to further develop the area.

Kyriakopoulos is shown waxing poetic about development and rebuilding, and the promise of jobs and wealth. In his own words, he is giving his people a new vision. But the vision may not be as entirely pure and benevolent as he pretends.

Sugartown plays in the Los Angeles Greek Film FestivalRumors run rampant as to how the fires were started. Did the record high heat waves bring them on? A tossed, still-burning cigarette maybe? Was it the old woman whose frying frenzy went awry? Maybe it was terrorism. Or could it have been land developers?

While national and foreign governments offer money, food, clothing, and FEMA-like trailers as shelter, the townspeople quickly realize that all is not as it should be. Within five days of the fires' end, Zakharo's beachfront and refuge lands have been sold to Chinese and Japanese developers. When the mayor's government is grilled by the townspeople for selling these lands illegally, Mayor Kryriakopoulos (again to the theme of "The Godfather") responds: "If I wait for everything to be legal, nothing will get done."

The people of Zakharo wait for the state government to intercede and remedy the local government's wrongdoings, but it never does. Finally, a town hall meeting is held and everyone is there. To the surprise of the townspeople, the only thing on the agenda is the construction of a brand new town hall building. Whenever a townsperson stands up to question the mayor and his lackeys about the unethical nature of their development deals and use of funds that were designated as victim relief, the mayor yells at them and calls them traitors.

As dozens of foreign companies descend upon the thousands of acres of privately owned olive groves that burned, the landowners themselves are forbidden access to their burnt trees. These foreign companies swiftly chop every remaining shred of timber into logs, which are then shipped abroad. As the local government profits from the sale, the landowners who've lost everything, lose even the chance to sell their own logs.

The documentary, which was filmed two years after the fires, reveals that the mayor has kept none of his promises for reconstruction, sustainable building or job creation. He has, however, kept all the donation money—even monies sent from private Greek citizens. The city prosecutor has determined that no terrorist activity played a role in the wildfires. Meanwhile, there's no official mention of the disreputable activity of the local politicians, the illegal sale of public green lands, or misappropriated funds.

The film follows not only the characters who make up Zakharo's body politic, but also a few life-long residents of the township. These old-timers exude a certain knowingness among the post-fire chaos. They seem to understand something that we viewers might not.

Particularly poignant is the fate of one of Zakharo's old timers, Chronis (a name interestingly derived from "chronos," the Greek word for time). He and his wife still live in a government-issued trailer, despite agreements sanctioning a long overdue return to their former home. It's 2009 and not even the mildest attempt at reconstructing the old homes has taken place. Chronis—a wrestler and singer in his youth—sings the lyrics of a folk song, "My whole life I am paying for the sins of others."

In some ways, the state of affairs is reminiscent of post-Katrina New Orleans. We see crisis bringing out the best and worst in people, and the worst almost always includes ineffective bureaucracy, shady politicians, and monies that go missing.

They say that in Chinese the word for crisis is the same word for opportunity. Indeed, the wildfire crisis in Zakharo became fertile ground for opportunists like Mayor Kyriakopoulos. The best of people is revealed in spirits like Chronis, who through it all manage to maintain a sense of humor, a kind heart and buoyancy. Though not an uplifting film, Sugartown is well-crafted, deftly filmed, and most educational as far as modern Greek tragedies and the universal human condition go.

Sugartown: The Day After will be shown in the 2010 Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, June 11-13.

Mischa Geracoulis is an LA-based writer and Associate Editor of Levantine Review.