''Chairman George'' is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the

Greek Canadian Greek Canadians ( el, Ελληνοκαναδοί) are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Greek heritage or people who emigrated from Greece and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 262,140 Canadians who claimed Gre ...

musician /

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and

Mila Aung-Thwin Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice. He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cross ...

and produced by

EyeSteelFilm EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canada, Canadian Film, cinema production company co-founded by Daniel Cross (filmmaker), Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic ...

in association with CTV,

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's " Storyville" series and TV2.

Synopsis

In Canada, George is a statistician. But in China, George is Elvis ... ''Chairman George'' is a documentary feature about a Greek-Canadian troubadour who refuses to live anything but an extraordinary life. ln

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, George is a statistician who lives with his mother. But every few months, he takes an extended leave from his job and heads to China where he metamorphoses into an international man of culture. Armed only with his

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

, guitar and cellular phone, he becomes a star in China (with both the critics and the ladies) singing Greek songs in Chinese. He concludes that since he is "the only Greek in the world who can sing in Chinese," it is his duty to perform at the closing ceremonies of the Athens

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, as the torch is passed from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

to Beijing organizer of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Festivals and awards

''Chairman George'' won awards at the AFI/Silverdocs and at Guangzhou Documentary Festival.

Music of George Sapounidis

Accompanying the documentary in 2005, George Sapounidis released his CD George: From Athens to BeijingCD Baby page on the album ''George: From Athens to Beijing''
Sapounidis is a Chinese folk-singing sensation who has appeared at international festivals across China; on stage at Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall, and for China Central Television. In addition to Greek, he sings in more than five other languages including Mandarin.

References

External links

*
''Chairman George'' official websiteChairman George MySpace siteEyeSteelFilm official website
{{EyeSteelFilm 2005 films EyeSteelFilm films Canadian documentary films Documentary films about singers 2005 documentary films Documentary films about China Films directed by Daniel Cross 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films