For Immediate Release

Canadian Filmmakers Festival to present Chairman George

In Canada, George is a statistician. But in China, George is Elvis…

SCREENING:
Friday, March 24th, at 5:30 PM
Location : Cineplex Odeon Carlton Cinemas, 20 Carlton St. (Yonge & Carlton), Toronto
Tickets : $9 + tax available at: Carlton Box Office after March 13th

(Ottawa, ON): March 14, 2006. The Toronto premiere of the documentary feature film Chairman George will be part of the 2006 programming line-up at this year’s edition of the Canadian Filmmakers Festival to take place March 23 – 26, 2006.

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.

George Sapounidis will attend the screening and the Festival March 24-26.

The film was a hit at the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal in November 2005. It appeared internationally in 2005 in the United Kingdom on BBC TV and on Denmark TV2.

For the complete film schedule and for more information about the Canadian Filmmakers Festival,
visit www.canfilmfest.ca
For more about Chairman George
visit www.chairmangeorge.com

For All Media Inquiries or to schedule an interview with George Sapounidis, please contact:

George Sapounidis
george.sapounidis@rogers.com
Phone (613) 951-6439
** During the Festival please contact George at the Delta Chelsea Hotel
at Tel: (416) 595-1975

John Christou
john@eyesteelfilm.com
Phone (514) 937-4893
www.eyesteelfilm.com

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