Living and Breathing Celluloid in Munich’s Dream Film Factory

CoMPANY Films director Harry Patramanis split his childhood between Germany and his native Greece, forming what he calls “an observational culture”. Always feeling like an outsider in both countries, he says, “Germany and Greece were two different speeds, culture-wise. In Greece, ‘culture’ means everything that has to do with the ancient world; in Germany, culture is seen as something that needs to be produced and consumed.”  

Spending much of his youth during the ‘70s in libraries and cinemas, and watching classic films with his father, Harry grew up on a steady diet of Charlie Chaplin shorts, Wim Wenders’ early work and ads from British directors Alan Parker and Ridley Scott.

At the age of 12, Harry was introduced to photography at a German summer camp. He learned to develop film and print his own pictures, kickstarting a passion for documenting his surroundings and people he would meet. “The darkroom was pure magic for a kid this age,” he says. “It still is! My very first photography book that I bought myself on a trip to Zurich as a kid was Robert Frank’s ‘The Americans’ - it’s an amazing journey through the US in the ‘50s and that was the first creative seed I planted into myself.”  

As the ‘80s arrived, Harry went on to attend film school at HFF München. Sponsored by the film equipment manufacturer, Arri, and the Bavaria studios, the school provided all the tools and freedom to film, light, edit and even screen its students’ films - “a dream factory!”, he exclaims.

“We learned to do every single job in film, being a gaffer or sound man or production manager, as we were all collaborating as crew on everybody else’s projects. When each of us had completed a film, we screened it in the theatre with everybody making comments on the work. That helped with taking in criticism and improving our storytelling skills. That is what I appreciate most today - the ability to listen to others, having that openness.” 

During this time, Harry and his classmates were watching up to five films per day. With all their time spent in cinemas and video stores, writing, filming or watching movies, he says they hardly saw Munich at all. “We were just breathing celluloid!” 

It was also there where Harry got to meet one of his heroes, the aforementioned director, Alan Parker. “He screened a 70mm copy of [Pink Floyd’s] ‘The Wall’ for our class at the Arri cinema, and he had personally checked the picture and audio quality. What a breathtaking experience!” 

Not long after, Harry’s career would abruptly take off, as his first short film, ‘Frankie’, won awards at festivals around Europe, garnering a lot of attention. He was offered more money for a second short film, an office at the Bavaria Studios to develop his own projects, and a deal with Filmverlag Der Authoren, a distribution company formed by members of the German New Wave, including Wim Wenders and Volker Schlöndorff. 

However, one of Harry’s professors, whom he loved and admired, was intent on keeping the young director grounded. “He told me that it was too early for me, and that success is a huge distraction. He just said to keep working and not pay any attention [to the success] - great advice that I follow even today.” 

To this point, Harry’s father, an architect, had wished his son would follow in his footsteps. But after seeing his early success and commitment to the craft of filmmaking, he became very supportive of Harry’s path. “Architects are very similar to film directors,” he says. “They both need money to realise their projects - something I learned very early in life as I saw both my parents struggling in their careers many times. Movies and construction also need to be on schedule and use a variety of technicians that you are in charge of.”  

Following the catalyst that was ‘Frankie’, Harry eventually decided to partner with two film student friends and started a production company, Engram Pictures, to produce more short films.

Though, around this time, commercial filmmaking also entered his life. His professors invited 10 ad agencies to the school to produce ads with its students, for clients including Mercedes-Benz and McDonald’s. “We would each write a TV ad under the supervision of a creative director and then shoot it,” he explains. “I got to do a Philips CD player ad and after it was finished, I got an offer for representation from Zebra Films, one of the largest production companies in Germany back then.”

Above: Harry's 'Conn-x TV' spot for OTE

Finding himself among directors like Tony Kaye and Patricia Blake, he was inspired and soon began directing more TV ads. “I fell in love with commercials,” he says. “It was such a relief – the short time of production, shooting one project after another – from the ultra long process of making a feature film. As a filmmaker, you get better the more you do – there is no other way. So I kept doing it and became very addicted to the process! Prep-shoot-edit, and repeat!” 

Harry treated each ad like a mini-movie project. The more demanding the job, the more he enjoyed it. “It was the ‘how do you do that?’ process that I loved,” he says.

But of course, there are those special projects, where client, agency and director are in perfect harmony. One such case, he shares, was a Weather Channel spot with Chiat Day LA, where they had to produce extreme weather conditions in downtown LA; hail, lightning, a windstorm and a tree falling. As well as an ad he directed for Rimowa in Vancouver, where a grizzly bear threatens a fisherman on a pier before being taken out by a flying piece of luggage.

“Every ad is a challenge, and there’s always something new to confront,” he says. “Whether that’s the acting, the production design (like building sets under a waterfall in the jungle) or orchestrating the camera movements - like in the one-shot commercial for Movistar in Spain where we rehearsed for two days on location before filming.”  

In 2012, Harry also delved into longform with his first feature via his own film company, A Four Letter Word. Titled ‘Fynbos’, the deeply personal piece received critical acclaim and won the Kodak Vision award for best cinematography at Slamdance.

“It was special,” Harry reflects. “Having the camera roll for minutes rather than seconds made a huge difference, [but] being the owner and the captain of your own vessel, you have more responsibilities. The collaboration with the actors is always special and the development of the characters in depth is something that doesn’t happen in an ad.” 

Shooting on location in a remote part of South Africa, the project certainly wasn’t free of challenges either. “I had to live there for many months and adjust myself to the country. One of my favourite moments happened in prep, when the legendary casting director Moonyeenn Lee, with movies under her belt such as ‘Totsi’, ‘Mandela’ and ‘Hotel Rwanda’, opened her house in Johannesburg to me and introduced me to amazing actors including Jessica Haynes, who played the main female role in the film. She passed away a few years ago. I will  never forget her.”

Today, Harry lives and works in LA - something of a dream from his time as a film student. “When it became reality, I realised that in Hollywood, everything has been done before me, and that I can only learn from the collective knowledge of the local film-crews. Nothing scares them and anything can be achieved - you just have to envision it.” In the filmmaking capital of the world, he says that “concept is everything” and the inhabitants will stop at nothing to help you accomplish it.  

“Innovation runs in their blood and everybody is keen to help each other,” he adds. “Of course there is also the charm of Euro-projects where the director is more involved in every detail, as there is a smaller budget and crew that gives a more ‘handmade’ feel to the film.”    

But regardless of which side of the Atlantic he’s directing on, Harry’s goal for the future now remains a simple mantra: “Well, [to] carry on! Do more projects, explore the unknown (including myself) and help others.”

“Who knows what life brings?” he concludes. “Certainly, I never imagined many of the things I’ve done so far!”