The crime with the largest number of victims in the history of Greek police records was documented on the island of Kythira in August 1909. The lives of 16 innocent people were cut short; the name of the murderer: Antonios Gerakitis.

Based on Panos Dimakis’ best – selling novel, ”17 Threads” reflects on the true story of a crime that shocked Greece in the early 1900s, when everyone was talking about the heinous offence of “Captain 16”.

Before the crime, Antonis Gerakitis was a carefree young man, accepted and appreciated by his island’s conservative society. He had the type of qualities that appear timeless, unchanging: ”A kind and quiet young fellow…”, ”He wouldn’t hurt a fly…”.

Who was 1909’s Antonis Gerakitis? Who were all the other ”Gerakites” making headlines in the intervening decades, causing the same shocked reactions to this day? On what kind of detrimental conditions is the familial reality of an anti-hero founded? How innocent is a tolerant society that has, only very recently, baptised psychological abuse as “bullying”?

Antonis Gerakitis, nicknamed ”Kastelanis”, is an attractive anti-hero. He has dangerous kind of charm that appeals to our need for explaining the extreme limits of human nature.

The story is based on the true story of Antonis Aronis (Lagonaris), who massacred a small village in Cythera, in 1909. Every narrative detail concerning the crime itself, as well as several events that preceded or followed it, remain entirely faithful to reality. Yet there are also important fictional characters, created to serve as plot catalysts and as a vehicle for a discourse on social issues.

BROADCASTER:

Cosmote TV

STARRING: 

Panos Vlahos as Antonis Gerakitis ”Kastelanis”
Marina Psalti, Athina Tsilira, Theodoros Katsafados, Kostas Flokatoulas, Manos Vakousis, Taxiarchis Chanos, Fotis Thomaides, Thanos Tokakis, Denia Stasinopoulou, Melina Vampoula, Alkistis Poulopoulou, Eirini Ioannou Papaneofytou, Stella Antypa, Christos Veliano, Konstantinos Gogoulos, Natasa Exintaveloni, Eleni Daphne, Konstadinos Siradakis, Nicholas Drosopoulos and Tassos Sotirakis

ALSO STARRING: 

Pygmalion Dadakarides, Thrasos Stathopoulos, Mirella Papaeconomou, Dimitra Sakali, Dorothea Voutsadopoulou, Maria Kontodima, Giannis Voulgarakis, Fotis Petsos, Giorgos Kanellis, Kostas Rozis, Nick Maragopoulos, Konstantinos Tsentouros and Apos Kypraios

DIRECTOR:

Sotiris Tsafoulias

WRITERS:

Mirella Papaeconomou, Katia Kissonergi

Based on the book ”17 Threads” by Panos Dimakis