Papadopolous and Sons Case Study

Papadopolous and Sons, also known as "Papa and Sons" is a British comedy-drama film, written and directed by independent filmmaker Marcus Markou. We got a chance to speak with Markou in one of our lessons.

Official Plot Summary: Following his ruin in the latest banking crisis, a self-made millionaire reluctantly re-unites with his estranged freewheeling brother to re-open he abandoned fish and chips shop they shared in their youth.

Cast:
Stephen Dillane - Harry Papadopolous
Georges Corraface - Uncle Spiros
Frank Dillane - James Papadopolous
Georgia Groome - Katie Papadopolous
Thomas Underhill - Theo Papadopolous
Ed Stoppard - Rob
Cosima Shaw - Sophie
Selina Cadell - Mrs Parrington
Cesare Taurasi - Mehmet Ali
George Savvides - Hassan Ali

Budget and Actors:
Marcus had a relatively small budget of £850,00. However, he managed to get the actors for a cheap price because they were willing to act for low pays simply because they loved the script. Furthermore, Stephen Dillane thought it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to act with his son (Frank Dillane) and therefore cleared his schedule for the film.

Marketing:
To save money, Marcus focused heavily on spreading the film via word of mouth and directly contacting the target audience in places like Greek churches. He also used Facebook and Twitter to secure a lot more viewers. This film is a great example of one that can do well without having a particularly large budget.

Film Festivals:
The film was present at three film festivals in 2012. One being the Dinard Festival of British Film in France, another being the Palm Springs Film Festival in North America and lastly the Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece. The film also managed to win the Michael Cacoyannis Audience Award at the Greek film festival.

Location:
The film was predominantly shot in three locations; a street in Morden that providing the chip shop and kebab shop setting, a mansion in Croydon and a Greek food factory in East London.

Reviews:
Overall, the film received good reviews. It got a 6.2/10 from IMDb and an 83% positive rating from Rotten Tomato. The Guardian posted the comment that the film is "an ambitious attempt to rewrite Lear for laughter rather than tears. It's a throwback, but relaxed, sweet and funny with it; a first feature that makes an impression without trying too hard to make an impression".

Trailer: