Greek director Steve Krikris has accompanied his feature debut The Waiter, which is competing in the main New Europe competition, to Febiofest. “I was inspired by an actual event that happened during my stay in New York, when a long time ago I experienced something extreme – the murder of a neighbour. That spark grew into a character study of a person who lives in his own safe world. He’s not interested in what’s happening around him until a series of strange events throws him off balance,” said Krikris, who started out as a commercials director.
While working on advertisements he met now star director Yorgos Lanthimos, for whom he played small parts in the films Kinetta and Dogtooth. “During the shoot for Kinetta I also met the actor Aris Servetalis, who I followed from then on. When I wrote the screenplay for The Waiter I had him in mind. I delayed the shoot because of him and waited till he had time,” Krikris said during a Q&A.
He gave the main character the profession of waiter for a number of reasons. “That’s how I made a living myself as a student, so I know something about the job. Then I needed a profession where you interact with others but can also remain a loner. I also wanted to shoot at an old café in Athens that I like a lot. And I thought that Aris would look good in a waiter’s suit.”