Fotiny Iannis Christakoudy-Konstantinidou

1. Mixture of Bulgarian-Greek references tending to be “Balkan” references in general based also on a sort of a cosmopolitan intellectual mentality.

2. For the moment the feeling of my own ‘identity’ has not been influenced significantly by age and time although it surely has matured in some way; probably the ‘national’ element has not been so strongly present in communicating with my surrounding so as to defer me from the milieu considerably; the otherness has not been emphasized by some sort of conflicts, tensions, opposition, it has been rather a matter of something complimentary adding to the idea of the whole of the individual who is always unique. Identities as given here come in order marital, professional, social, sexual, national, confessional, (of course feeling that it is a very relative rank in some respects).

3. My family background being of Greek origin, my mother having Bulgarian ethnicity but also some German origin…I would say – influenced by multi-ethnicity notions.

4. I like a lot the novel of Nikos Kazandzakis “Alexis Zorbas” and a certain story from it telling about Zorba’s involvement in the early 20th century Balkan conflicts and how he became aware of the futility of ethnic and confessional animosity.

My musical preferences are influenced by my mixed identity which has given me access to a more complex feeling and understanding of Greek musical creations for example. 

5. Kazandzakis’s novel “Alexis Zorbas”, Emir Kusturica’s films, a short story by Ilia Venezis “Virginia state” (from a collection of short stories “The beaten”).

6. I think it helps me because it gives me an extra perspective to the understanding of ‘difference’ – difference as it comes in mentalities, reactions, tastes, etc. 

7. I would say that I feel equally treated despite the fact of having some different ethnic origin.People are often curious to learn more about it. And usually they share some of their own impressions related to it.

8. I live in it.

9. When being questioned about it.

2011