Vassilis Xiros: Shaping cross-cultural encounters on and off screen

Vassilis Xiros, diplomatic adviser to the Greek Ministry of Culture, recently attended the opening of a new exhibition at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Yet for Xiros, cultural exchange has never been confined to the world of diplomacy.

Having served as consul general of Greece in Shanghai from 2015 to 2019, he has spent much of his career moving between cultures, both as a diplomat and as a filmmaker. His independent film, "A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear," extends this curiosity to the screen, exploring what happens when people encounter another culture and one another.

Xiros finds working on cultural projects, including concerts, museum exhibitions and gallery salons, particularly rewarding. As consul general of Greece in Shanghai, he worked to facilitate all kinds of cultural exchanges between China and Greece. Yet the project closest to his heart was more personal. With many Chinese-Greek children in the consulate community, Xiros established a weekend school to help them connect with their Greek heritage and also taught there voluntarily.

Vassilis Xiros, diplomatic adviser to the Greek Ministry of Culture, poses for a photo during an interview. (Photo/Patrick Shead-Simmonds)

Living in China also made Xiros attentive to the similarities he saw beneath the apparent differences between the two countries. He found common ground in the warmth and hospitality of both peoples, their emphasis on family, and their shared appreciation of history. His years in Shanghai also led him to see both China and his own country from new perspectives, an experience that would eventually find its way onto the screen.

Beyond diplomacy, Xiros found another way to explore encounters between cultures: cinema. In 2022, his independent film "A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear" was released. The film takes place over the course of a single day in Shanghai and focuses on the encounter between a Greek man, Panos, and a Chinese woman, Jinxi. Panos has recently arrived in Shanghai, while Jinxi is about to leave the city to study in Europe. "So, they meet each other at a crossroads in their lives and spend a day together," he said.

Xiros developed the script for the film, drawing on his experiences and thoughts as an expatriate in China. "When you are an expat, especially in a city like Shanghai, you become an observer," he said. "Your senses become more acute, and you start comparing your country with your new experiences."

For Xiros, the film is also a love letter to Shanghai, with the city itself becoming almost another character in the story. The film starts on the north bank of Suzhou Creek before moving through Hongkou and then Xuhui. "The protagonists basically walked and even biked around the old part of Shanghai and ended up on the Bund with its majestic skyline," he said. "My favorite part of living in Shanghai was biking, especially at night."

Reflecting on the process of making the film, Xiros considered it both challenging and rewarding. He was impressed by the level of organization and production. Yet he also realized that, artistically, there were many differences. "I cared about the story, while my Chinese associates were more focused on the visual part," he said. "We both provided our input, and in the end, I think we made a hybrid."

Just as the filmmaking process brought together different cultural perspectives, audiences around the world found different meanings in the finished film. "The film drew on Greek humor, Chinese humor and sometimes English humor," he said, "so depending on the country, the audience would laugh at very different points in the film." He felt that audiences in Canada connected with the film particularly well, while in China, audiences tended to focus on the romantic side of the film.

Beyond its cross-cultural romance, Xiros also uses the film to explore the father-daughter relationship. For Xiros, even when both sides love each other deeply, miscommunication can still arise. Xiros was particularly touched after a screening in China, when he received a message from a young woman who told him that the film had inspired her to repair her relationship with her father.

"If my film can help a daughter to repair her relationship with her father, that is everything I am asking for," he said.

Today, Xiros continues to move between the worlds of diplomacy and cinema. In July this year, the Greek Ministry of Culture co-organized the China Film Festival in Athens, part of what he sees as growing momentum in China-Greece cultural exchange.

"Cultural diplomacy is a powerful tool," he said. "It facilitates dialogue, promotes understanding and spreads peace." Whether through his official work or filmmaking, Xiros hopes to continue creating opportunities for people in China and Greece to connect with each other.