Before weapons reached the frontlines, they passed through workers’ hands. In an abandoned ammunition factory, their memories confront the contradiction of surviving by producing weapons while longing for peace.
PYRKAL ammunition factory once armed wars from the Spanish Civil War to Afghanistan. Today it stands abandoned—its halls haunted by memory and danger. Four former workers guide us through its ruins, reviving a hidden world of pride, loss, and the contradictions of sustaining families producing death. Archive fragments and family footage intertwine with a high-risk decontamination effort that uncovers explosives still buried in the soil. As conflicts multiply worldwide, their stories awaken our own moral dilemmas—urging us to confront where we stand in today’s wars
Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival
CREDITS
Direction: Michalis Kastanidis, Io Chaviara | Production: Fabula Productions, Frenel Productions | Producers: Alexis Anastasiadis, Michalis Kastanidis | Editing: Panagiotis Papafragkos | Sound Design: Niko Sofianou, Dimitris Aronis | Cinematography: Michalis Kastanidis, Nikos Katsaros, Io Chaviara | Sound Mixing: Niko Sofianou | Original Music: Dimitris Aronis | Percussion: Nikos Sidirokastritis | Vocals: Angeliki Toumpanaki | Color Grading: Maria Tzortzatou | Sound Recording: Pavlos Gousios, Christos Sakellariou, Thanos Petrou | Additional Editing: Michalis Kastanidis, Kyrinaios Papadimatos | Ethnographic Research: Io Chaviara, Michalis Kastanidis, Regina Mantanika | Archival Research: Chrysanthi Goula, Io Chaviara, Michalis Kastanidis | Archive Licensing Coordination: Chrysanthi Goula
Sharing their memories:
Vangelis Liggos, Prodromos Theocharidis, Voula Andreadou, Manthos Christopoulos
Co-funded by EKKOMED – CREATIVE GREECE | MICRO BUDGET-PLUS
