Long-distance runner Giorgos Stamoulis greets us with “Karibu”, meaning “Welcome” in Swahili, the language of Kenya!
A young runner leaves behind the comforts and expectations of the West to live and train on the red earth of Kenya’s highlands, among legends of the global track and field scene, embarking on a journey filled with determination in pursuit of a dream that crosses borders.
Long-distance runner Giorgos Stamoulis greets us with “Karibu”, meaning “Welcome” in Swahili, the language of Kenya! The documentary “KARIBU: Giorgos Stamoulis” follows him to Iten, Kenya, where he trains alongside some of the world’s top athletes. The film invites us into the dream of an athlete striving for distinction, while also unveiling Kenyan culture and the network of people supporting him along the way. With the Swahili welcome “Karibu,” Giorgos invites us on his own journey, navigating between his studies in the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Thessaly in Lamia, his training sessions with Panellinios Gymnastics Association in Athens, and his training in Iten, at an altitude of about 2,500 meters in north-central Kenya, where Olympic and World Champions train. The distance between everyday life and the dream is bridged through the support of a “chain” of people—family, coaches, professors, friends and fellow athletes, who stand by him every step of the way. From Lamia to Athens, and from there to the mountains of Kenya and Evrytania, “KARIBU: Giorgos Stamoulis” is not a journey into the “industry” of sports, but into the personal journey of a young man fighting to make his dream a reality. Karibu! Welcome to his pursuit of a dream!
The film “Karibu: Giorgos Stamoulis” has been selected for the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in the Platform+ section.
Films included in the PLATFORM+ section will be available for online streaming through the Festival’s digital platform, with a limit of up to 500 views and restricted access within Greece.
In an effort to enhance their reach and accessibility to audiences across the country, these films will be available from March 7 to March 21, or until the allocated views are exhausted.
Directors’ statement:
How unusual is it today to hear a 20-year-old say that his dream is to become a champion – like the Kenyans! Not like the famous and wealthy American or European athletes, but like those Kenyan runners who train for years in the same worn-out shoes on the red soil of Iten, at an altitude of 2,500 meters. Not in modern Western athletic centers, but on the very paths where Kenyan Olympians train, with the same frugal lifestyle and diet. Far from home, away from family and friends, George lives and trains just like them, with dedication, simplicity, and authenticity.
George does not chase fleeting glory or superficial role models. He adopts the daily life of Kenyan athletes, who, although famous and relatively well-off by their country’s standards, do not lose their ethics and moderation but remain humble and focused on true values. His coach describes him as a “worldly monk” – a young man far from the Western mindset of cynical competition and obsession with career. George chooses a path free of malicious competition and the pursuit of victory by any means.
Western civilization has transformed the modern person into an unstoppable hunter of an assumed happiness, one that they are convinced they will find through endless consumer frenzy. But in Iten, Kenya, as in the village of Pavlopoulos in Evrytania, happiness is not measured by the possession and display of wealth. There, success is authentic, far from the superficial image of prosperity, and people live in harmony with nature. Even when they run, they stop and… breathe.
Africa, the mother of us all, carries the primal history of humanity and calls to us with an ancient invitation to return, to reconnect with the land from which we were all born. George Stamoulis responds to this call, returning to where humanity took its first “steps” and choosing to train in the red soils of the Kenyan highlands, not only to test his limits alongside the world’s top athletes, but also to return to something deeper and more authentic.
Let us guide you through the unique world of George Stamoulis and the people who support him on his journey to fulfill his dreams. A journey of coming-of-age that proves that if we wish it, we can achieve our dreams. That faith and hope are choices, and that every small or large miracle, every dream and every victory, is born from one great, yet simple secret: love and true happiness! And George is filled with love from the people who support him.
Written and Directed by
GEORGE PAPASTAMOULOS
Director of Photography
AKIS LOUKAS
Editor
PANAGIOTIS PAPAROUPAS
Original Music Composed by
STAVROULA BOTI
Sound Designer
APOSTOLIA KOUKOUFIKI
Sound Editor
ARTEMIS CHRYSIKOU
Camera Operators
AKIS LOUKAS
DIMITRIS DANOS
PANAGIOTIS PAPAROUPAS
Performing Musicians
ANASTASIS LEMONIS
KONSTANTINOS LEMONIS
ALEXANDROS LEMONIS
DIMITRIS KOUTIS
Music production:
CHRISOSTOMOS MALATOS
Color Grade
PANAGIOTIS PAPAROUPAS
Graphic Desinger
AKIS LOUKAS
Production Coordinator
OLGA KALOGIROU
Production Assistants
EVIE GOYA
LAMBROS STAVROGIANNIS
DIMITRA KOUKOUFIKI
Accounting Department
ODISSEAS DANIIL
SOFIA GKOLFOMITSOU
Legal Counsel
GIORGOS KARAMETOS
Location Scouting
ARETI TOURPETA
Transportation
GIORGOS KOUKOUFIKIS
Public Relations
MAKIS GEORGIOU
KATERINA TSADIMA
Appearing in Documentary
GIORGOS STAMOULIS
GIORGOS PARRAS
SAVVAS SPANOS
STAMELAKI MAGDALINI
CHRYSA KSANTHI
PAVLOS KITIXIS
STAVROS KARRES
DIMITRA THEODORAKI
KONSTANTINOS STAMOULIS
MAMA JEREMY
JOYCE KIMAIYO
GIORGOS MINOS
ARTHUR VEKIARELLIS
FIDELIS CHEBET
CHESIRE PSIRAT YUDAH
ELENI STAMOULI
ZOE STAMOULI
CHRISTOS STAMOULIS
NIKOS STRIBAKOS
Subtitles
OLGA KALOGIROU
The ERT SPORTS footage is a courtesy
of George Stamoulis,
from his personal archive
Music Tracks
“Turning Point” by Alon Peretz, licensed via Artlist
“Marakana” by Alon Peretz, licensed via Artlist
“Invincible” by IamDayLight, licensed via Artlist
“Staring” by Muted, licensed via Artlist
“Lullaby No 3 in E Minor” by Ran Raiten, licensed via Artlist
“Fragility” by Romeo, licensed via Artlist
“Miroloi” by Petros Loukas Chalkias
SPECIAL THANKS to General Music Greece
for granting us permission to use
the musical piece “Miroloi”
from the CD “Skopi tou Topou Mas”,
featuring soloist Petros Loukas Chalkias
Filming Locations
UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY, PHYSIOTHERAPY DEPARTMENT, LAMIA
PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM, PIRAEUS
PANHELLENIC GYMNASTICS CLUB STADIUM, ATHENS
NEA PHILADELPHIA, GROVE PARK
ACHARNES MOUNTAINEERING CLUB SPORTS CENTRE
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT “ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS”
ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
NAIROBI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
ELDORET INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
ELDORET, KENYA
ITEN, KENYA
LAKE BARINGO, KENYA
KARPENISI, GREECE
PAVLOPOULO VILLAGE, GREECE
ATHENS, GREECE
LAMIA, GREECE
Special Thanks to
PANHELLENIC GYMNASTICS CLUB
ACHARNES MOUNTAINEERING CLUB (EOS ACHARNON)
HOTEL ATHINA, LAMIA
EFTHIMIOS KYRITSIS
SWISS SIDE HOTEL, ITEN KENYA
TURKISH AIRLINES
UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY, LAMIA
MUNICIPALITY OF LAMIA
MANOS SPATHOULAS
VASILIKI PAPADOPOULOU
REGION OF CENTRAL GREECE
FANIS SPANOS
CHRISTOS MOUTSIOS
MUNICIPALITY OF ATHENS
NONTAS MOUSIOS
VAGIA TSAMADIA
PRODUCTION:
BELLE ARTE LAMIA
ORGANIZATION FOR CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
OF THE REGION OF CENTRAL GREECE (OPASTE)
GEORGE PAPASTAMOULOS
WWW.BELLEARTELAMIA.GR
