Gotta Light?
Web Series 2023
by Harry Patramanis and Konstantinos Repanis
with Kora Karvouni
A Shampoo films production
What is it about / overview
“Gotta Light ?” is an existential comedy that follows Calypso, a jobless, reluctantly grieving stand-up comedian desperate to break a cycle of loss and alienation by taking up smoking. The ghost of her twin, Calliope, ever-smoking and unwelcome, continually frustrates her attempts to find companionship with strangers in a puff of smoke.
Kora Karvouni plays the double lead role of Calypso Calliope.
Introduction
The turmoil of the last years (pandemic, inflation, war) have made loneliness a common feeling.
Gotta Light? is a comedy about a few interrelated existential themes being stirred up and brought into the light of day.
Loss. Loneliness. The space between us. The little death instincts that crop up to offset all the anxieties and challenges of just being alive. Heavy stuff, ripe for parody!
Director’s Note
Walking my dog I keep seeing this strange ritual : the cigarette break. I thought, what if someone was desperate enough, lonely enough to try to break into these smoking circles, mingle with strangers, office workers, doctors, gravediggers and explore the oddness and awkwardness of these impromptu gatherings, that come and go like punctuation marks in our day.
I thought it would be interesting for each episode to mirror the time it takes to smoke a cigarette (8 to 10 minutes).
Rather than contriving complicated plots, I wanted to dig deeper into these odd characters and understand who they are. Who is Calypso and what was her relationship to her recently deceased twin? Why does she take up this bizarre smoking project? Can she find what she seeks? Or will the absurdity of others and the ghostly taunts of a successful twin leave her more alienated than ever?”
Harry Patramanis