BLACKMAIL BOY (USA)
aka OXYGONO aka OXYGEN
Year: 2003
USA: Picture This!
Cast: Nena Mendi, Maria Kavoyianni, Akyllas Karazisis, Yannis Tsimitselis, Alexis Georgoulis, Jeannie Papadopoulou, Joyce Evidi, Alexandros Antonopoulos, Anna Kyriakou, Ketty Konstadinou
Directors: Michalis Reppas, Thanassis Papathanasiou
Country: Greece
Language: Greek (English subtitles)
USA: 100 mins
USA Release Date: 18 November 2005 (Limited Release - New York)
US Distributor
Synopsis
Set in a small, provincial town in Greece, BLACKMAIL BOY is a gay film with a DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES mentality. A dysfunctional family is at the core of the story that unfolds as the matriarch, Magda (Nena Mendi) attempts to cope with the aftermath of a deadly accident. She dotes on her 20-year old son, Christos (Yannis Tsimitseis) while her daughter, Giota (Jeannie Papadopolou) and her husband, Stelios (Alexsis Georgoulis) live upstairs.
The potential redevelopment of a piece of family-owned land serves as a catalyst for Giota and Stelios' greed. The menacing Stelios' discovery of a clandestine homosexual affair between Christos and an older land redevelopment official puts the youth at the epicenter of their blackmail plot. But Christos may have plans of his own...
(Seven characters struggle to survive against odds that become more complicated than any of them could have contemplated. Greed, betrayal, homosexual politics, manipulation, blackmail, and a ferocious race to take ownership of a family owned plot of land, all combine to make this a modern day Greek tragedy, However, as in most tragedies of this nature, farce is never far behind ...