【“我们的中国故事”希腊篇】希罗斯：在银幕内外塑造跨文化相遇

希腊文化部外交顾问瓦西利斯·希罗斯（Vassilis Xiros）近日出席了雅典国家考古博物馆一场新展览的开幕式。然而，对希罗斯而言，文化交流从来不局限于外交领域。

2015年至2019年，希罗斯曾担任希腊驻上海总领事。多年来，他以外交官和电影人的双重身份穿梭于不同文化之间，致力于促进跨文化交流。他执导的独立电影《泰迪熊的一天》（A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear），则将这种对文化交流的探索延伸至银幕，讲述人们在接触不同文化、与他人相遇时所发生的故事。

希罗斯认为，参与音乐会、博物馆展览和艺术沙龙等文化项目，是一项尤其令人富有成就感的工作。

在担任希腊驻上海总领事期间，他积极推动中希两国开展形式多样的文化交流活动。然而，最令他珍视的项目却带有更加浓厚的个人情感。

当时，领事馆所在的社群中有许多中希跨国家庭的孩子。为了帮助他们了解并传承自己的希腊文化根源，希罗斯创办了一所周末学校，并亲自担任志愿教师，为孩子们授课。

希腊文化部外交顾问瓦西利斯·希罗斯（Vassilis Xiros）接受采访时留影。（摄影：Patrick Shead-Simmonds）

在中国生活的经历，也让希罗斯更加关注中希两国表面差异之下所蕴含的文化共性。

他发现，中国人与希腊人同样热情好客、重视家庭，也都对历史怀有深厚的情感与尊重。

在上海度过的岁月，让他学会从全新的视角审视中国和自己的祖国。这段经历最终也成为他电影创作的重要灵感来源。

除了外交工作，希罗斯还通过电影探索不同文化之间的相遇与交融。

2022年，他执导的独立电影《泰迪熊的一天》正式上映。

影片以一天之内发生在上海的故事为背景，讲述了一名希腊男子帕诺斯（Panos）与一名中国女子金熙（Jinxi）之间的邂逅。

帕诺斯刚刚来到上海，而金熙即将离开这座城市，前往欧洲留学。

“他们在人生的十字路口相遇，并共同度过了一天。”希罗斯介绍道。

这部电影的剧本由希罗斯亲自创作，灵感来自他作为一名旅居中国的外国人所积累的生活经历与思考。

“当你生活在异国他乡，尤其是在上海这样的城市，你会逐渐成为一名观察者。”他说，“你的感官会变得更加敏锐，也会不自觉地将自己的祖国与眼前的新鲜经历进行比较。”

对于希罗斯而言，这部电影也是一封写给上海的情书。在影片中，上海这座城市本身几乎成为了故事中的另一位主角。

影片从苏州河北岸展开，随后穿过虹口区和徐汇区，最终来到外滩。

“主人公基本上是通过步行，甚至骑自行车，穿行于上海的老城区，最后抵达外滩，欣赏那里壮丽的城市天际线。”他说。

“在上海生活时，我最喜欢的事情就是骑自行车，尤其是在夜晚。”

回顾电影的制作过程，希罗斯认为，这既是一次充满挑战的经历，也是一次收获颇丰的合作。

中国电影团队高度专业的组织能力和制作水平给他留下了深刻印象。不过，他也意识到，双方在艺术创作理念上存在不少差异。

“我更关注故事本身，而我的中国合作伙伴则更加注重视觉呈现。”他说，“我们都贡献了自己的想法，最终，我认为我们共同创造出了一部融合不同风格的作品。”

正如电影制作过程融合了不同文化视角，世界各地的观众也从影片中获得了不同的理解和感受。

“影片融合了希腊式幽默、中国式幽默，有时还有英式幽默。”希罗斯说，“因此，在不同国家放映时，观众发笑的情节往往完全不同。”

他发现，加拿大观众对影片的整体内容尤其容易产生共鸣，而中国观众则更倾向于关注其中的浪漫爱情故事。

除了跨文化爱情，希罗斯还通过影片探讨了父女之间的情感关系。

在他看来，即使父亲与女儿深爱着彼此，双方之间仍然可能因为缺乏有效沟通而产生误解。

一次在中国举行的电影放映活动结束后，一名年轻女子给希罗斯发来消息，告诉他，这部电影让她深受触动，并促使她主动修复与父亲之间的关系。

这件事令希罗斯格外感动。

“如果我的电影能够帮助一位女儿修复与父亲的关系，那么这就是我所期望的一切。”他说。

如今，希罗斯依然活跃于外交与电影两个领域，不断探索文化交流的新形式。

2026年7月，希腊文化部参与联合主办了在雅典举行的中国电影节。在希罗斯看来，这也是近年来中希文化交流不断深化、合作势头持续增强的体现。

“文化外交是一种强大的工具。”他说，“它能够促进对话、增进理解、传播和平。”

无论是通过外交工作，还是通过电影创作，希罗斯都希望继续为中国和希腊人民创造更多相互了解、交流与建立联系的机会，让两国人民在文化互动中不断拉近彼此的距离。

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.

来源：人民网 People’s Daily Online

编译：中希时报