V.O.W N°20 (Video Of the Week, 16 - 22 May 2011)

The night falls down, everything looks the same in the Benaki Museum of Athens and the night guard is about to spend another boring night… Till the moment that a strange noise, as if it was coming from a trapped airplane inside the museum, is beginning to sound louder and louder. The guard begins a quest in order to find the origin of the strange sound as we become witnesses of the story of an old miniature airplane, forming part of the permanent collection of the museum, which wants to fly so bad that it becomes alive!

Video © Emptyfilm Digital Cinema

The desire to fly beyond our reality and discover the world that surrounds us, the urgent need to realize our dreams and fulfill our potential is the key inspiration behind our V.O.W N°20.  Benaki Museum teamed up with Emptyfilm in order to celebrate together the 10th anniversary of the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport of Athens. The result is this inspiring commercial that expresses in the most imaginative way the transforming power of our yearnings. Airports have always been associated with our wanting to escape, to experience different cultures, forget our everyday problems and get in touch with the little explorer that is hidden inside each one of us. 10 years ago the new Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens, with its technological innovations and excellent design, caused a great sensation and received international acclaim. In 2005 and 2006, the airport even won the Skytrax award for best airport in Southern Europe, making Greeks proud. Benaki Museum pays homage to the symbolic power of E. Venizelos airport and reminds us that when we desire something with all of our hearts, everything is possible! The miniature airplane of the movie gets alive and achieves its dreams: to escape from the place it is supposed to stay still and start a trip inside the paintings of the museum, causing the admiration of the portraits and sculptures that surround it. Flight at the museum video is a great reminder that, after all, magic is just a step away from reality and flying high will always be a state of mind!

Video © Emptyfilm Digital Cinema

The Benaki Museum ranks among the major institutions that have enriched the material assets of the Greek state. It is also the oldest museum in Greece operating as a Foundation under Private Law. Through its extensive collections that cover several different cultural fields and its more general range of activities serving more than one social need, the Benaki Museum is perhaps the sole instance of a complex structure within the broader network of museum foundations in Greece.

Video screen shot