by CHRIS BARRY

It’s hard not to root for Greek/Canadian folk singer George Sapounidis. Here’s a guy with obvious emotional issues; he stutters, he’s bald, his parents, whom he loves dearly and still lives with at 40-something years of age, constantly mock his career and life decisions. Damaged, the guy nevertheless remains the eternal optimist, forever throwing a positive spin on whatever disappointments— romantic, personal or professional—happen to come his way. It’s downright inspiring.

Oh yes, another thing I should probably mention about George is that he’s “the only Greek singer in the world who sings in Chinese” and when not labouring as a statistician in Ottawa, he’s busy being a bona fide musical sensation over in the land of slave labour and Chairman Mao.

No kidding. You see, a few years ago, George fell for a Chinese chick and figured a pretty cool courtship manoeuvre might be to learn a few romantic numbers in Mandarin, and, well, one thing led to another and today our George is a genuine [?] Chinese folk star—albeit minus any sizable royalty cheques. He also happens to be the subject of Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin’s absolutely brilliant documentary, Chairman George—one of the most sympathetic cinematic character portraits that I, at least, have witnessed in years.

Mirror: How did this documentary come about?

George Sapounidis: Well, I met Daniel Cross completely by chance in Canton province in May 2002. We’re both [originally] Montrealers and I was performing in China at the time and he was there filming another project. It was his idea to make the documentary, but I was very gung-ho about it. It was a fantastic idea.

M: Has the film advanced your career any so far?

GS: Not really, but I’m more aware of myself as a human being because of it. On the professional front it has helped make me more of a public figure. But has it offered me more gigs? No, oddly enough. I gets lots of e-mail but it’s not as though I have invites to do any [non-Chinese] music festivals next year.

M: Is there a significant groupie scene in China? And is it something a handsome troubadour like yourself might indulge in?

GS: There is. And, I mean, I do have my own Looking for Mr. Goodbar list. There are many young women I meet in China and they fall in love and it’s very romantic and yes, I could easily, probably, propose to them. So yes, there is a groupie scene there—if you want to call it that. But it’s romantic. There are far more romantic opportunities for me in China than here.

M: Ah yes, the sweet perks of celebrity. Are you still being pressured by your family to abandon your musical career to settle down with a good Greek girl and make babies?

GS: Yes, and I’m always being advised to do the same by other people too. And, you know, when I look at other people in family relationships it makes me think it’s something that I really should also, in a way, do. But I don’t. Maybe it’s my Peter Pan complex, you know? I tell myself I can’t do it because I’m always travelling and… Like, for me, travelling is a kind of escape—maybe it’s an escape from myself if you want to get psychological about it. Could I commit myself to one relationship? I really don’t know. I fall in love very easily. I’ve been in relationships before but somehow the bottom always drops out of them.

M: Yeah, well, shit happens, I guess. Given how well your act goes over in China, can you not give up your StatsCan gig and support yourself exclusively through music?

GS: No, I can’t. While I do, to a modest extent, have some kind of name in China, the fame might be there but certainly not the fortune. I get paying gigs occasionally but not regularly enough to quit my day job. You can’t make money through selling CDs because of the enormous black market. Everything in China is bootlegged or copied—whether it’s clothing, CDs, DVDs, everything! But for the first time ever I just got a [booking] agent, so maybe things will start going better for me now.

Chairman George closes the Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal Nov. 20, 2:40 p.m. at the Cinématheque Québécoise and 7:30 p.m. at Maison Théâtre

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