Alemaya                                          
Αλεμάγια  

“Alemaya emerges as a passionate and heart wrenching piece in the spirit of the great Greek melodramas” 23rd Minneapolis – St Paul International Film Festival program

Ethiopia 1960. Isavella is the daughter of a rich, influential Greek immigrant. On her 18th birthday, Isavella meets Dimitri, a businessman from southern Ethiopia. Dimitri, infatuated with Isavella, proposes that they elope. However, his plan is destined to fail. Under duress and fearful of her father’s wrath, Isavella leaves for Athens, where she marries and has two children. Thirty-five years later, Isavella, now a reclusive widow, is tormented by past events. Dimitri returns to Greece and rents an apartment that overlooks Isavella’s house. Plagued by ill health, Dimitri is determined to observe Isavella’s every move until his death.

Director: Elias Yannakakis | Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama-Romance | 107 minutes | Greek with English subtitles

“One of the most sensitive, human and impressive Greek films ever made.” Variety

A sensitive portrayal of a young maid, working for a fading bourgeois Athenian family. Brought to Athens from a poor village, the modest, uncomplaining, intensely religious Anna works to dutifully support her mother and siblings back home. Anna’s employers decide that she is of a marrying age and set about to find her a suitable husband. Anna is introduced to Kosmas and is given permission for an evening out. For the first time Anna sees her life in a different light. However, when she returns home she discovers that the family has changed its mind.

Director: Pantelis Voulgaris | Rating: R 18+ | 1972 | Drama-Romance | 82 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Brides
Νύφες
Nyfes

“It’s not a punishment to remember someone you love. The punishment is to forget”

A bittersweet love story set against the tribulations of a 1922 Atlantic crossing of 700 proxy brides, aboard the SS King Alexander, on their way to America. Niki, a seamstress from Samothrace, resigns herself to saving the family honour by marrying a Chicago tailor her sister previously rejected. On the journey, she meets Norman, an American war photographer disheartened by a career and a marriage in tatters. Brides will touch its audience with an unforgettable story of a doomed love affair between star crossed lovers. It follows a journey from east to west, at the same time exploring the inner journey of the people who battle the waves of agony, doubt, courage, resignation, and hope.

Director: Pantelis Voulgaris | Rating: PG | 2004 | Drama |122 minutes | Greek, English, Russian dialogue with English subtitles

Delivery *

“About death itself I’ve nothing to tell you. About the dead, ask me anything you like.”

A nameless young man with an unknown past arrives in Athens. With no direction and no possessions, he searches for work and shelter. He enters the fringe existence of urban Athens, as he finds refuge in a dilapidated basement and later lands work as a pizza delivery boy. Through his personal interactions and travels across the city streets, the film depicts the marginalised and exiled realities of the city’s dejected, angry, helpless and discarded people.

Director: Nikos Panayotopoulos | Rating: R 18+ | 2003 | Drama |100 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

*Adult themes, strong language, nudity, explicit sex scenes, drug references

Dust
Η Σκόνη που πέφτει
I Skoni pou pefti

An unexpected documentary image, which he believes to be that of his father, sends Chronis out of his writer’s block and into a search to uncover the truth about his father’s death. Did he die in battle, as was officially declared? Or did he defect from the nationalist forces to join the leftist guerrillas, as his uncle claimed? His search for the truth becomes an obsession threatening to split his family. The blind trail on which he embarks leads him through Greece, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. Talking to anyone who can help him with his quest, aspects of his own identity begin to unfold.

Director: Tasos Psarras | Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama |98 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Hostage *
Όμηρος
Omiros

“One must live with honour, like a man… or die with honour. Yes, there’s the rub.” Sophocles

One morning, a young man boards an inter-city bus on its daily route to Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. He hijacks the bus at gunpoint and takes seven of the passengers hostage. In his left hand he holds a grenade. In the right, a Kalashnikov. This is the story of 25-year-old Albanian immigrant Elion Senia. While his demands include a ransom of half-a-million euros and safe passage to his homeland, his basic cry is simple: “I want my honour”. As events unfold, they are broadcast live on national television. For the next twenty hours, a wild, and at times bleakly comic chase, winds its way through northern Greece. The bus leads a convoy of police cars, television crews, desperate relatives, and bystanders….all the while heading towards the Albanian border….

Director: Constantine Giannaris| Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama |102 minutes | Greek with Albanian dialogue with English subtitles

*Adult themes, strong language, nudity, explicit sex scenes, drug references

It’s A Long Road
Όλα είναι Δρόμος
Ola ine dromos

"(The) intimate portraits of three tormented characters are filled with compassion and affection. As always with Voulgaris, technical credits are impeccable in every department." (David Stratton, Variety)

Three independent stories about three middle-aged men who arrive at crossroads in their lives. After discovering the tomb of an officer from the Hellenistic period, an archaeologist finally finds the courage to deal with his son’s suicide in the remote military camp where he served as a soldier. An elderly warden at the delta of the beautiful Evros River gets even with unscrupulous poachers preying on an endangered bird species. A factory owner in a small provincial town, filled with desperation because his wife has left him, finds the ultimate way to blow off steam in a tacky nightclub. Pantelis Voulgaris directs an excellent cast in this critically acclaimed exploration of the human soul.

Director: Pantelis Voulgaris| Rating: R 18+ | 1998 | Drama |118 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Like Chef Like God
Είναι ο Θεός Μάγειρας
Ine o Theos Mayiras

“Lately, things haven’t been going so well…”

Thodorakis keeps changing jobs and women, looking for something worth devoting himself to. Despite the affections of an adoring aunt and the spiritual guidance of Agios Fanourios, his rather lackadaisical attitude only changes when he accidentally discovers his talent for cooking. He soon becomes a chef and joins a secret society of cooks. Little by little he becomes engrossed in the quest to create the perfect dish and by doing so prove himself superior to his sceptical peers. However, the infinite choices life dishes up lead him down a self-destructive path. Just before reaching the ultimate impasse, a personal tragedy forces him to put his life into perspective.

Director: Stergios Niziris| Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Comedy |96 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Liza And All The Others *
Η Λίζα και Όλοι οι Άλλοι
I Liza kai Oloi oi Alloi

“Seeking young, handsome and normal guy, for over two months…”

Liza, a young attractive journalist, is the archetype of the designer lifestyle generation. As the narrator of the film, she reveals her unsuccessful quest for the ideal male partner. Liza’s routine indulgence in the incidental pleasures of life is complicated by her constant preoccupation with deconstructing the behaviour and psyche of the opposite sex. Her relationship with the suave yet domineering Gianni perpetuates her insecurities and seems doomed to fail. Then she meets Paris, the owner of a central Athens bar. The disarmingly charming Paris takes Liza’s heart, and body, to places it’s never been and has her asking whether she has finally found Mr Right…

Director: Nikos Perakis| Rating: R 18+ | 2003 | Comedy - Romance |104 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

*Adult themes, strong language, nudity, explicit sex scenes, drug references

Love at 16
Αγάπη στα 16
Agapi sta Dekaksi

"An original and cheerful description of the personal experience of young boys towards love and sexuality." 7th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People

A poignant tale of first love, and first loss, seen through the eyes of its young male protagonist. Alexis, 15, lives in an idyllic Greek village, sometime in the 1980s. Girls preoccupy his thoughts and actions and those of his mischievous friends. A young Athenian girl, Antigone, and her family arrive in the village, when her policeman father is posted there. Her arrival will turn the world of sensitive Alexis upside down.

Director: Constantinos Haralambous| Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama - Coming of Age | 102 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Rakushka (Shell)

Rakushka is a film that deals with the alienation and violence in human relationships, which emerge when different worlds intertwine.
Zoya is an eighteen-year-old cellist from Tashkent seeking a future in Athens. Vassilis, a pawnbroker with a hidden past, is enchanted from the moment she enters his store. He woos her and she eventually agrees to marry him. What begins as mutual salvation soon deteriorates. Vassilis, once the loving protector, becomes increasingly domineering. His possessiveness is cultivated by their age difference, the vast social and cultural chasm between them and her financial dependence. She reacts with rebellious silence and abrupt isolation. Something has to crack…

Director: Fotini Siskopoulou| Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama | 107 minutes | Greek with Russian dialogue and English subtitles

Real Life *
Αληθινή Ζωή
Alithini Zoi

“We are what our families and lives make us… no-one escapes destiny.”

As gorgeous as the society it portrays, “Real Life” offers a glimpse into the world of the idle and decadent elite of Athens, where the young and beautiful amuse themselves with the single-minded pursuit of their own pleasure. When one young man born into this maelstrom of privilege and vanity tries to break away from it all, he soon realizes how enmeshed he is in this self-indulgent, superficial world, his fate predetermined by class and his family’s dark history. Dimitri Eipides, Toronto International Film Festival 2004, website

Director: Panos Koutras| Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama - Fantasy | 112 minutes | Greek with French dialogue and English subtitles

*Adult themes, strong language, nudity, explicit sex scenes, drug references

The Counterfeit Coin #
Η Κάλπικη Λίρα
I Kalpiki lira

The 50th anniversary of the release of one of the most significant films in Greek cinema.

The journey of a counterfeit gold coin and the people who encounter it.
Four stories: humorous, romantic, dramatic. Initially, the coin is made by an honest engraver (Vasilis Logothetidis), who is seduced by the charms of a young widow (Ilia Livikou). The coin then passes into the hands of a beggar (Mimis Fotopoulos) and a prostitute (Sperantza Vrana), moving on to the orphaned daughter of a poor painter and their miserly landlord (Orestis Makris) and finally, a newly-married couple (Elli Lambeti and Dimitris Horn) struggling to make ends meet. A clever and effective screenplay, superb directing and exceptional performances make for an appealing and unforgettable film. Four stories in a film which marks the height of Giorgos Tzavellas’ success. A prestigious film featuring most of the stars of that era, this gem received accolades from audiences in Greece and abroad.

Director: Giorgos Tzavellas| Rating: R 18+ | 1955 | Comedy / Drama | 127 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

# Special event

America America #
Αμέρικα Αμέρικα
America America

"Elia Kazan gives a penetrating, thorough and profoundly affecting account of the hardships endured and surmounted at the turn of the century by a young Greek lad in attempting to fulfill his cherished dream --- getting to America…” - Variety

America America portrays the odyssey from Asia Minor to America of an innocent young man escaping the horrors of the times. Raised in an Anatolian village, Stavros is sent to Constantinople with the family’s jewels and prayers, however he harbours a dream - to live in America. In Constantinople he is exposed to the harsher realities of life - unemployment, homelessness, muggings, murder and prostitutes. Stavros escapes by swindling a ticket to America and assuming the identity of an Armenian shoe shine boy. Armed with a new name and a job he settles in New York and succeeds in bringing his family to the land of hope and opportunity.

Director: Elia Kazan| Rating: R 18+ | 1963 | Drama | 174 minutes | English

Stone Years
Πέτρινα Χρόνια
Petrina Hronia

”A film that is full of tenderness and hope, based on true events and real people. and that at the same time chronicles the alienation of a country and of a couple. We found STONE YEARS, quite simply, a deeply moving, heartwarming film.” LE MONDE

Told through the eyes of struggle and heartache, Stone Years is a captivating story about two ordinary people yearning love and freedom.
Set over 20 years in post war Greece, wracked by political division, persecution, intimidation and a dictatorship, the film follows the extraordinary and enduring relationship between Eleni and Babi, two young political activists of the Left. Based on a true story, Stone Years places the essential human elements of their relationship against a backdrop of fear, threats, separation, imprisonment and years of being on the run. One of Voulgaris’ most moving and critically acclaimed works, Stone Years explores the everyday struggle that Greeks endured when censorship and political repression altered the social fabric of their country.

Director: Pantelis Voulgaris| Rating: MA 15+ | 1985 | Drama | 135 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

The Striker with the No. 9
Η Φανέλλα με το 9
I Fanella me to ennia

“Pantelis Voulgaris has made a fast-paced, visually appealing action-drama which should appeal to broad audiences in Europe in theatrical, video and TV releases. The excellent lensing by Alexis Grivas is especially adept at capturing the action on the field. Stratos Tzortzoglou is appealing as the young athlete and Themis Bazaka distinguishes her role as the sympathetic bartender with a soft spot for Bill.’ VARIETY

Vassilis (Bill) Seretis is twenty years old. Uneducated…penniless… His strong legs and talent as a soccer player are all he has going for him. With these assets he wants to conquer the soccer fields, to capture the colourful headlines of the sports papers, to have himself crowned king on Sundays. After a two year stint coloured by dirt soccer fields, cheap hotels, “thrown” games, the loneliness of the countryside and hasty affairs with women of every sort, he touches the dream… the major Athens team. Only as soon as he tastes it, the dream turns sour. The soccer establishment and the vested interests of special groups crush Bill.

Director: Pantelis Voulgaris| Rating: R 18+ | 1988 | Drama | 117 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Testosterone *
Τεστοστερόνη
Testosteroni

“The day will come, and this is science speaking, when we won’t have to go running after women…they will be running after us”

This film operates on many levels: a thriller, whose protagonist is trapped on a secluded island of women; a satire of young people’s sexual relations in today’s society; or a study of the age-old battle of the sexes in the context of modern society. Petros visits his native island to borrow his late grandfather’s VW Beetle for some R&R back on the mainland. Whilst staying with his eccentric, free-thinking aunt, he finds himself pursued by the island’s women and he fears he is the only man left! What initially appears to be a young man’s dream quickly turns into a salacious nightmare.

Director: George Panousopoulos| Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Comedy – Satire | 95 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

*Adult themes, strong language, nudity, explicit sex scenes, drug references

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow
Τριλογία:Το Λειβάδι που Δακρύζει
Trilogia: To Livadi Pou Dakrizi

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow is Theo Angelopoulos’ first feature since Eternity and a Day which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1998.

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow is a visually poetic film, rich in powerful imagery. It sees a bitter personal tragedy unfold against the major events of early twentieth century Greece. Russian-born Eleni is adopted by a Greek family which flees to Greece during the period of the Russian revolution. She elopes with Alexis, the son of her much older fiancé Spyros. The two arrive in Thessaloniki, where Alexis continues his career as a musician whilst Eleni raises their two sons. Some years later, Alexis leaves for America seeking a better life for his family, however Eleni cannot join him. She is stranded in Greece to be exposed to the ravages of World War II, the horrors of the civil war and a fate unknown.

Director: Theo Angelopoulos | Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama/Romance | 162 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Marathon
Μαραθώνιος
Marathonios

From his earliest childhood memories, Andreas ran. Set against the backdrop of the Athens Olympic Games, Marathon is the story of a man who is caught in an emotional deadlock. He is a man who cannot, it seems, either start or finish the many relationships he enters throughout his life. Instead, he runs from one woman to another and from one crisis to the next. The story follows the many insights of his girlfriends and the way in which he relates to their observations. This exposes a complex personality and sheds light on the ultimate emptiness attached to the thrill of the chase.

Director: Antonis Kokkinos | Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama | 97 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles

Salute my Foot
Χαιρέτα μας τον Πλάτανο
Hereta mas ton Platano

The lives of adults as seen through the eyes of a child…a snapshot of Greek life at the start of the period of the Colonels’ rule…

Starting on New Year’s Eve 1967, the story unfolds over four months and is seen through the eyes of Makis, a young boy living on the outskirts of Athens. Makis lives with his widowed father, a junta sympathiser, and his cunning and controlling maternal grandmother. He witnesses the greed and deceit that are central to their wretched and mundane lives and their self-serving relationships.

Director: Dimitris Makris | Rating: R 18+ | 2004 | Drama | 96 minutes | Greek dialogue with English subtitles