The Striker With The No 9

Η Φανέλλα με το 9
I Fanella me to ennia

“Striker No. 9 provides a penetrating insight into the darker side of soccer and professional sport.”
Braham Dabscheck, University of New South Wales
 

The Striker with the No. 9 is a film which traces the rise and fall of Vasilis (Bill) Seretis, a talented goal scoring centre forward. The film begins with Seretis leaving Athens as he starts his career with a provincial second division club.
The young, good looking Seretis quickly establishes his reputation as a skilful goal scorer. In contrast, his off-field life is without roots; moving from city to city, woman to woman, hotel room to hotel room. Unruly, unfaithful, egotistical, his days are spent on the soccer fields and at night, when he is not perched at some bar, he plays solitaire.
One day, Seretis is approached by a journalist to play ‘dead’ in a particular game, not so much for money, but in exchange for newspaper stories to enhance his prospects of being noticed, and transferring to a more successful first division Athens team. Seretis agrees. The incident is to haunt him throughout his career. Possessing skill and ability, Seretis manages to achieve his dream of playing top flight football. However, in one particular game he is instructed by his coach to avoid shooting at goal, and, in the process, is forced to take the blame for a fixed game. When his career is halted by a major injury, he is forced to question and agonise over his forlorn dream and his remaining prospects.


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

Director's Bio - Pantelis Voulgaris

Pantelis Voulgaris was born in Athens in 1940 and studied at the Stavrakou Film School. He worked initially as an assistant director and made his first short in 1965. Since then, his films have won international acclaim and numerous awards, establishing his reputation as one of the foremost Greek film directors of his generation. He has also directed several documentaries for Greek television and the hour-long documentary on the poet Yannis Ritsos for German Television. He has also directed for the stage. In 1995, Pantelis Voulgaris was honoured by the Museum of Modern Art in New York with a mid-career retrospective.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Stratos Tzortzoglou, Themis Bazaka, Nikos Bousdoukos, Stamatis Tzelepis, Nikos Tsachiridis, Costas Kleftoyannis, Stavros Kalaroglou, Zanno Danias, Yannis Hadziyannis, Vassilis Vlachos, Katia Sperelaki, Anna Avgoula and Thanassis Mylonas

AWARDS

Silver Knight Award -1989 Moscow Film Festival

DIRECTOR's – PREVIOUS FILMS

1965 The Thief (Short Film)

1966 Jimmy the Tiger (Short Film)
International Film Festival of Thessaloniki:
  Best Short Film Award
  Best Actor Award
  Critics Awards

1969 The Dance of the Goats (Documentary)
Grand Prix Contemporary Film Festival, Athens

1972 The Engagement of Anna
International Film Festival of Thessaloniki FIPRESCI,
Best Film Award
Best Director Award
Berlin Film Festival :
  Otto-Dibelius Award
  OCIC Award

1973 The Great Love Songs

1976 Happy Day
International Film Festival of Thessaloniki
  Best Film Award
  Best Director Award

1980 Eleftherios Venizelos

1985 Stone Years (Documentary)
International Film Festival of Thessaloniki
  Best Film Award
  Best Director Award
Venice Film Festival:
  Best Actress Award
  Special Nomination for Best Actress
Valencia Film Festival:
  Best Actress Award
  Best Music Award

1988 The Striker with the No.9
Silver Knight Award – Moscow Film Festival

1991 Quiet Dais in August
Mention by the Berlin Film Festival's International Protestant Film Jury
Selected to represent Greece as Best Film for the European Film Awards

1995 Acropole
1996 Cairo International Film Festival – Best Director Award
Valencia Film Festival – Best Music Award

1998 It’s a Long Road
Hellenic Ministry of Culture 1998 National Film Awards
  Best Actor (Giorgos Armenis)
  Best Make-Up

2004 Brides
45th Thessaloniki International Film Festival – 2004:
  First Prize for Fiction Film,
Best Leading Actress Award
Best Supporting Actress Award
Best Cinematography Award
Best Set Design Award
Best Music Award
Best Sound Award
Best Editing Award
Best Costumes Award

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

Presented in official competition - 1989 Berlin Film Festival
Presented in official competition - 1989 Moscow Film Festival


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