Greek Film Festival 2006

Opening Night Film

SIRENS IN THE AEGEAN/ Sirines sto Egeo

Dir. Nikos Perakis

Cast: Yannis Tsimitselis, Yorgos Seitaridis, Ioannis Papazisis, Orfeas Avgoustidis, Socratis Patsikas, Stelios Ksanthoudakis, Vassilis Haralabopoulos, Renos Haralambidis, Vicky Kaya, Tugce Seitaridi, Arzu Yanardag, Muge Bakircioglou, Metin Belgin, Aris Bafaloukas, Apostolis Totsikas

This farcical tale revolves around the impounding of a Turkish yacht by Greek sailors after its captain attempts to put a group of illegal immigrants ashore on a small Greek island. Also on the yacht are two women and a camera crew bound for a beauty competition on the Turkish island of Bodrum. Tempers fray, passions flare and stereotypes and prejudices come to the fore as the two sides try to communicate. The outcome is the involvement of both countries in the incident resulting in several comic situations.

The film is a sequel to the director’s original movie Loafing & Camouflage released in 1984.

Contemporary Films

LOAFING AND CAMOUFLAGE/ Loufa Kai Parallaghi

Dir. Nikos Perakis

Cast: Nikos Kalogeropoulos, Yiorgos Kimoulis, Takis Spyridakis, Fotis Polychronopoulos, Yannis Hatziyannis, Paris Tselios, Stavros Xenidis, Andreas Filippidis, Christos Valavanidis, Antonis Theodorakopoulos, Nikos Tsachiridis, Tania Kapsali, Ifigenia Makati, Rocky Taylor, Dimitris Poulikakos, Antonis Maniatis

A cult classic Greek movie by Nikos Perakis, which was recently followed with the sequel in 2005, Sirens in the Aegean.

During the military takeover by the junta in 1967, a group of neophyte soldiers are assigned to duty in the dictatorship-run television station, a prospect, which is totally new to them. Overcoming boredom, they begin to produce comical and subtly subversive programs in this satirical look at life under Fascism.

A DOG'S DREAM/ To Oneiro tou Skylou

Dir. Angelos Frantzis

Cast Konstantinos Markoulakis, Aris Servetalis, Christos Stergioglou, Argyris Xafis, Evangelia Samiotaki, Peggy Trikalioti, Lina Sakka, Markos Lezes, Fotini Baxevani

A man overhears a description of a dream about an unusual robbery, then returns home to find his own apartment mysteriously cleaned out. This is just the first in a series of inexplicable events that occur in Athens that night. A red-headed hooker with apparent magical powers and a policeman with unorthodox methods also figure in this enigmatic portrait of the Athenian night world.

CHARITON’S CHOIR/ I Horodia tou Haritona

Dir. Grigoris Karantinakis

Cast: George Chorraface, Stefanos Karantinakis, Maria Nafpliotou, Akyllas Karazissis, Christos Steryioglou, Alexandros Logothetis, Ilektra Nikolouza, Vassilis Kolovos, Yvonni Maltezou, Dimitris Piatas, Spyros Stavrinios.

The politics of individuality versus autocratic rule is also the theme of Chariton’s Choir, a comedy/drama by Greek director Grigoris Karantinakis, which stars Greek superstar George Corraface as a bohemian school principal whose free-thinking spirit will not be crushed by the fascistic military after their 1967 coup d’etat.

Chariton Ulianov has one great love: Life! That great love affair however does not hamper him in his pursuit of everyday pleasures. His position as School Principal in a provincial town on the island of Corfu gives him the opportunity to disseminate his own unique philosophy especially to the students that participate in his greatest passion: the choir. His tender and playful outlook on life is an inspiration to his students who find themselves facing all the challenges of adolescence in a Greece which is itself facing the challenges of life under dictatorship.

FACE CONTROL/ Efkoli Lia

Dir. Vangelis Seitanidis

Cast: Ioannis Papazissis, Anna-Maria Papaharalambous, Mihalis Iatropoulos, Eva Theotokatou, Emmanuela Alexiou, Alexia Kaltsiki, Nikos Katis, Eleni Tzortzi, Yorgos Mihalakis, Panos Kranidiotis

Savvas is a doorman in a fashionable Athens club, but after years of nightlife he is going through his “midlife crisis” at 30! On Christmas Eve he meets Lia, the daughter of an infamous big businessman, whom Savvas sees as his “other half”. A confirmed atheist up till now, Savvas starts to interpret various coincidences as divine signs. When he decides that Lia’s father is to blame for her S&M proclivities, God arms his hand with a 45mm gun.

HAZARDOUS AND UNHEALTHY/ Varea Anthiyiina

dir. Antonis Papadopoulos

Cast Paschalis Tsarouchas, Nena Mendi, Antonis Antoniou, Regina Pantelidi

A sharp lesson on the power of myth over history is provided by this ironic drama about a seedy truck-driver stranded in a village he once saved from the Nazis. The villagers, thinking he'd been killed that day, erected a statue to him and have parlayed his heroic feat into a lucrative local legend. His being alive - and a bit a scoundrel - blows the whole story, so they lock him up.

LIUBI

Dir. Layia Yiourgou

Cast Alexis Georgoulis, Lena Kitsopoulou, Katerina Papadaki, Eugenia Kaplan, Nikos Georgakis

On the very night of handsome Dimitris’ engagement party, a beautiful Russian named Liubi enters his middle-class home as the hired companion for his ailing mother. Sparks fly and a passionate affair ensues; though Dimitris is a prisoner of his family circumstances, which may ultimately blind him to further possibilities. A delicately observed drama, Liubi backgrounds a cross-cultural romance against ethnic prejudices in today's Greece.

THE HEART OF THE BEAST/ I kardia tou ktinous

Dir. Renos Haralambidis

Cast: Renos Haralambidis, Yorgos Voultzatis, Manos Vakoussis, Alkis Panayotidis, Tzina Thliveri, Yannis Zouganelis, Mara Darmousli, Elisavet Constantinidou, Giannis Bostantzoglou Dimitris Starovas, Dimos Gigantakis, Yorgos Velentzas, Marina Tavoulari

A comic drama of three male friends from high school coming together again years later to solve their problems in an unusual way. When egocentric Stephanos is discharged from the army, he feels the world belongs to him. However, the only things he really possesses are the debts his mother left him and rejection from his girlfriend. When Nikos proposes they rob a bank, Stephanos plunges into the brutality but also the magic of real life on his way to maturity.

THE WOMAN WHO MISSED HOME/ I nostalgos

Dir. Eleni Alexandraki

Cast: Olia Lazaridou, Yorgos Tsoularis, Spyros Stavrinidis, Maria Mina, Maria Paschalidou, Andonis Karpathios, Giannis Sfakianos, Vassia Paraskevopoulou, Klavdia Zarafonitou, Tassos Anastasiou, Maria Melachrinaki, Giannis Orsaris, Andreas Roufas

On a full-moon night, Anna, a married woman, runs away from the island where she lives with her older husband, to return to her original home. A young shepherd, Mathios, helps her escape on a small rowboat. The anguish of her loving husband who runs after her, Mathios’ secret love for Anna, the small world of the island that never misses the chance to get involved, all intermingle with scenes from Anna’s past, transforming this Lilliputian voyage into a life journey.

WOMAN IS A TOUGH PERSON / I gyneka ine skliros anthropos

Dir. Andonis Kafetzopoulos

Cast: Faye Kokkinopoulou, Antonis Kafetzopoulos, Yota Festa, Mania Papadimitriou, Jenny Roussea, Eleni Apostolopoulou, Kostas Triandafyllopoulos, Fotis Thomaidis, Makis Papadimitriou.

Veteran actor Kafetzopoulos directs as well as stars in this energetic comedy. He plays Johnny Maniatis, a put-upon ad executive who is facing the worst day of his life. His biggest client is threatening to defect, his kleptomaniac daughter has run off with a Bulgarian gangster, his mother has disappeared, and his lady love is demanding that they conceive a child that very day. . .or else! Events snowball in a long day and night of criss-crossing paths.

Documentaries

BLACK BAAA...

Dir. Thodoros Marangos

Cast: Egisto Pesole, Stathis Marangos, Maria Manimanaki, Costas Andalopoulos, Dimitris Katsimanis

In the 1st century A.D., an ancient Greek philosopher sent a letter addressed to Thodorakis the modern Hellene. As soon as Thodorakis finds out about the letter, he travels to Italy where it was found in an archaeological dig together with 2000 other ancient Greek texts, in order to get it. When he arrives to his amazement he discovers that there are others who are interested in his letter, people who are seeking historical truths. But there are also those who try to make it disappear, afraid it may reveal top religious secrets. Dimitris, who has psychological problems, is also interested in the letter. He is searching his past to find out what he was before he was transformed into a sheep…

UNPLANNED/ Ektos Schediou

Dir. Menios Ditsas

Cast: Narrators: Eva Kotamanidou, Christos Tsangas

This documentary features the Gypsy community, their origins, their history and the daily problems they face in Greece. Their special social characteristics, their nomadic perception of life, childhood, work, education, their social mores and traditions, their musical skill, their weddings and celebrations. A special element of this film is the attempt to fuse the narration with the tales of the gypsies and excerpts from Costis Palamas’ poem “The Twelve Words of the Gypsy”.

Tragedies

ELECTRA/ Elektra

Dir. Michael Cacoyannis

Cast: Irene Papas, Yannis Fertis, Aleka Katselli, Theano Ioannidou, Notis Peryalis, Takis Emmanuel, Phoebus Rhazis, Manos Katrakis

Music by Mikis Theodorakis.

Greek director Michael Cacoyannis to the screen Euripides’ tragedy of a troubled woman trapped in a cycle of murder and revenge. Irene Papas is outstanding as the doomed heroine.

Electra is the daughter of King Agamemnon, who ruled over Mycenae. When Agamemnon was murdered by his queen and her lover, Electra was confined within her father’s castle while her brother Orestes fled for safety. Years pass and hard times overcome the people of the land. Electra is married off to an older peasant man, and effectively exiled from her rightful place as Princess of Mycenae.

At once dark artistic and moving, Electra is a powerful film. Its black and white cinematography by Walter Lassally is as symbolic and fiercely provocative as any Greek tragedy could ever hope to be.

THE TROJAN WOMEN

Dir. Michael Cacoyannis

Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Geneviève Bujold, Irene Papas, Patrick Magee, Brian Blessed, Alberto Sanz

Euripides' classic tragedy brought to the screen by a star-studded cast of actresses. Hecuba, queen of Troy, leads this ensemble of women in a passionate, proto-feminist condemnation of war and its atrocities. Troy has been conquered by the Greeks. Hecuba and the other women find their city in ruins and their cause lost; they will be assigned by lot to become the concubines of Greek leaders.

IPHIGENIA

Dir. Michael Cacoyannis. Music by Mikis Theodorakis.

Cast: Irene Papas, Tatiana Papamoschou, Kostas Kazakos, Costas Carras, Christos Tsagas, Panos Mihalopoulos, Dimitri Aronis

The Greek army is about to set sail to wage war on Troy, but the winds refuse to blow. Their leader, King Agamemnon, accidentally slays a sacred deer. His punishment from the gods is to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia.

Based on the classic Greek tragedy by Euripides (485-406 BC.), Michael Cacoyannis' film is both stunning and moving. A talented cast, headed by Irene Papas, give first-rate performances and do wonders with this stirring ancient drama.

The film brilliantly captures the stark mood of the myth.

Nominated Golden Palm Cannes Film Festival 1977

Nominated Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film 1978

Family Films

FADING LIGHT/ To Fos Pou Svini

dir. Vasilis Douros

2001 | Rating: Session where persons under 15 may be admitted, when accompanied by an adult
Greece | 35mm | 100 minutes | In Greek with English subtitles

With: Alekos Alexandrakis, Viki Volioti, Vladimir Golosinski, Elissavet Naslidou, Dimitris Mavropoulos, Babis Hatzidakis, Stella Yanni, Alkis Kourkoulos, Takis Spyridakis, Thanos Kanousis.

On the tiny island of Halki, near Rhodes, 12-year-old Hristos is a musically talented loner who regularly skips school to spend time with an old lighthouse keeper. Hristos is slowly going blind from a rare eye disease, and, with no encouragement from his divorced mother, finds inspiration for his violin playing in the natural sounds of the island. Only with the steady encouragement of a new teacher, Maria, does Hristos slowly bloom.

THE CANARY YELLOW BICYCLE/ To Canarini Podilato

dir. Dimitris Stavrakas

1999 | Rating: Session where persons under 15 may be admitted, when accompanied by an adult
Greece | 35mm | 90 minutes | In Greek with English subtitles

Cast: Dimitris Alexandris, Yorgos Halaris, Manos Vakousis, Thanos Grammenos, Nikos Yorgakis, Alexandra Pandelaki.

When Aris Skourtis is hired to teach 6th grade in an Athens elementary school, he takes a personal interest in Lefteris, an almost illiterate kid who's laughed at by his classmates. He decides to help the child find a way out of its predicament, only to find his efforts thwarted by all sorts of obstacles, not the least of which is the distrust of Lefteris himself.

THE FLEA/ O Psyllos

Dir. Dimitris Spyrou

1990 | Rating: Session where persons under 15 may be admitted, when accompanied by an adult
Greece | 35mm | 108 minutes | In Greek with English subtitles

Cast Pantelis Trivizas, Vassilis Kolovos, Dimitra Hatoupi, Amalia Ghiza, Dimitris Spyrou, Costoula Tsellou

The "Flea" is a handwritten little newspaper written, edited and published by Ilias, a determined twelve year-old schoolboy who lives in a remote village in the mountains near ancient Olympia. His efforts go largely unappreciated by his elders, who tease him and nickname him "The Flea", and his concerned parents are convinced his preoccupation with his newspaper will distract him from more serious studies and forbid him to continue it. Ilias' only allies are a quixotic eccentric and a sensitive schoolgirl. The villagers' scoffing at Ilias' ambitions changes to admiration when an Athenian journalist shows up to do a story on Ilias. He becomes disheartened, however when he realizes much of their enthusiasm stems from hopes for increased tourism spurred by his fame and he distrusts the journalist's motives as well. In the end he chooses the road less traveled much as he always has done. To paraphrase a well-known saying: "Children are too serious a matter to be left in the hands of film directors". Dimitris Spyrou, however, handles his subject with the same devotion, skill and sensitivity that Ilias "publishes" his paper.

THE LITTLE DOLPHINS/ Ta Delfinakia Tou Ambracicou

dir. Dinos Demopoulos

1993 | Rating: Session where persons under 15 may be admitted,
when accompanied by an adult
Greece | 35mm | 100 minutes | ***GREEK LANGUAGE ONLY WITH FRENCH SUBTITLES***

Cast: Stavros Doyakos, Constantina Alevra, Spyros Pantazis, Nikitas Chronis, Constantina Andriopoulou, Alexandros Rigas, Christos Zorbas

In a small seaside village in Greece, in the years between the two world wars, Petros and Anthoula (he is eight and she is seven) are enjoying the summer holidays. With the spontaneity and innocence of the young they gradually discover the miracle of the world that surrounds them. They reach out to touch the stars and talk to the animals, to play hide-and-seek with the birds and frolic in the water. They also begin to utter the first verses of the eternal song of love, even if they cannot yet understand the words. But this miraculous celebration of life suddenly darkens when, quite unexpectedly, the two children find themselves face to face with a solitary, sick boy their own age, a social outcast because he has tuberculosis. They decide to react, breaking down the barriers of prejudice and opening bright pathways to life that are quite inconceivable to grownups. Dinos Demopoulos returns to Greek films after a long absence, adapting his own award-winning children's book. The result is charming.

Classic Films

MODERNA STAHTOPOUTA

Dir. Alekos Sakellarios

1965 | Rating: 18+ | Greece, 35mm | 103 minutes | In Greek without English subtitles

Cast: Aliki Vougiouklaki, Dimitris Papamichael, Stavros Xenidis, Aris Malliagros, Christos Parlas, Despoina Nikolaidou, Kostas Doukas, Nikitas Platis, Babis Anthopoulos, Nikos Tsoukas

When a poor young girl, desperately needing work, in order to support her little siblings and grandmother, hears that a wealthy businessman has retrenched his personal secretary, she enters his office and manages to get the position. In short time she wins his trust and accompanies him to almost all his business meetings and trips. During a trip to Rome, she undergoes a transformation from non descript girl in rags to a beautiful and elegant young woman. Could her employer now fall in love with her?

This film is a social comedy of 1965 with leading actors, Aliki Vouyiouklaki and Demetris Papamichael. A husband and wife team in real life, together they where to form one of the most successful movie partnerships in Greek cinema history.

NOMOS 4000

Dir Yannis Dalianidis

Cast: Zoe Laskari, Vagelis Voulgaridis, Vassilis Diamantopoulos, Kostas Voutsas, Katerina Helmy, Hloi Liaskou, Eleni Zafiriou, Katerina Gogou, Athena Michaelidou, Spyros Mousouris, Lavrentis Dianellos, Giorgos Gavriilidis, Alekos Janetakos, Kostas Naos, Thanasis Papadopoulos

Maria falls in love with George, who is a student of her strict father, Andreas Economou. Dolly, a classmate of Maria, spends a night with George and the next morning tells Maria about it. George tells Maria that his relation with Dolly is not a serious one and swears that she is the only one he loves. Maria accepts his apologies and because she is afraid of losing him decides to make love with him. Maria's father, who is not aware of his daughter's love affair with George, expels one of George's friends from school. When Maria tells George that she is pregnant he forces her to have an abortion. During the time of Maria's operation things go wrong and her father learns about Maria's situation.

Closing Night Film

ISOFERINA

Dir. Alekos Sakellarios

Cast: Aliki Vougiouklaki, Alekos Alexandrakis, Maro Kodou, Giorgos Konstadinou, Vasilis Avlonitis, Costas Hajihristos, Giorgos Panjas, Dionysis Papayannopoulos, Joly Garbi, Keti Lampropoulou, Alkis Yannakas,

Tassos Yannopoulos, Cleo Skouloudi, Theodoros Katsadramis

Mary lends her car to her friend Lili (wife of jealous Mihalis) who wants it for meeting her new boyfriend. But Lili has an accident and returns the car in a very bad condition. To cover for her friend, Mary tells her husband Nikos that she is responsible. Things become more complicated when Mary goes to the court accused of the accident.

A cast of first-rate actors and good dialogue make this movie shine, oh, and the courtroom scene is one of the funniest in Greek film history.