The extremely anticipated 2023 Greek Movie Pageant has introduced its full program for Melbourne. With a fastidiously curated choice of function movies and documentaries, the pageant guarantees to be a cinematic journey like no different.
The 2023 Greek Movie Pageant opens on 19 October on the Astor Theatre, Palace Cinema Como and Palace Balwyn Cinema with the multi award-winning function movie by Asimina Proedrou, Behind the Haystacks.
From October 19 till October 29 an distinctive lineup of movies that seize the essence of Greek cinema shall be showcased: 17 options, 7 documentaries, together with a tribute to the acclaimed and incomparable Irene Papas and the primary Greek digital animation function movie, Karagiozis: The film.
Additionally, let’s not neglect, the return of the 11th Greek Scholar Movie Pageant.
Lastly, this yr marks the eightieth anniversary of a sombre journey that started within the coronary heart of Thessaloniki and led to the haunting grounds of Auschwitz. This yr the Greek Movie Pageant has organised a tribute, with 3 documentaries and 1 function movie, honouring the reminiscence of the Jewish neighborhood of Thessaloniki, as soon as dwelling to one of many largest Sephardic Jewish communities on the earth.
This tribute will shed mild to one of many darkest pages in world historical past. The unhealed common trauma act as a reminder and warning for the longer term.
This yr’s pageant guarantees to move you to the guts of Greek tradition, historical past, and creativity, all whereas celebrating the wealthy and numerous world of Greek cinema.
The Greek Movie Pageant is offered in Victoria by the Greek Group of Melbourne taking part in on the Palace Cinemas group’s screens. For extra pageant particulars and the complete program go to: https://greekfilmfestival.com.au/melbourne/movies
Full Program:
Behind the Haystacks, 2022 – OPENING NIGHT
A middle-aged fisherman residing on Greece’s northern border, who’s drowning in debt, begins to smuggle migrants throughout the border lake, in trade for a hefty payment. His spouse, a housewife and religious churchgoer, is looking for the reality in God’s Phrase, whereas their daughter tries to outline her personal life inside an oppressive atmosphere. Till a tragic incident strikes the household, pushing the three heroes to face their very own private impasses and weaknesses, while having to contemplate, for the primary time of their life, the worth to pay for his or her actions.
Two tickets to Greece, 2022:
Not too long ago divorced, Blandine is struggling to get again to her life. Her former finest buddy Magalie, loud and fearless, resurfaces and imposes herself on a visit they’ve at all times dreamed of as youngsters: Amorgos, the wonderful location the place The Large Blue was shot. Once they attain their vacation spot, they realise the dreamy holidays don’t go as that they had deliberate since they’ve now a really completely different strategy to holidays… and to life!
The journey to Greece, 2020:
Of their fourth and ultimate gastronomic expedition, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon set out from the ruins of Troy in modern-day Turkey as they head to Greece to retrace the steps of legendary king Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, on his journey dwelling to Ithaca on the finish of the Trojan Struggle. Steve and Rob’s semi-fictional alter-egos hit the highway in quest of tradition, historical past, breath-taking vistas and, after all, a few of the most interesting meals in Europe.
Voice in Deep, 2021:
Within the aftermath of Greece’s refugee disaster that began in 2015, Tarek and Zaeed are orphaned refugees. Unable to safe public housing, Tarek pays for meals and board by prostituting himself to his abusive pimp Masi, however when a neighborhood refugee woman is murdered, the youthful brother Zaeed decides to get them out any means he can. In the meantime, Bobby, an Australian volunteer employee as soon as devoted to saving the lives of refugees is holed up in a motel room. Her recurring traumas of a tragedy at sea have left her emotionally crippled. She should promote her illegally harvested shellfish earlier than she will get on a aircraft again to Australia.
Karagiozis The Film, 2022:
The primary Greek digital animation function movie. This animation movie is concerning the Greek folklore character, Karagiozis. Hadjiavatis is trying to rent a public secretary, to help the illiterate fellow residents of the village. Karagiozis thinks that that is straightforward technique to make cash and tips Hadjiavatis into believing that he’s appropriate for the job, and he will get the function. For the way lengthy is Karagiozis capable of disguise the reality from everybody?
The script relies on the unique story of shadow puppet theatre play “Karagiozis the Secretary”, dubbed by the unique puppeteer Athos Danellis.
Purgatory, 2022:
Seven completely different tales about love in fashionable Greece, by individuals who search it, discover it, lose it. A monk leads a procession to open a temple, which the authorities have closed on account of a pandemic. A younger woman is rescued from prostitution when her long-lost father reappears. Two school boys grow to be perpetrators of violent incidents. A policewoman convinces an aged man affected by dementia that he’s her father. A pair tries to get better their damaged relationship ending in loneliness. A girl expresses her anger to a civil servant after shedding her husband. A middle-class man sneaks his terminally sick finest buddy out of the hospital to present him an exquisite finish by the ocean.
Pay attention, 2022:
Monetary difficulties pressure the deaf teenager Valmira to drop the signal language courses on the Deaf College of Athens and return to her father’s island, the place she faces the hazard of indifference and isolation – not solely due to the village’s prejudices, however, primarily from her circle of relatives. Mistrustful of her father Stamos and his new Bulgarian companion Tanya, Valmira tolerates her new circumstance solely with the understanding that it’s short-term; her father guarantees to return her to Athens subsequent yr. She makes little effort to adapt to the world of the listening to and – stubbornly connected to the signal language – refuses to put on her listening to help.
Black Stone, 2022:
Whereas filming absent civil servants, a documentary crew stumbles upon Haroula, a determined, overprotective Greek mom in quest of her son. However when her lacking son is accused of fraud, Haroula units out together with her different, disabled son and a Greek African taxi driver to convey him again dwelling the place he belongs. Even when this implies discovering who her son actually is.
The movie portrays a roller-coaster household journey the place motherly fears unfold, hopes are crushed and surprising occasions result in unpredictable revelations.
Dignity, 2022:
Mr. Dimitris, an 80-year-old man, after his spouse’s loss of life, has left the village to stay within the metropolis together with his son and daughter-in-law. On account of his birthday, nonetheless, his son calls the opposite members of the family to inform them that he’s not capable of care for him. One other resolution should be discovered, requiring that everybody ought to take their accountability. Secrets and techniques and errors of the previous will then come to the floor, one thing that upsets the household and results in an inevitable dramatic finale.
Silence 6-9, 2022:
Aris and Anna meet one night in a half-abandoned city surrounded by antennas which emit unusual sounds and allow the transmission of human voices. On this weird, dreamlike world, the place issues don’t appear fairly proper – together with individuals’s behaviour – these two solitary souls step by step begin to develop emotions for each other… Aris and Anna are the one outsiders in a city stuffed with antennas that broadcast the voices of the Disappeared; inhabitants who’ve unexplainably and abruptly disappeared. Till Anna disappears too…
Remind Me, 2019:
A film about Alzheimer’s. All of it begins when a “group remedy” of Alzheimer’s caregivers meets to speak about their fears, guilt, unhealthy and good instances. Eleni is on this group. She is a brand new caregiver, who can not settle for that her mom has been identified with Alzheimer’s illness and won’t bear in mind her. Moments of intense agony and ache are the protagonists of her life. However not for lengthy. As a result of in some unspecified time in the future the time of acceptance comes. The movie options the facet of the kid that chooses to face by the diseased guardian until the top.
God’s Portray, 2023:
Dimitris returns to Greece after his mom’s loss of life, planning to position his disabled sister in an establishment in order that he can stay out his love affair together with his girlfriend and future fiancé Stella. However life has a distinct plan in retailer for him. Within the paternal dwelling, surprises await him. Surprises that can utterly overturn his private life and his view of the world. The Psychologist who helps each Dimitri and Theodora will get concerned not solely of their life but in addition of their hearts, and the plot continues…
My Father’s Studio, 2022, documentary:
The daughter of the well-known Greek photographer Takis Tloupas discovers her father’s uncommon photographic supplies within the basement of their home, in Larissa. These archived pictures taken between 1950-1980 have been forgotten for over 30 years and show to be a priceless treasure of cultural and historic worth. This documentary is a stroll via the depths of an archive that maps the creative profession of Takis Tloupas, on the identical time assembling the anthropo-geography of Thessaly within the final century.
The artwork of lute in Crete, 2023, documentary:
The “Thyrathen” museum, for 10 years now, continues the journey to the tradition and musical custom of Crete and the complete Mediterranean. It’s with nice pleasure that the time has come to announce the completion of a superb documentary concerning the lute. It’s a documentary artfully carved from previous tales and current recollections. Internet hosting 8 recognised artists of the lute, they weave its historical past, its evolution and its formation inside the space of Cretan music. The aim of making the documentary is to present the brand new researcher or the musician the important thing options to check the continual evolution of the custom.
Venizelos, the wrestle for Asia Minor, 2022, documentary:
Eleftherios Venizelos, one in every of Greece’s biggest statesmen, faces challenges that check his diplomatic and humanitarian abilities through the crucial decade from the Balkan Wars and World Struggle I, as much as the Asia Minor Disaster and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. His wrestle is advised via dramatized scenes, uncommon archival materials, and professional interviews.
The documentary presents the occasions of the time, delving into the strategic decisions of Venizelos and highlighting what adopted his defeat within the 1920 elections, whereas offering solutions to crucial questions that also concern public opinion a century later.
IMAN, 2022:
Abdallah, an Arab Muslim civil engineer has to come back to phrases together with his personal accountability within the collapse of a constructing, which causes the loss of life of seven individuals. Having been radicalised, Iman and Leila, are despatched to Cyprus on a secret mission. Michelle, a lonely teenage woman, falls for Angelos, a domineering younger man with racist beliefs.
Three tales, every involving characters whose actions could imply the distinction between life and loss of life, are outlined by their seek for redemption from their previous, their guilt, their loneliness.
Misplaced on Kythera, 2023:
Misplaced on Kythera is a unusual comedy wherein mythology, historic historical past, and the sometimes-paranormal current are indistinguishable. Hilarious and surprising, it is a rollicking story of journey, love, and the comedian belligerence of people set towards the backdrop of one in every of Greece’s most lovely and enchanting islands.
Window to the ocean, 2019:
Confronted with life-changing information, Maria, a 55-year-old Spanish girl from Bilbao, chooses to make a journey to Greece towards the recommendation of her son and medical doctors. This spontaneous choice leads her to the island of Nisyros, a tiny haven of peace and calm. Whereas soaking within the island’s hidden treasures, she finds herself falling in love towards all odds. A luminous portrait of a lady who takes a leap of religion and dares to stay for the second on her personal phrases. A touching story about love, loss and fearlessly confronting life, just by leaning on another person.
George Bizos: Icon, 2022:
A teenage refugee from Greece (1927-2020) turns into a relentless human-rights lawyer within the crucible of a violent racist regime in South Africa. He represents freedom fighters together with Nelson Mandela. The movie juxtaposes the private and political sides of George’s life displaying the tapestry of his life and his motivation in his work. It makes use of public and never-before seen archives, his household’s 8mm and nonetheless archive, interviewing notables, colleagues, and household, partaking the viewer to the top.
Cloudy Sunday, 2015:
Throughout the tumultuous 1943, towards the backdrop of a German-occupied Thessaloniki, two star-crossed lovers wrestle to surmount prejudice and concern, because the brutalities towards the city’s persecuted Jewish neighborhood escalate. In a fast-reforming society the love between a Christian and a Jewish girl is forbidden. The adventurous and passionate love story between George and Estrea finds refuge within the historic Ouzeri Tsitsanis. There the nice Greek composer Vassilis Tsitsanis spends his most artistic years and composes his most well-known songs, amongst them the decisive “Cloudy Sunday”.
Kisses to the Youngsters, 2011, documentary:
5 Greek-Jewish youngsters who had been saved by courageous Christian households through the German Occupation, 5 hidden youngsters who lived in whole silence, lastly inform their tales. Tales of terror and anguish, but in addition tales of salvation and carefree childhood within the arms of “strangers” – which grew to become nests of affection, away from the horror of the Holocaust. 5 youngsters who had been pressured to mature abruptly.
Kisses to the Youngsters is not only one other movie concerning the Holocaust; it’s a movie about childhood within the shadow of the Holocaust.
Mauthausen, 2023, documentary:
A poetic documentary based mostly on a brand new interpretation of Mikis Theodorakis’s & Iakovos Kambanellis’s “Mauthausen Cantata” by Aristarchos Papadaniel (voice) and Aris Zervas (cello), and the unique handwritten unpublished textual content for a movie, “Travelogue to Mauthausen – Might 1988” by Kambanellis, a focus camp survivor.
“Travelogue to Mauthausen-Might 1988”: Unpublished textual content by focus camp survivor Iakovos Kambanellis involves life in its pure place resurrecting recollections throughout Mauthausen Liberation & Commemoration Day 2022.
My Folks, 2022, documentary:
A heartwarming letter to humanity…The inspiring untold story of the Greek Jews through the Holocaust…Romance…the Axis occupation…the fierce Greek resistance, the distinctive function of the Christian clergy; unveiled in a hymn to like, unity and braveness as it’s found by a younger girl in her quest to uncover her household’s historical past.
Exploring the darkest moments of historical past throughout WWII the documentary highlights the private journey of a younger Greek Jew girl on her quest to discover the hidden truths of her personal’s household story.
Tribute to Irene Papas:
Irene Papas, a Greek actress who grew to become well-known worldwide due to her roles in such movies as Zorba the Greek, Z and The Weapons of Navarone, handed away in September 2022. Along with her haunting seems and acclaimed reward for dramatic roles, Papas was additionally recognized for her stage work, notably in historic Greek tragedies.
The Greek Ministry of Tradition and Sports activities introduced her loss of life. In a statement posted to social media, the ministry wrote of Papas: “Majestic, stately, dynamic, she was the personification of Greek magnificence on the cinema display and on the theatre stage, a global star who radiated Greekness.”
The Weapons of Navarone, 1961:
A staff of Allied saboteurs are assigned an unattainable mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the 2 huge long-range area weapons that stop the rescue of two,000 trapped British troopers. As air assault is unattainable, a gaggle of Greeks and Allies will land on Navarone and try to dynamite the weapons. An especially harmful mission made much more tough by disputes and betrayals.