2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, with the support of Municipality of Elefsina, presents eight screenings of four contemporary Greek films from 11 April to 22 May at Cine Eleusis. Through four award-winning films from recent Greek cinema, powerful narratives are highlighted that touch upon memory, history, and the social reality of the 20th and 21st centuries in the country and its personalities.
From the biographical perspective on the legends of folk music, such as Stelios Kazantzidis and Eftihia Papagiannopoulou, to the adaptation of the literary masterpiece Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis to the big screen, and the contemporary story of an ordinary person who dares to dream, the screenings create a multifaceted cinematic journey open to all.
The Films
Exist (132’, 2024)
The moving story of a child from a Pontian refugee family who managed to survive and thrive thanks to his immense talent and despite every social and personal difficulty. Music, love, family, friends, fishing, creativity, night thugs, fanatical admirers, great disputes—these elements make up the mosaic of his life. A tribute film to a great singer, whose voice “spoke” to the hearts of all Greeks around the world, Stelios Kazantzidis—for those who loved him, and for those who want to get to know him.
Director: Giorgos Tsemberopoulos
Cast: Christos Mastoras, Klelia Renesi, Asimenia Voulioti, Agoritsa Oikonomou, Dimitris Kapouranis, Anna Symeonidou, along with Giorgos Karamichos, Nikos Psarras, Giorgos Giannopoulos, Yiannis Englezos, Giorgos Gallos, Maria Filippou, Alexandros Bourdoumis, Diamantis Karanastasis, etc.
Proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to support little Alkinoos and his family with his medical expenses.
Murderess (97’, 2023)
On a dystopian island in Greece around 1900, Hadoula, widow of Ioannis Frangos, is a woman who has learned to survive in a male-dominated, patriarchal society by serving what her mother passed down to her—a difficult legacy that perpetuates the undervaluation and lower fate of women. Hadoula rebels within herself, and this will soon manifest outwardly. The young girls on the island become her victims. By taking their lives, she feels that she is freeing them from the social burden their existence causes. Her actions eventually take on a life of their own and bring her face to face with the law. She abandons her house and seeks refuge in nature. However, no matter how much her conscience tells her that she acted rightly, the deep wound of the past follows her everywhere. The end comes as redemption.
Director: Eva Nathena
Cast: Karyofyllia Karabeti, Maria Protopappa, Elena Topalidou, Pinelopi Tsilika, Georgianna Dallara, Christos Stergioglou, Stathis Stamoulakatos, Dimitris Imellos, Christina Maxouri, Olga Damanis, Ersi Malikenzou, Antonis Tsotsiopoulos, Agoritsa Oikonomou, Michalis Oikonomou, Veronica Davaki, Niki Papandreou, Mania Papadimitriou, Maria Skoula, Giannis Tsortekis, Galini Hatzipashali, Ariadne Velli
Eftihia (123’, 2019)
A young girl, newly married, travels from Aydın to Greece with her mother and two daughters. On the ship of exile, she decides not to let life pass her by but to live it the way she wants. And she does! She writes tirelessly on anything she can find, from napkins and cigarette boxes to leftover bills. She smokes, falls passionately in love, gambles boldly in luxurious salons, and in illegal basements. A teacher who becomes an actress in the boulevards and theaters, a poet who becomes Greece’s greatest songwriter of folk music. She collaborates with all the famous musical figures of the country, from Vasilis Tsitsanis and Apostolos Kaldaras to Manolis Hiotis, Antonis Repanis, and Manos Hadjidakis, boldly standing up in a harsh and typically male-dominated world.
Director: Angelos Frantzis
Cast: Karyofyllia Karabeti, Katia Goulioni, Pygmalion Dadakaridis, Evaggelia Syriopoulou, Lila Beklesi, Dina Michailidou
The Tailor (100’, 2020)
50-year-old Nikos, a refined old-school tailor, struggles to keep the ghost of the past and well-dressed aristocracy of the ’60s alive. However, when the bank threatens to seize the family tailor shop and his elderly father is hospitalized, Nikos takes his life into his own hands for the first time and finds an unorthodox way to bring his art closer to the people of today. Can a bride in Kamini become the muse of the absent-minded tailor?
Director: Sonia Liza Kenterman
Cast: Dimitris Imellos, Tamila Koulieva, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Stathis Stamoulakatos, Daphne Michopoulou, Samuel Akhinola
Programme
Friday, April 11 | Exist (132’, 2024)
Thursday, April 24 | Murderess (97’, 2023)
Sunday, April 27 | Exist (132’, 2024)
Thursday, May 1 | Eftihia (123’, 2019)
Sunday, May 4 | Murderess (97’, 2023)
Thursday, May 8 | The Tailor (100’, 2020)
Thursday, May 15 | Eftihia (123’, 2019)
Thursday, May 22 | The Tailor (100’, 2020)
