Original and award-winning productions by auteur directors of Greek cinema meet with moviegoers at the Pera Museum as part of the Greek Film Days. The selection of 17 films, signed by masters such as Theo Angelopoulos and Costa Gavras, is accompanied by a panel titled “Greek Cinema Tells Itself”. Screenings will take place free of charge at Pera Museum Auditorium between 7-12 June.
Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum is hosting the Greek Film Days, which took place for the first time in Turkey. Organized in cooperation with Pera Film, Greek Ministry of Culture, Greek Film Center, Greek Film Academy, Greek Consulate General, Thessaloniki Cinema Museum, EMEIS Cultural Collective and istos, the program will present the films produced by the auteur directors of Greek cinema from the 1960s to the 1980s. brings together. A rich selection of 17 films, from black comedy to road films, from drama to science fiction, will be presented to moviegoers with their renewed copies at the Pera Museum Auditorium between June 7th and 12th.
Fact and fiction combined
Practice, the first feature film directed by master director Theo Angelopoulos, based on a real murder, is in the program as the opening film of Greek Film Days. Angelopoulos' film, for which he was selected as the Best New Director at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI Award at the Berlin Film Festival, is described by film historians as the birth of New Greek Cinema. Also based on a true murder, Zorba Yannis by Tonia Marketaki offers a feminist perspective far ahead of its time, revealing how women are oppressed under social pressure.
The Kokkinia Block, one of the turning points in the history of Greece, where more than 1944 people were executed in 300, is brought to the big screen with the movie Blockade by surrealist director and film theorist Adonis Kirou. Adopting a Brechtian narrative style, the film effectively conveys the oppressive and fearful atmosphere of the 40s to the audience. Immortal, the controversial film of the famous director Costa Gavras in the late 60s, continues to be a timeless masterpiece with the iconic music of Mikis Theodorakis. The film, which is an adaptation of the novel written by Vassilis Vassilikos, inspired by the Greek activist Gregoris Lambrakis, who was assassinated, was among the banned productions in Greece for many years, although the location of the story is not specified.
Written and directed by Pantelis Voulgaris, one of the leading auteur directors of his generation, Stone Years is a fascinating story about two ordinary people who yearn for love and freedom as well as for each other. Themis Bazaka, one of the most important actresses of Greek cinema, was deemed worthy of the Best Actress Award at the Venice, Thessaloniki and Valencia film festivals for her performance in the film.
The photograph, by director, screenwriter and producer Nikos Papatakis, turns into an allegory of Greece's recent history, nourished by the conflict between Ilias, who wants to flee his country, and Yerasimos, who is homesick.
Nikos Panayotopoulos, one of the directors of the New Greek Cinema, known for his disturbing films, interprets the bourgeoisie of the period with a deep and sharp vision in his grotesque tale The Sloths of the Fertile Valley, full of social connotations. This cult work, which is associated with Buñuel's The Secret Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Ferreri's The Big Cramp, won the Golden Lion at the Locarno Film Festival.
Another adaptation in the selection is Trojan Women by Michael Cacoyannis, who is well-known to moviegoers with his Oscar-winning movie Zorba. Bringing together the four iconic actresses of the cinema, Katharine Hepburn, Geneviève Bujold, Vanessa Redgrave and Irene Papas, the film is a true classic with images by Alfio Contini and music by Mikis Theodorakis.
The sad loves of the junta period
Evdokia, by Alexis Damianos, which is considered one of the first examples of the New Greek Cinema, tells the story of the love between the young sergeant Yorgos and the sex worker Evdokia, which turned into an ancient tragedy under the shadow of the military junta. Bringing another tragic love story to the screen, Gezi is a lyrical tribute to the sadness and magnificence of emotions. In the movie directed by Takis Kanellopoulos, the journey of two lovers who make a plan to escape with the escalating war turns into a journey of no return.
In pursuit of identity…
Co-written and directed by George Korras and Christos Voupouras, The Deserter describes the destructive nature of masculinity in the rural Greek society of the period, through the adaptation and alienation of Manolis, who rebelled against the borders. Poet and director Frieda Liappa, who died at the age of 46, is featured in the selection with A Silent Death. Described as a surrealistic and minimalist work on existentialism, the film brought Liappa the Best New Director award at the San Sebastián Film Festival.
Giorgos Panousopoulos recreates Euripides's tragedy The Bacchaea with a modern perspective in Madness, which he wrote and directed, and also produced, edited and directed the cinematography. Madness, which competes for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, is a seductive film with a soundtrack by Nikos Xydakis, which invites the audience to the revolt of Dionysus.
interspecies travel
Passage by Vassiliki Iliopoulou is an award-winning road movie that draws attention with its simple and realistic dialogues, elaborate scenes and flawless interpretation of its actors. The film, which received praise for its screenplay at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, tells the story of two young rural youth who are trying to complete their military service and return to their homes.
Traveling between different genres, from thriller to film noir, from action to comedy, Olga Robards magically depicts the Athens of the 80s, accompanied by Andreas Sinanos' award-winning footage from the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Christos Vakalopoulos sits in the director's chair of the movie.
Nikos Koundouros, one of the creators of neorealism in Greek Cinema, takes part in the program with his award-winning film Young Aphrodites from the Berlin and Thessaloniki film festivals. With Giovanni Varriano's black-and-white images focusing on the natural beauty of the island and music created by Yiannis Markopoulos using traditional Greek instruments, which in some scenes becomes the protagonist of the film, Young Aphrodites is one of the masterpieces of avant-garde cinema.
The only sci-fi movie of the selection, Morning Patrol takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Written and directed by Nikos Nikolaidis with inspiration and quotes from the works of authors such as Daphne Du Maurier, Phillip K. Dick, Raymond Chandler and Herman Raucher, the film questions the meaning of falling in love in an intolerable world surrounded by violence and death.
Industry professionals come together at Pera Museum
In addition to the screenings within the scope of Greek Film Days, there is also a panel with the participation of industry professionals. To the panel “Greek Cinema Tells About Itself” to be held at Pera Museum Auditorium on Thursday, June 9th at 18.30; Athena Kartalou (Greek Film Center Director General), Athena Kalkopoulou (Greek Film Centre, Hellas Film Promotion Director), Antigoni Rota (Producer) and Afroditi Nikolaidou (Athens University Film and Television Studies) will attend as speakers. The meeting, where the panelists will share their knowledge and experience about the current state of the industry in Greece, the structure of the industry, and the national policies implemented to encourage film production, is also intended to provide a discussion environment to discuss common issues and strengthen cross-border cooperation.
The Greek Film Days selection can be watched free of charge at the Pera Museum Auditorium between 7 and 12 June.
Film screenings within the scope of this program are free of charge. Reservation is not accepted. All screenings are subject to the 18+ application unless otherwise required by law.
Screening Program
Greek Film Days, 7– 12 June
Tuesday, June 7
- 15.00 Exercise (98′)
- Wednesday, June 8
- 13.00 Immortal (86′)
- 16.00 Blockade (90')
- 18.00 Zorba Yannis (180')
Thursday, June 9
- 13.00 Parade (90′)
- 15.00 Deserter (121')
- 18.30 Panel: Greek Cinema Tells Itself
Friday, June 10
- 13.00 A Silent Death (86′)
- 15.00 Olga Robards (86′)
- 17.00 Frenzy (92')
- 19.00 Evdokia (86 ′)
- 21.00 Photographs (86')
Saturday, June 11
- 13.00 Sightseeing (86')
- 15.00 Sloths of the Fertile Valley (119')
- 19.00 Morning Patrol (86')
Sunday, June 12
- 13.00 Stone Years (135′)
- 16.00 Young Aphrodites (135')
- 18.00 Trojan Women (105')
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