Considered to be one of the most powerful and emotional Greek movies, Rembetiko focuses on the life of an individual woman, a real person, and through her personal story, it retells the story of Greece, from 1920 to 1955: the national disaster in Minor Asia, the one million refugees who came to Greece, the World War II, the Nazi occupation, the Civil War, immigration. The revival of an era, the recall of lost ethics of the old time musicians, and all the elements of a popular music drama, compose this epic masterpiece, accompanied by the music and songs of Stavros Xarhakos (most of them with lyrics by Nikos Gkatsos).

A voyage to history of the first half of the 20th century, but also a voyage to the origins of rembetiko – a Greek form of urban blues performed in lowclass joints where the social misfits of the twenties known as “rembetes” gathered. Read More »

Synopsis (Written by Theo Angelopoulos):
A, an American film director of Greek ancestry, is making a film that tells his story and the story of his parents. It is a tale that unfolds in Italy, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada and the USA. The main character is Eleni, who is claimed and claims the absoluteness of love. At the same time the film is a long journey into the vast history and the events of the last fifty years that left their mark on the 20th century. The characters in the film move as though in a dream. The dust of time confuses memories. A searches for them and experiences them in the present. Read More »

Quote:
Manhood-measuring contests — in every imaginable sense of the phrase — are taken to brazenly literal extremes in “Chevalier,” the long-awaited third feature from Greek multi-tasker Athina Rachel Tsangari. Markedly different in focus and emotional temperature from her 2010 breakthrough, “Attenberg,” this committedly deadpan comedy of manners, morals and men behaving weirdly boasts a contained conceit seemingly ripe for unfettered absurdism: On a luxury yacht in the Aegean Sea, six male acquaintances embark on a rigorous series of personal and physical challenges, mercilessly grading each other to determine who is “the Best in General.” That Tsangari resists escalating the conflict, counting on subtle political insinuations to emerge as these perplexing social Olympics wear on, will leave as many viewers enervated as amused, but it’s an expertly executed tease. Read More »

Ο Ηρακλής, ο Αχελώος και η γιαγιά μου

Dimitra Koutsiabassakos is 88 years old and lives alone in the village of Armatoliko in the Pindos mountain range, on the banks of the ancient river Acheloos, named after the mythical river god who fought Heracles for the favors of a woman and who could take on many forms. Dimitra’s home is located near the place where a great dam is being built and lies right in the middle of the area destined to become a lake after construction is completed. By a strange quirk of fate, the materials used in the construction of the dam are a product of a cement company named “Heracles”, so that it seems that the age-old contest between Acheloos and Heracles continues to the present day! Dimitris, Costas and Petros decide to pay their grandmother a visit and make a documentary.

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Quote:
Even as Greek cinema slowly abandons its notorious aesthetic weirdness, Greek directors remain preoccupied with the same social and political national issues, now being depicted through a renewed enthusiasm for the abstract. Four years after her unconventional debut, The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas [+], Elina Psykou follows a new visual path in her second feature film, Son of Sofia [+]. The film has just enjoyed its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival. Read More »

SYNOPSIS:
Greece, 1654. A seriously wounded Janissary arrives at a cloister situated on a cliff, and the sisters take him in and care for him. Sister Anthi, one of those who tends him, falls in love with the soldier and eventually helps him escape. The central focus of the film does not come out of its historical context but is derived from the relationship between the two main characters and, above all, from the quest for freedom and identity for young Anthi. The initially silent sister, hiding a surprising secret, discovers heretofore unknown desires that lead her to a radically altered view of herself. Read More »

Synopsis
Mina (Helle Lambeti) is a charming salesgirl. She buys a lottery ticket, but she finds out soon that it has been stolen from her. Pavlos (George Pappas), a married lawyer, enamored with her, helps her to track down the ticket. After a while they discover it at a penniless musician’s hands (Dimitris Horn), who had bought it from a street kid. When Alexis, the musician, wins the lottery, Mina claims the money with the help of the lawyer. Soon, Mina and Alexis fall in love.
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