The Son of Sofia | Ο Γιος της Σοφίας [2017] by Elina Psykou

On Tuesday 18 September at 19:00 and on Wednesday 19 September at 21:00 the film The Son of Sofia (Greece/ France/Bulgaria, 2017, 110min, colour) by Elina Psykou will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek and Russian version with English subtitles. The film not suitable for children under 16 years.

Synopsis

Athens, 2004 summer Olympic Games. 11-year-old Misha arrives from Russia to live with his mother, Sofia. What he doesn’t know is that there is a father waiting for him there. While Greece is living the Olympic dream, Misha will get violently catapulted into the adult world, riding on the dark side of his favourite fairy tales.

“Son of Sofia” is a violent, absurd, urban fairy tale about the inability to express and accept love. It's a story about the clandestine violence of family love and at the same time a story about how we raise our children and how our homeland grooms future citizens. Two men vie for one woman’s attention, just like two different worlds stake their claim to the same society.

In that sense, it is essentially about identity formation: national, religious, sexual, linguistic and political. The historical background is the summer of 2004, when Athens was hosting the Olympic Games. It’s the moment when the country’s socioeconomic rise had reached its peak and - in hindsight - the moment that marked the beginning of the end of Greece's national innocence, an experience similar to the coming of age of son of Sofia. At the end of the film, nothing will ever be the same - neither for Greece nor for the young protagonist.

Afterlov | Άφτερλωβ (2016) by Stergios Paschos

On Tuesday 19 September at 19:00 and on Wednesday 20 September at 21:00 the film Afterlov (Greece, 2016, colour, 94 min) by Stergios Paschos will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek version with English subtitles. The film is not suitable for children.

Tickets will be sold at a separate desk by the cinema's entrance. Reservations and card payments are not available. The ticket costs 9 euros (5 euros for members). Please have the exact amount with you, if possible.

Synopsis

It’s summertime in Athens and Nikos, a 30-year-old broke musician, is taking care of a luxurious villa in the suburbs that belongs to a friend of his. Between poolside cocktails and fooling around with the dog that he is meant to take care of, Nikos has a plan. Still unable to get over his recent break-up with Sofia, he figures this is a unique opportunity to get some much-needed answers and he invites her over for the weekend. Sofia delightfully accepts not knowing, of course, that Nikos’ plans are not as innocent as they seem. Nikos locks Sofia in the house and refuses to let her leave until she provides some rationale for the break-up, turning their alleged carefree holiday into a mess of games, fights, laughs and introspection. Is Nikos ever going to get the answers he was looking for? Is Sofia ever going to be able to explain why they broke up? Afterlov is a funny, poignant and scathing post-love story between two people who refuse to grow up.

Cast: Haris Fragoulis, Iro Bezou

Σεπτέμβριος - Septembre (2013) by Penny Panagiotopoulou

On Tuesday 22 September at 19:00 and on Wednesday 23 September at 21:00 we will screen in cinema Utopia the film September (Greece, 2013, colour, 105 min) by Penny Panagiotopoulou. The film is in the original Greek version with French subtitles. It is not suitable for children under 16 years.

Synopsis 

Anna is a 30-year-old woman who lives alone with her dog. Idiosyncratic and self-sufficient, she’s happy enough with her life until her dog dies and she loses direction. She suddenly finds herself looking around her, inside her and across the street to a neighbouring family who lives a completely different life to her own. She knocks on their door, hoping they will let her burry her dog in their garden, the only patch of land in their cement neighbourhood. The two women get to know each other and silently acknowledge the fact that they are alone. Each yearns for the other’s life, because no matter what choices you’ve made in your life, there’s always something you’ve left behind. And every September, the wound begins to itch and you start dreaming about a blank slate – only this time you might actually get one!

Cast: Kora Karvouni, Maria Skoula, Nikos Diamandis, Christos Stergioglou, Gioulike Skafida, Nikos Arvanitis, Anna Kalaidjidou, Anastasis Tzertzemelis, Irini Kollakou and Kenzy

About the director 

Penny Panagiotopoulou was born in Athens, studied law at the University of Athens and film directing at Stavrakos Film School. In 1985, she received her BA in Photography and Film from the Polytechnic of Central London (University of Westminster).

The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas | Η Αιώνια Επιστροφή του Αντώνη Παρασκευά (2013)

On Tuesday 23 September at 19:00 and on Wednesday 24 September at 21:00 we will screen in cinema Utopia the film The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas (Greece, colour, 2013, 88 min) directed by Elina Psykou.  The film is in the original Greek version with English subtitles. As the first film of the season, this debut feature film is not to be missed. 

Synopsis

Antonis arrives at a hotel resort by the sea. It is wintertime, the hotel is closed and Antonis drifts around alone. He has a lot of time to kill. Until television announces the disappearance of the famous TV host Antonis Paraskevas.

Director's Note

Antonis Paraskevas is a hero of our times, the kind who’s never actually performed any heroic deeds. He hasn’t slain any dragons, he hasn’t fought any wars - he can’t even fly! He is just your average Joe. Only difference is, this one was once worshipped. Antonis was the kind of guy everyone wanted to be, a by-product of the entertainment industry, our modern-day hero generator.

Encardia, the Dancing Stone - Encardia, η Πέτρα που Χορεύει

On Tuesday 24 September at 19:30 and on Wednesday 25 September at 21:30 we will screen in cinema Utopia the musical documentary Encardia, the Dancing Stone (Greece, 2012, colour, 82 min) by Angelos Kovotsos. The film is in the Greek original version (partly in Italian) with Εnglish subtitles. Suitable for all ages.

Film Summary

The film follows the Greek band Encardia which composes and presents music and songs inspired by the rich musical tradition of Southern Italy.

The Griko people are an ethnic Greek community found principally in regions of Calabria and Apulia. They are believed to be remnants of Greek communities that arrived to southern Italy (the old Magna Graecia region) in numerous waves of migrations from the 8th century BC through to the Byzantine Greek migrations of the 15th century caused by the Ottoman conquest. 

The Griko community has been able to preserve its original Greek identity, heritage, language and distinct culture, although exposure to mass media has progressively eroded its culture and language.

Encardia has travelled to Southern Italy in search of local folk culture. They have met with local musicians, poets and researchers, who try to preserve this powerful Mediterranean tradition with their songs and poetry. In addition to the music, they are interested in Tarantella pizzica, a local variation of the well-known Italian dance, which has acquired magical, religious and therapeutic dimensions.

Unfair World - Άδικος Κόσμος

On Tuesday 25 September at 19:30 and on Wednesday 26 September at 21:30 in cinema Utopia we will screen the film Unfair World (Greece, 2011, colour, 107 min) by Filippos Tsitos, starring Antonis Kafetzopoulos.  The film is in the Greek original version with Εnglish subtitles.

Filippos Tsitos was awarded the Silver Shell for best director and Antonis Kafetzopoulos the Silver Shell for best actor for Unfair World at the International Film Festival of San Sebastian (Donostia) in 2011. In 2011 the cinema club screened Akadimia Platonos by the same director, also with Antonis Kafetzopoulos.

This film is a must-see, with some of the best Greek actors of their generation, being screened for the rentrée to begin one more year of Greek Cinema in Luxembourg. N.B. The actor and/or director may assist the screening. This is yet to be confirmed!

Film Summary

Sotiris is a detective working for the police in Athens. One day he decides to switch to vigilante justice: if someone goes to prison or is released from custody he now decides solely relying on his own perception of justice. When he kills a corrupt security man in order to prove the innocence of an inmate, the cleaning lady Dora is the only witness of this crime. In spite of his dependence from her and her lacking compassion he still sees her as his only accomplice. And while the honest Sotiris falls in love with the ruthless Dora, he does not realise that his boss increasingly suspects him to be the murderer.