Drama Short Film Festival travels to Luxembourg

Drama Short Film Festival travels to Luxembourg: this month we are bringing you the best short Greek films that were awarded prizes in the 2015 Short Film Festival in Drama.

Please note that this time Cine Club Hellénique makes an exception by bringing variety in our two-day screenings. In order to be able to screen every single film that won a prize or a distinction in "2015 Short Film Festival in Drama", we have a different programme for each of the two days of our screenings. You can pick the day that inspires you the most, or join us both days!

Screenings are taking place at Utopia Cinema, as usual. Program as follows:

Tuesday, October 25 at 19.00 

EUROMAN / G.Tzafkas / 22min / Silver Dionysos - Special Mention

ECDYSIS / F.Tsolina / 17min / Special Award "Dinos Katsouridis" for the Best Newcomer Director

JOANNA / P.Fafoutis / 9min / Best Sound - Best Original Music

INNER LAND / V.Papageorgiou / 18min 

TIDES – A STORY TOLD BY THE SEA / S.Litsa / 11min / Special Mention

PROSOPON: A FACE TOWARD A FACE / T.Thoma / 5min / Best Student Film Award

SIMON SAYS / N.Tseberopoulos / 13min / Special Award "Socratis Dimitriadis" for the Category "Greeks Of The World"

BLUE TRAIN / M.Mavris / 15min / Special Award
(total time 110min)

Click 'Read More' for Wednesday's program.

A Family Affair (2015) - Μία Οικογενειακή Υπόθεση by Angeliki Aristomenopoulou

On Tuesday 20 September at 19:30 and on Wednesday 21 September at 21:00 the documentary A Family Affair (Greece, 2015, colour, 87 min) by Angeliki Aristomenopoulou on the Xylouris family will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek version with English subtitles. Not suitable for children under 12 years.

Synopsis

The Xylouris Family is Greece’s most famous musical clan. Three generations of musicians uphold and pass on the vibrant tradition of Cretan music, performing ceaselessly to followers across the world. From 80-year-old Psarantonis, credited with reinventing Cretan music, to his son Psarogiorgis and teenage grandchildren,  A Family Affair  discovers the electrifying power of their music and the sacred ties that hold the family together.

A driving force behind the discovery of Cretan music for global audiences, Psarantonis’ musical lineage stretches back generations and into the future. His son George, a singer and lute player, joined his family band as a teen, travelling the world and keeping the tradition of Cretan music alive. While on tour in Australia, George met his wife, Shelagh, and over the years the couple has split their time between Crete and Melbourne. Their three children, Nikos, Adonis and Apollonia, all share their father’s musical talents and have embraced the riches that come from a cross-cultural upbringing.

Rebetiko Tribute by Greek Cinema Club of Luxembourg

In the framework of the festival "Au cœur des faubourgs-Kardiá" organised by Neimënster, the Greek Cinema Club will screen, in collaboration with and in the premises of Cinématèque (17, place de Théâtre) three films on rebetiko, a kind of Greek popular songs and music, in the original Greek version with English subtitles.

MY SWEET CANARY by Roy Sher (documentary, Greece/France/Israel, 2011, 90 min), on Monday 27 June at 20:30 

I LIKE HEARTS LIKE MINE (documentary, Greece, 2000, 65 min), in the presence of the director, George Zervas on Wednesday 29 June at 18:30 in the presence of the director, who will take answers from the audience after the screening, and

REBETIKO (drama, Greece, 1983, 106 min) on Wednesday 29 June at 20:30

More info on the films to be found at the Cinematheque section of the Ville de Luxembourg website here.

Please check our Facebook Page for more info and YouTube videos that put on focus Rebetiko music genre.

Greek Version

Στο πλαίσιο του φεστιβάλ "Au cœur des faubourgs-Kardiá" που διοργανώνεται από το Neimënster, η Ελληνική Κινηματογραφική Λέσχη Λουξεμβούργου θα προβάλει σε συνεργασία με και στην αίθουσα της Cinématèque (17, place de Théâtre) τρεις ταινίες με θέμα το ρεμπέτικο τραγούδι, με αγγλικούς υποτίτλους:

ΚΑΝΑΡΙΝΙ ΜΟΥ ΓΛΥΚΟ του Ρόι Σερ (ντοκιμαντέρ, Ελλάδα/Γαλλία/Ισραήλ, 2011, 90’) τη Δευτέρα 27 Ιουνίουστις 20:30

Τρεις νέοι μουσικοί, ένας Ισραηλινός, μια Τουρκάλα και μια Ελληνίδα, ακολουθούν τα μουσικά ίχνη της Ρόζας Εσκενάζυ, κορυφαίας ερμηνεύτριας του σμυρναίικου και ρεμπέτικου τραγουδιού. Ιστορικά και μουσικά τεκμηριωμένο ντοκουμέντο, το οποίο αποτυπώνει με απλότητα, με στερεά λόγια, καθαρές εικόνες κι εξαιρετικές νέες εκτελέσεις λαϊκών αριστουργημάτων τη διαχρονική αξία των θλιμμένων και γλεντζέδικων μελωδιών του ρεμπέτικου. Και ταυτόχρονα την ατμόσφαιρα μιας ολόκληρης εποχής και τη δύναμη της μουσικής να καταργεί γλώσσες και σύνορα.

Matriarchy | Μητριαρχία (2014) by Nikos Kornilios

SIXTY WOMEN. SEVEN DAYS. ONE WORLD.

A shelter is threatened by shutdown and demolition.
60 women of different ages, nationalities and social backgrounds gather in order to defend it, attempting to redefine their place in today’s world. 

By day they discuss and clash over all matters concerning them. Society, sexuality, politics, relations, maternity, work. 

By night they let themselves free to express, dance, sing, confess theirlivedexperiences to one another. 

What will come out of such an undertaking?

Ελληνική Βερσιόν

ΕΞΗΝΤΑ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΕΣ. ΕΠΤΑ ΗΜΕΡΕΣ. ΕΝΑΣ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ.

Ένα καταφύγιο γυναικών απειλείται με σφράγιση και κατεδάφιση.
60 γυναίκες διαφορετικών ηλικιών, εθνικοτήτων και κοινωνικών προελεύσεων συγκεντρώνονται για να το προστατεύσουν, επιχειρώντας να επαναπροσδιορίσουν τη θέση τους στον κόσμο σήμερα. 

Την ημέρα συζητούν και συγκρούονται. Κοινωνία, σεξουαλικότητα, πολιτική, σχέσεις, μητρότητα, εργασία.

Τη νύχτα αφήνονται να εκφραστούν, να χορέψουν, να εξομολογηθούν βιώματα κι εμπειρίες. 

Τι θα προκύψει από ένα τέτοιο εγχείρημα;

Wild Duck (2013) by Yannis Sakaridis

On Tuesday 19 April at 19:00 and on Wednesday 20 April at 21:00 the film Wild Duck (Greece, 2013, colour, 88 min) by Yannis Sakaridis will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek version with English subtitles. Not recommended for children under 16 years. 

NOTE: The screening of 19 April will be followed by a Q&A with the director.

Synopsis 

Subtly echoing the 2005 episode dubbed "the Greek Watergate," a pair of telecom engineers set out to investigate hacker activity — make a scandalous discovery— in this timely and politically charged debut from director Yannis Sakaridis.

Wild Duck is the story of Dimitris, a telecommunications engineer who’s forced to shutter his business after running up a considerable debt with a local loan shark. He and his buddy Nikos, another telecommunications expert working for a big outfit, decide to get to the bottom of a big scandal. Their research leads them to a certain apartment, whose tenant Panagiota becomes the focus of their attention. Dimitris is now facing some major dilemmas and a trip to his hometown will help him clear his head and look at himself under a different light.

Cast: Alexandros Logothetis, Themis Bazaka, George Pyrpasopoulos, Yannis Stankoglou, Ilias Logothetis, Eleni Charantoni, Efi Tsapareli, Kostas Papakyriakou, Yannis Stampoultzis, Antonis Xylourgidis, Christos Sakaridis

One Last Joke | Η Τελευταία Φάρσα (2013) by Vassilis Raisis

On Tuesday 15 March at 19:00 and on Wednesday 16 March February at 21:00 the film One Last Joke (Greece, 2013, colour, 83 min) by Vassilis Raisis will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek version with English subtitles. 

Synopsis

Four young scientists have a strange "hobby"; they love making pranks - revelations in psychics, spiritualists, etc. One of them becomes member in a group of pseudo-therapist to reveal his deception. Things, though, will not go as planned. The film was awarded at the 54th Thessaloniki Film Festival with the Fischer Audience Award Program Michael Cacogiannis. 

Starring: Nicolas Piperas Marina Kalogerou, Nikos Monastiriotis, Yota Argyropoulos, Michael Kaliotsos, Andreas Marianos

Ελληνική βερσιόν

Η Ελληνική Κινηματογραφική Λέσχη Λουξεμβούργου θα προβάλει την Τρίτη 15 Μαρτίου στις 19:00 και την Τετάρτη 16 Μαρτίου στις 21:00 στον κινηματογράφο Utopia την ταινία Η Τελευταία Φάρσα (Ελλάδα, 2013, διάρκεια 83 λεπτά, έγχρωμη) του Βασίλη Ραίση.

Σύνοψη

Τέσσερεις νέοι επιστήμονες έχουν ένα περίεργο «χόμπυ»: Να κάνουνε φάρσες – αποκαλύψεις σε μέντιουμ, πνευματιστές κλπ. Ένας από αυτούς μπαίνει στην ομάδα ενός ψευδο-θεραπευτή ώστε να αποκαλύψει την απατεωνιά. Εκεί όμως, τα πράγματα δεν θα πάνε όπως τα σχεδίασε.  Η ταινία έχει βραβευτεί με το Βραβείο Κοινού Fischer του Ελληνικού Προγράμματος Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης στο 54ο Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Θεσσαλονίκης.

Πρωταγωνιστούν: Νικόλας Πιπεράς, Μαρίνα Καλογήρου, Νίκος Μοναστηριώτης, Γιώτα Αργυροπούλου, Μιχάλης Καλιότσος, Ανδρέας Μαριανός

Xenia | Ξενία (2014) by Panos Koutras

On Tuesday 23 February at 19:00 and on Wednesday 24 February at 21:00 the film Xenia (Greece / France / Belgium, 2014, colour, 128 min) by Panos Koutras will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek version with English subtitles. Not suitable for children under 16 years. 

Synopsis

This is the first Cannes selection for the director who has been described as the Greek Almodovar. Fifteen years after the crazy romp that was The Attack of the Giant Mousaka, Panos Koutras has made Xenia, a coming of age film that tells the story of two brothers as they journey across Greece in search of the father they have never known.

After the death of their mother, Dany, 16, leaves Crete to join his older brother, Odysseas, who lives in Athens. Born from an Albanian mother and a Greek father they never met, the two brothers, strangers in their own country, decide to go to Thessaloniki to look for their father and force him to officially recognize them. At the same time in Thessaloniki, is held the selection for the cult show, “Greek Star.” Dany dreams that his brother Odysseas, a gifted singer, could become the new star of the contest, in a country that refuses to accept them.

Cast: Kostas Nikouli, Nikos Gelia, Aggelos Papadimitriou, Romanna Lobach, Marissa Triandafyllidou, Yannis Stankoglou and Patty Bravo as herself

Runaway Day (2013) by Dimitris Bavellas

Runaway Day (2013)  by Dimitris Bavellas, a Black & White sci-fi drama is our first film of the year. 

Synopsis

Runaway Day is shot in 16 mm black and white film in order to bring to the foreground the suffocation and despair, which is a basic element of the story (along with black humor). The visual style of the film is similar to a 60's low budget b-movie. The main difference is that, in our case, the villains are not flesh eating zombies or the Creature from the black lagoon, but the city itself and the problems that it generates to its residents.

Our main aim by writing and filming Runaway Day is to depict a mosaic of the new Greeks and how lost they feel in modern days Athens. Furthermore, we want to highlight the gradual decline and decadence of this place, an once beautiful city.

Featuring: Maria Skoula, Efthymis Papadimitriou, Errikos Litsis, Christos Stergioglou and more.

The Godmother | H Νονά (2014) by Stelios Kouloglou

On Tuesday 8 December at 19:00 and on Wednesday 9 December at 21:00 the documentary The Godmother (Greece, 2014, colour, 105 min) by Stelios Kouloglou will be screened in cinema Utopia in the original Greek version with English subtitles. The director will be present for the screening of Tuesday. Not suitable for children under 16 years.

Synopsis 

Α few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Angela Merkel, an insignificant physicist from East Germany who was not interested in politics, is the most powerful woman in the world. Her teacher from the small town where she grew up, believes that she is the smartest student he ever had. Those who have worked with her, support that “Merkiavelli” exercises power without moral barriers, just as Machiavelli taught. A journalist, who knows her well, supports that she uses the methods of a Mafia godmother. In 2008, the German Chancellor was asked to cope with the international financial crisis. The countries of the South were in the test tube. “If I was writing a book for the shock doctrine now”, says Naomi Klein, “it would be for Greece”. How did Merkel manage to impose the German hegemony in Europe? 

About the director 

Studies in Paris and Tokyo. Correspondent for the Greek Radio and TV in Paris (1983-84), in Moscow during perestroika (1989-93) and during the war in Yugoslavia (92-95). Regular collaborator for ARTE’s news program «7 heures et demi». Editor-in-chief and producer of “Reportage Without Frontiers” (1996-2012), a weekly current affairs and documentaries program awarded 4 times as the best informative program of the Greek television. Best Greek documentary award for his series of programs on the Greek civil war (2000), Eurocomenius award for the film “The Death Match” (2002). Producer and director of numerous grand reportages and documentaries for ARTE, ERT, including «Whistleblowers» (2004), "Welcome to Europe"(2011), “Oligarchy”(2012) and the internationally awarded (Seoul 2009, Zaragoza 2010) «Apology of an Economic Hit Man» (2008).

The Enemy Within | O Εχθρός μέσα μου (2013) by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos

 

On Tuesday 17 November at 19:00 and on Wednesday 18 November at 21:00 we will screen in cinema Utopia the film The Enemy Within (Greece, 2013, colour, 107 min) by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos. The film is in the original Greek version with English subtitles. It is not suitable for children under 16 years.

Synopsis 

Kostas, a progressive ideologist, lives a regular life in Athens with his wife and their teenage daughter and son, until his home is ransacked by a hooded gang. The experience of extreme violence shatters the family's peace, bringing his father's hunting rifle violently into their lives. It is the story of a morally demolished man, who used to be the pillar of his family and of his struggle to get life back to normal.

Cast: Manolis Mavromatakis, Maria Zorba, Yiorgos Gallos, Antonis Karistinos, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Ariadni Kavalierou, Ilias Moulas, Kostas Antalopoulos, Nikos Dalas, Yannis Niarros, Konstadinos Moraitis, Anna Kalaitzidou, Thanos Grammenos, Tudor Chirila, Vesela Kazakova

About the director 

Yorgos Tsemberopoulos was born in Athens, studied economics in Greece and film at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, where he lived for six years directing documentaries, short films and theatre. Back in Greece he produces commercials and directs features, receiving many national awards. Among his films as director are: Megara (1974), a documentary that participated in nine festivals and won the Best Film Award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and the Prize of the International Critics’ Association at the Forum Berlin Film Festival (1974). Back Door (2000) in competition in Tokyo IFF and Mar De Plata. In 2007 a three-film tribute to him took place in Kolkata IFF. The Enemy Within is his fifth feature.

A Place Called Home | Το Δέντρο και η Κούνια (2013) by Maria Douza

On Tuesday 20 October at 19:00 and on Wednesday 21 October at 21:00 we will screen in cinema Utopia the film A Place Called Home aka The Tree and the Swing (Greece / Serbia, 2013, colour, drama, 108 min) by Maria Douza. The film is in the original Greek version with English subtitles. It is not suitable for children under 16 years.

Synopsis 

Eleni, a professor of cardiology in London, has been estranged from her father, Kyriakos, for many years. Kyriakos has never forgiven her for leaving Greece, her country. When Eleni’s husband, Harris, is posted to China on an open-ended contract, she realizes the danger of a new uprooting and decides to visit Greece and make peace with her father. But when she reaches home, nothing she finds is as she expects. 

That's how the director, Maria Douza explains what inspired her to make this film during an interview with MoviesMovesMe: "I think the time (inspired me). I started writing it in early 2003 – many years ago. At that time, the subject of immigration was (and still is) very topical in our life and in Greek society. The Greek society, for the first time, was confronting the advent of immigrants from Eastern Europe, from Albania: they started coming already in the 90s. That was some kind of a second reality that we experienced in Greece and the people were growing very xenophobic, very negative and so on. And everybody wanted to deal with this issue somehow. You could not ignore it."

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).