19th TDF: Greek Program

19th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
3-12 March, 2017

GREEK PROGRAM

64 Greek -feature and short- films will be screened during the 19th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. 3 of these participate in the International Competition section that is introduced for the first time in this year’s edition. 31 are included in the various International Program sections and 30 in the Greek Panorama section. It is worth noting that 110 Greek documentaries were submitted in total.

Politics, human rights, refugees, as well as personal stories, food and art, are the main topics of this year’s rich documentary production.

We hereby present you some of the Greek films that will be screened in the 19th TDF:

Everyday heroes

Dominikos, a former drug user, wanders in Athens meeting people who are doing the same with him; they stay clean from any substances in Village Potemkin by Dominikos Ignatiadis.
Lefteris participates in the toughest triathlon in the world, with the aim to raise awareness and funds for people with physical and mental disabilities, in Victoria Velopoulou’s The Extra Mile.
The struggle of a group of young Greek volunteers who nurse stray animals in Aspropyrgos, Greece and the work of a London-based charity for neglected animals in Greece come together in Menelaos Karamaghiolis’ Greek Animal Rescue.
Leading Bollywood star Aamir Khan risks his career in the macho cinema industry of India. He wants to change how men treat women in his country, in The Snake Charmer by Nina Maria Paschalidou.

Politics in the times of ISIS and crisis

Are there limits to political satire? Compelling testimonies before and after the tragic attack at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, as well as an anti-terrorist prank in the European Parliament set the tone in Stelios Kouloglou’s Mourir de rire.
Shingal, Northern Iraq; a city ravaged by the ISIS. Thousands of Yezidi refugees wait for a safe return. People, losses and dilemmas are to be found amidst the debris, in Shingal, Where Are You? by Angelos Rallis.
Between Germany and Greece, political, cultural and personal experiences merge into creating new references about Europe in Nicos Ligouris’ Dialogue of Berlin.

Refugees in Greece

A lesbian Syrian refugee claims a better future. She will arrive at the island of Lesvos and eventually reach the steps of the German parliament to tell the story in Laurent Laughlin’s Το Another Life.
Europe closes the border for the refugees at the camp of Idomeni, Greece. In their turn, they block the train tracks that cross the border in Spectres Are Haunting Europe by Niki Giannari and Maria Kourkouta.
Refugees and locals share a complicated yet intimate relationship at Kastellorizo, the most remote island of Greece, in Alexandra Liveris’ Eyes οf Exodus.

Past & present

1917-2017: a century since the Bolshevik Revolution. One hundred years filled with dreams and hopes, but also wars and disasters: The Great Utopia by Fotos Lamprinos.
Rare archival 35mm footage highlights the history of Greece in the critical period between 1936 and 1952 in Nikos Kavoukidis’ Remembrances.
From the Greek rural life to the German occupation, and then to immigration and the Olympic Games in 2004; landmark moments of the Greek history are recorded in "My Homeland's Flag Is Blue..." by Stelios Haralambopoulos.
A man falls in love with a woman during the German occupation in Greece. He is the director's father, professor at the German Scientific Institute of Athens, a refuge for members of the Greek resistance. Letters from Athens - Portrait of My Father in Times of War by Timon Koulmasis.
The life and work of the politician Andreas Lentakis, a leading figure of the Greek Left, shed light on the recent Greek political history in Menos Deliotzakis’ Andreas Lentakis - A Romantic Fighter.
An entire city, Porto Lago, was built by the Italian occupiers of the Greek island of Leros in the 1930s. Over time, this place hosted soldiers, mental patients, political prisoners and refugees: Portolago - Ghosts in the Aegean by Ioanna Asmeniadou-Foka.

Stories about people

Thessaloniki 2010-2016. Five young women friends around thirty, daughters of Greek immigrants in Germany, fight for their dreams against the Greek crisis, in Drifting Generation by Stella Nikoletta Drossa.
The Greek boxer Alexandros Tsanikidis, known as “the wonder kid”, recovers after a terminal injury and heads towards the 2016 Olympic Games in Yorgos Panteleakis’ The Wonder Kid.
The female breast as an erotic symbol, artistic inspiration, but also as the protagonist in stories of women struggling with breast cancer: Boobs by Stelios Tatakis and Agnes Sklavou.
A six-member Greek family follows a different life approach in the upbringing of children, based on homeschooling in Ichthys by Christos Karalias.
The story of terminal cancer patient and Greek journalist Alexandros Velios who claimed his right to assisted suicide unfolds in The Last Decision by Antonis Tolakis.
How can we free ourselves from the fear of death? Menios Karayannis’ Deadline attempts to give answers, showcasing scientific opinions and various testimonies.

Nature

Mount Olympus, the plateau of Mouses and "Mytikas" summit; four mountaineers guide us to the fascinating Olympus National Park of Greece in Nikos Dourlios’ Olympus - Four Paths to Reach the Gods.
The eternal thread that connects the Greek lake Kerkini with the inhabitants of the villages nearby is recorded in Pandora Mouriki’s Days of a Lake.

Art

Six female voices that even replace the orchestra’s musical instruments; an alternative music collective takes centre stage in String-Less by Angelos Kovotsos.
The artistic pursuits, improvisations and music experimentations of the Greek artist Nicos Diminakis in Thessaloniki are explored in Beatbox and Winds - Nicos Diminakis by Gina Georgiadou.
In 2015 the first electric lute is constructed in the island of Crete. Its creator Dimitris Sideris attempts a series of improvised music recordings in Lute Electric by Vassilis Dimitriadis and Michalis Geranios.
The harsh reality, everyday challenges and political choices of people coming from the 90's hip hop generation fill the screen in Spyros Gerousis’ Every Single Day.
A journey in time, memory and films emerges through the iconic Greek open air cinema “Cine Thission”, in Maria Douza’s Cine Thission of Athens.
The life and work of the Greek artist Yannis Kastritsis is portrayed through images, objects and human figures in Yiannis Kastritsis: The Man and His Shadow by Dimitris Koutsiabasakos.
The tumultuous life and prolific work of the internationally acclaimed Greek novelist Alki Zei reflects Greece’s 20th century history in Alki's Long Walk by Margarita Manda.

Food vs. Food
The new section of the 19th TDF features, inter alia, three Greek documentaries:

The generous story of Costas, the man who founded the Athens-based social kitchen "The Other Man", providing free meals to the people in need, unfolds in My Human Self by Lukas Agelastos and Spyridoula Gkouskou.
The flavours, recipes and folk traditions of Mount Athos, Greece, the centre of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Monasticism, are highlighted in Culinary Heritage of Mount Athos by Christos Matzonas.
The evolution of food in Greece and the Mediterranean is the topic of The First Supper, the first episode of the television documentary series The Journey of Food: Eating in Greece from Prehistory to Modern Times, directed by Nikos Dayandas, Lefteris Haritos, Andreas Apostolidis and Yuri Averof.

The Greek films participating in all Festival Sections are:

"My Homeland's Flag Is Blue...", Stelios Haralambopoulos, 2016, 109’, Greece
A Road with A Long History, Damianos Maximov & Anatoli Karipidou, 2016, 56’, Greece
Akyllas Karazisis Meets Hovarth With Faith, Hope, Charity, Apostolia Papaioannou & Elias Yannakakis, 2016, 65’, Greece
Alki's Long Walk, Margarita Manda, 2017, 85’, Greece
Andreas Lentakis - A Romantic Fighter, Menos Deliotzakis, 2017, 83’, Greece
Beatbox and Winds - Nicos Diminakis, Gina Georgiadou, 2016, 52’, Greece
Boobs, Stelios Tatakis & Agnes Sklavou, 2017, 55’, Greece
Cine Thission of Athens, Maria Douza, 2016, 52’, France-Greece
Costa Tsokli: The What, the How and the Why of Art, Andonis Kioukas, 2017, 80’, Greece-Cyprus
Culinary Heritage οf Mount Athos, Christos Matzonas, 2016, 72’, Greece
Days of a Lake, Pandora Mouriki, 2017, 48’, Greece
Deadline, Menios Karayannis, 2017, 80’, Greece
Dialogue of Berlin, Nicos Ligouris, 2017, 82’, Greece-Germany
Dragged Off Cliff, Crete 1947, Costas Dandinakis, 2017, 66’, Greece
Drifting Generation, Stella Nikoletta Drossa, 2017, 114’, Greece-Germany
Every Single Day, Spyros Gerousis, 2017, 55’, Greece
Eyes οf Exodus, Alexandra Liveris, 2016, 27’, USA-Greece
Feeling of a Home, Michalis Kastanidis & Io Haviara, 2017, 26’, Greece
Four Dimensions and One Lamp, Thanassis Neofotistos, 2017, 30’, Greece
Greek Animal Rescue, Menelaos Karamaghiolis, 2016, 58’, Greece
I Am a Dancer, Stavros Petropoulos, 2016, 75’, Greece
I Think About the Girls Who Fell In Love, Yorgos Bougioukos & Spyros Skandalos, 2016, 18’, Greece
Ichthys, Christos Karalias, 2017, 32’, Greece
In The City, Avrilios Karakostas, 2016, 14’, Greece
Letters from Athens - Portrait of My Father in Times of War, Timon Koulmasis, 2016, 88’, Germany-Greece-France
Lute Electric, Vassilis Dimitriadis & Michalis Geranios, 2016, 45’, Greece
Man at Home, Stratis Vogiatzis & Konstantinos Koukoulis, 2016, 46’, Greece
Mourir de rire, Stelios Kouloglou, 2016, 100’, Greece-France-Belgium-Germany
My Human Self, Loukas Agelastos & Spyridoula Gkouskou, 2017, 77’, Greece
My Mother the Tobacco Grower, Stathis Galazoulas, 2016, 21’, Greece
No Coming Back, Flora Prisimintzi, 2016, 63’, Greece
No Silence, Maria Theodoraki & Konstantinos Karapanagiotidis & Maria Nikolaki, 2016, 46’, Greece
Olympus - Four Paths to Reach the Gods, Nikos Dourlios, 2017, 93’, Greece
Portolago - Ghosts in the Aegean, Ioanna Asmeniadou-Foka, 2017, 60’, Greece
Refugee Highway, Chronis Pehlivanidis, 2016, 72’, Greece
Remembrances, Nikos Kavoukidis, 2016, 128’, Greece
Saint Valentine's Secret Trip, Yiannis Xirouhakis, 2016, 52’, Greece
Second Life - From a Thorn Comes a Rose, Nikol Alexandropoulou, 2016, 50’, Greece
Shingal, Where Are You?, Angelos Rallis, 2016, 98’, Greece-Austria-Belgium
Solon, Taksimi in the Time, Yannis Adrimis, 2016, 20, Greece
Spectres Are Haunting Europe, Niki Giannari & Maria Kourkouta, 2016, 99’, Greece
String-Less, Angelos Kovotsos, 2017, 85’,Greece
Syrakos Danalis - Journey To the Light, Dimitris Gouziotis, 2017, 75’, Greece
The Artist Vassilis Theocharakis, Yannis Vamvakas, 2017, 85’, Greece
The Carpenter and His Wife, Constantinos Georgopoulos, 2016, 16’, Greece
The Extra Mile, Victoria Velopoulou, 2016, 74’, Greece
The First Supper - The Journey of Food: Eating in Greece from Prehistory to Modern Times, Nikos Dayandas, Lefteris Haritos, Andreas Apostolidis, Yuri Averof, 2016, 52’, Greece
The Glass Dragon, Konstantina Ouroumi, 2017, 10’, Greece
The Great Utopia, Fotos Lamprinos, 2017, 90’, Greece-Ukraine
The Last Decision, Antonis Tolakis, 2016, 56΄, Greece
The Last Resort, Thanos Anastopoulos & David Del Degan, 2016, 119’, Italy-Greece- France
The Snake Charmer, Nina Maria Paschalidou, 2017, 58’, Greece-Cyprus
The Wonder Kid, Yorgos Panteleakis, 2017, 69’, Greece
This Is Not a Coup, Aris Chatzistefanou, 2016, 80’, Greece
To Another Life, Laurent Laughlin, 2016, 46’, Greece
Venezouela's Experiment, Iason Pipinis, 2016, 65’, Greece
Village Potemkin, Dominikos Ignatiadis, 2016, 85’, Greece
Vive La Fuite, Evi Karampatsou, 2017, 74’, Greece
Wall Democracy, Valia Kardi & Nefeli Koskina, 2016, 26’, Greece-France
We Are Hellenes, Georgius Gemistus Pletho, Stamatis Tsarouhas, 2016, 62’, Greece
Where I Have Been, Where I Am, Where I'm Going, Yorgos Keramidiotis, 2016, 90’, Greece
X Apartments, Leonidas Konstantarakos, 2016, 52’, Greece
Yedi Koule A Place of Remembrance, Film Fabrikers and Anastasia Christoforidou, Thessaloniki, 2016, 19’, Greece
Yiannis Kastritsis: The Man and His Shadow, Dimitris Koutsiabasakos, 2017, 52’, Greece