Concluding the practice inaugurated by the directors of the New Greek Cinema of the 70s and 80s, the Greek Cinema of the 90s gradually abandons its introvert nature and experiments with new forms, thanks to filmmakers who turn to specific genres and to private producers who increasingly dominate the field. In the films that we have selected for the Panorama, we are first and foremost interested in the continuation with the past, expressed by the representatives of the previous generation, as for instance Nikos Panayotopoulos, who follows his personal lonely road through his own ambitious narrative in the film “I Dream of my Friends”, where he documents the course of a whole generation who reached adulthood in the 1960s. Male friendship is also a central element in the films by Stavros Tsiolis who inaugurates his road movie style with “Love under the Date Tree”, having as a common reference point the sharp and surreal sense of humour. Vasilis Vafeas and Dimitris Panayotatos respectively present a slapstick comedy, in this occasion focusing on a father-son relationship (“Every Saturday”) and a mixture of sci-fi cinema and eroticism (“Lovers Beyond Time”). Vasilis Mazomenos becomes one of the most pioneering animation creators with “The Triumph of Time”, while Dimos Avdeliodis returns in 1960s Chios with a lyrical film about a rural community (“Spring Gathering”). In “U-Turn”, Nikos Grammatikos makes a first attempt towards film noir and tries to adapt it to the Greek standards. With his first feature film “From the Snow”, Sotiris Goritsas focuses on Albanian immigration, while Antonis Kokkinos goes back into the past with a different take on the Junta years (“End of an Era”). “Donusa” (dir. Angeliki Antoniou) constitutes a post-feminist film that follows the consequences stemming from the arrival of a foreigner in the closed, male-dominated island society.

Love Under The Date Tree

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1990, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Σταύρος Τσιώλης. Σεν./Scr.: Σταύρος Τσιώλης. Φωτ./Cin.: Βασίλης Καψούρος. Μοντ./Ed.: Κώστας Ιορδανίδης. Μουσ./Mus.: Παύλος Παπαδόπουλος, Σταμάτης Σπανουδάκης. Ηθ./Cast: Λάζαρος Ανδρέου, Αργύρης Μπακιρτζής, Δώρα Μασκλαβάνου, Βίνα Ασίκη, Χρήστος Βακαλόπουλος. Παρ./Prod.: Αλέκος Παπαγεωργίου, Σταύρος Τσιώλης, ΕΚΚ. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 90΄.

After the death of his wife, a merchant wanders around Peloponnese with his musician friend in search of a date tree. Thanks to an old photograph, they are going to find out if the former’s wife has been unfaithful to him and if the latter is partly responsible. Stavros Tsiolis inaugurates a series of existential male-bonding comic trips, with Argyris Bakirtzis as a constant protagonist.

U-Turn

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1991, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Νίκος Γραμματικός. Σεν./Scr.: Νίκος Γραμματικός, Μηνάς Χατζησάββας, Φωτεινή Σισκοπούλου. Φωτ./Cin.: Κωστής Γκίκας. Μοντ./Ed.: Γιώργος Μαυροψαρίδης. Μουσ./Mus.: Κυριάκος Σφέτσας. Ηθ./Cast: Μηνάς Χατζησάββας, Αλεξάνδρα Σακελλαροπούλου, Γιώργος Νινιός, Γιώργος Μωρόγιαννης. Παρ./Prod.: Νίκος Γραμματικός, Παναγιώτης Παπαχατζής, ΕΚΚ. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 85΄.

Andreas, an outcast car thief, falls into a trap set up by his only “friend” together with a mysterious woman, Ismini, who seduces him. Like in a typical film noir, the hero’s paths gradually narrow down, as he walks towards a predefined ending, with the decadent and dark city suburbs as a constant background throughout the story.

I Dream Of My Friends

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1993, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Νίκος Παναγιωτόπουλος. Σεν./Scr.: Νίκος Παναγιωτόπουλος, Δημήτρης Νόλλας (βιβλίο). Φωτ./Cin.: Γιώργος Φρέντζος. Μοντ./Ed.: Γιώργος Τριανταφύλλου. Μουσ./Mus.: Γιάννης Έξαρχος. Ηθ./Cast: Λευτέρης Βογιατζής, Ακύλλας Καραζήσης, Γιάννης Καρατζογιάννης, Στάθης Λιβαθηνός, Μηνάς Χατζησάββας. Παρ./Prod.: Stefi, ΕΚΚ. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 114΄.

Four stories from the life of a 50-year-old man, based on the stories under the same title by Dimitris Nollas, compose an unusual road movie that documents the story of a whole generation. From Berlin in 1965 to Athens in 1990, a journey of memories and meetings, a life account within a totally male-centred universe.

From The Snow 

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1993, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Σωτήρης Γκορίτσας. Σεν./Scr.: Σωτήρης Γκορίτσας, Σωτήρης Δημητρίου  (βιβλίο). Φωτ./Cin.: Σταμάτης Γιαννούλης. Μοντ./Ed.: Τάκης Κουμουνδούρου. Μουσ./Mus.: Νίκος Κυπουργός. Ηθ./Cast: Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης, Βασίλης Ελευθεριάδης, Αντώνης Μανωλάς, Μάνια Παπαδημητρίου. Παρ./Prod.: Υπερίων, Σωτήρης Γκορίτσας, Παναγιώτης Παπαχατζής, ΕΚΚ. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 90΄.

Three Albanian refugees illegally enter Greece looking for a better and safer future in one of the first examinations of the phenomenon of Albanian immigration to Greece. The film documents their journey from the Greek borders to the underworld of Omonoia square, where they come into contact with extreme poverty, the early racism of Greek society, the death of their dreams.

End of an Era

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1994, Α&Μ-εγχ./B&W-col.

Σκην./Dir.: Αντώνης Κόκκινος. Σεν./Scr.: Αντώνης Κόκκινος. Φωτ./Cin.: Σταύρος Χασάπης. Μοντ./Ed.: Ιωάννα Σπηλιοπούλου. Μουσ./Mus.: Γιάννης «Μπαχ» Σπυρόπουλος. Ηθ./Cast: Κώστας Καζανάς, Δημοσθένης Παπαδόπουλος, Γιώργος Πυρπασσόπουλος, Δέσποινα Κούρτη, Πέγκυ Τρικαλιώτη. Παρ./Prod.: Υπερίων, Παναγιώτης Παπαχατζής, ΕΚΚ, Αντώνης Κόκκινος. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 100΄.

A middle-aged man remembers his adolescence, back in 1969, when he had first arrived with his family from the countryside to the capital in order to go to a boys’ school. The film is formed as a rite of passage for the generation that grew up under the oppressive climate of the dictatorship and managed to survive thanks to a sense of humour, love and music.

The Triumph of Time

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1996, Σέπια/Sepia

Σκην./Dir.: Βασίλης Μαζωμένος. Σεν./Scr.: Βασίλης Μαζωμένος. Φωτ./Cin. & Computer Animation: Παναγιώτης Καραγεώργης. Μοντ./Ed.: Τάσος Μπιτσακάκης. Μουσ. Επιμ./Mus.: Βασίλης Μαζωμένος. Αφηγ./Narr: Κώστας Σφήκας. Παρ./Prod.: AVD-Γιαννίκος, Γιάννης Κουτσομύτης, Βασίλης Μαζωμένος. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 72΄.

In an original and unusual animation film, Don Quixote and Charlie Chaplin -as his personal cinematographer- guide us through the museum of arrogance of western civilisation. From the Spanish Golden Century to the modern era, Don Quixote struggles to save the world from crumbling down and to send his subjects to an imaginary paradise.

The Spring Gathering

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1999, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Δήμος Αβδελιώδης. Σεν./Scr.: Δήμος Αβδελιώδης. Φωτ./Cin.: Σωτήρης Περρέας, Αλέκος Γιάνναρος, Νίκος Ζανίκος, Λίνος Μεϊντάνης. Μοντ./Ed.: Κώστας Ιορδανίδης. Ηθ./Cast: Αγγελική Μαλάντη, Άγγελος Παντελάρας, Τάκης Αγορής, Γιάννης Τσουμπαριώτης, Στέλιος Μακριάς, Παναγιώτης Λούρος. Παρ./Prod.: Δήμος Αβδελιώδης, ΕΚΚ, ΕΤ1. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 178΄.

In the 1960s, the local field watchman in a small village at the Greek island of Chios dies and four new watchmen are consecutively assigned to fill the vacant position. However, they fail to do so one after the other. Through the change of seasons, scenery, music and photography, Avdeliodis sketches a detailed portrait of the Greek rural community.

Donusa

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1992, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Αγγελική Αντωνίου. Σεν./Scr.: Αγγελική Αντωνίου. Φωτ./Cin.: Pio Corradi. Μοντ./Ed.: Γιάννης Τσιτσόπουλος. Μουσ./Mus.: Νίκος Κυπουργός. Ηθ./Cast: Αντρέ Χέννικε, Χριστίνα Παπαμίχου, Δημήτρης Πουλικάκος, Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης, Εύα Κοταμανίδου, Χρήστος Τσάγκας, Τασσώ Καββαδία. Παρ./Prod.: Joschim von Vietinghoff . Διάρκεια/Dur.: 84΄.

The arrival of a German photographer disrupts the quiet winter life of the small island of Donusa and reveals a family tragedy. The male-dominated society of the island attempts to cover the crime, but the catalytic presence of the foreign person helps to break the silence.

Every Saturday

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1999, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Βασίλης Βαφέας/Vasilis Vafeas. Σεν./Scr.: Βασίλης Βαφέας/Vasilis Vafeas. Φωτ./Cin.: Κωστής Γκίκας/Kostis Gikas. Μοντ./Ed.: Κώστας Ιορδανίδης/Kostas Iordanidis. Μουσ./Mus.: Μιχάλης Χριστοδουλίδης/Mihalis Christodoulidis. Ηθ./Cast: Κώστας Βουτσάς/Kostas Voutsas, Νίκος Πουρσανίδης/Nikos Poursanidis, Ελευθερία Βιδάλη/Eleftheria Vidali. Παρ./Prod.: Σίγμα, ΕΚΚ, ΕΡΤ, Τονικον, Βασίλης Βαφέας/Vasilis Vafeas. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 98΄.

A womanising theatre and TV actor meets his 15-year-old son every Saturday. This specific Saturday, Thanassis faces multiple love troubles, while his son looks forward to his first date. Will this Saturday bring them closer or will they have to wait until the next one?

Lovers Beyond Time

Greece/Ελλάδα, 1990, εγχ./col.

Σκην./Dir.: Δημήτρης Παναγιωτάτος/Dimitris Panayiotatos. Σεν./Scr.: Πέτρος Μάρκαρης/Petros Markaris, Νίνος Φενέκ Μικελίδης/Ninos Fenek Mikelidis. Φωτ./Cin.: Τάσος Αλεξάκης/Tasos Alexakis. Μοντ./Ed.: Ανδρέας Ανδρεαδάκης/Andreas Andreadakis. Μουσ./Mus.: Δημήτρης Παπαδημητρίου/Dimitris Papadimitriou. Ηθ./Cast: Benoit Roussel, Τάκης Μόσχος/Takis Moschos, Χριστίνα Αλεξάντερ/Christina Alexander, Δημήτρης Πουλικάκος/Dimitris Poulikakos. Παρ./Prod.: ΕΚΚ, ΕΤ1, Προοπτική, Δημήτρης Παναγιωτάτος/Dimitris Panayiotatos. Διάρκεια/Dur.: 85΄.

Sylvia breaks up with Angelos and continues her life with a doctor. However, three years after their separation, a series of inexplicable murders and unjustifiable sexual urges comes to disrupt her life. Behind these unrealistic phenomena hides Angelos who has created a time machine and travels through time in order to exterminate his rivals.