PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Program in Hellenic Studies
Throughout the semester the program will have film screenings on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Scheide Caldwell House, Room 103.
Wednesday, February 9th at 5:00 p.m. K. Ferris, Rebetiko (subtitles)
The life of a rebetiko singer, from 1919 Smyrna to 1956 Athens. Along with her personal story unfolds the history of Greece during the first half of the 20th century and the evolution of rebetiko music.
Wednesday, February 16th at 5:00 p.m. M. Cacoyannis, A Matter of Dignity, 1957 (subtitles)
A woman's struggle to escape the dishonestly and conceit of her family. Chloe (Ellie Lambetti) is the daughter of a distinguished Athenian industrialist (George Pappas) who finds himself drowning under a sea of debt. The family, proud of their prominent social position, struggles to maintain a facade of wealth to little avail. With bankruptcy imminent, their only hope is for Chloe to accept a marriage proposal from a Greek-American millionaire despite her love for another man. Torn between passion and duty, Chloe must choose her destiny.
Thursday, February 17th at 7.30 p.m. L. Bogrand, Nuit sans Lune - Grèce Chanson Populaire et Rebetiko (subtitles) CANCELED (technical problem).
Wednesday, February 23rd at 5.00 p.m. Damianos, To the Ship (3d part subtitles) S. Dracopoulou, M. Gastine , Athens : In Search for the Lost City (subtitles)
Damianos, To the Ship (3d part subtitles), 1966
A film triptych: Three stages in the life of a mountain villager, who comes down to the valley and from there to Piraeus, to emigrate to Australia. The third part takes place in the poor neighborhoods of Piraeus. Alexis Damianos's film was an attempt to do "auteur cinema" outside the dominant studio system of commercial Greek cinema during this period.
S. Drakopoulou, M. Gastine, Athens : In Search for the Lost City (subtitles), Documentary, 60 min: The urban development of Athens seen through commercial fiction films from 1926 to 1980.
Thursday, February 24th at 7.30 p.m. Tzavelas, H Kalpiki Lira (no subtitles)
Tzavelas, H Kalpiki Lira , 1955, 127 min. (no subtitles)
Four stories in 1955 Athens connected by a counterfeit gold coin that passes from hand to hand. One of the most famous films of the 1950s with excellent actors and beautiful images of Athens.
Wednesday, March 2nd at 5.00 p.m. G. Skopeteas, For Five Apartments and One Shop (subtitles), 2004, 110 min.
A documentary on the architectural and social evolution of Athens as shown in the Greek fiction films (1924-2004). The main vehicle of this journey is the narration of four Greek stars that have marked different periods of Greek cinema: Nikos Xanthopoulos, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Nikos Kalogeropoulos, Mirto Alikaki. In total, 530 shots of Athens taken from 184 films. They all prove that although Athens has been radically transformed in this period, it remained in close contact with the stories of the films and the way of living of the Athenians.
Thursday, March 3rd at 7.30 p.m. N. Koundouros, The Dragon (no subtitles), 1956, 105 min.
Thomas, an insignificant bank clerk, is going to spend new year's eve alone, when he discovers, much to his horror, that he looks exactly like a famous and much wanted criminal nicknamed by the press as "The Dragon of Athens." When the police starts chasing him, Thomas hides in a night club where he meets a gang of criminals who think he is really the "Dragon." The gang proposes to him to participate in a big robbery. Thomas, who wants to escape from his empty life, agrees. The end will be tragic.
Wednesday, March 9th at 5.00 p.m. M. Cacoyannis, Stella (subtitles), 1955, 92 min.
Stella (Melina Mecouri), a fiery singer with an insatiable appetite for men, defies the rules of conventional morality by refusing to marry. Determined to keep her independence, she discards her timid lover (Alekos Alexandrakis) and begins a torrid affair with Miltos (George Foundas), a brash local football hero who satisfies her hunger for unbridled passion. But when Miltos forces a marriage proposal upon her, Stella faces losing the freedom she desperately craves. The first Greek film to achieve international recognition, Stella confirmed Michael Cacoyannis' talents as a director of exceptional originality and vision.
Wednesday, March 30th at 5.00 p.m. P. Voulgaris, Anna’s Engagement (subtitles), 1972, 80 min
Anna is a poor village girl who has been working for an Athenian middle class family for ten years. When her mistress, an elderly lady, decides that it is time for her to get married, Anna's perception of her life changes dramatically.
Wednesday, April 6th at 5.00 p.m. S. Goritsas, From the Snow (with subtitles), 1993, 90 min
The hellish descent of three refugees, members of the Greek minority of Northern Epirus in Albania, "from the snow" to the depths of Omonia Square in Athens. There they will face hunger, the evaporation of the vision, and the first symptoms of modern Athenians' latent - but unconfessed - racism. The film is loosely based on Sotiris Dimitriou's novel May your name be blessed.
Wednesday, April 13th at 5.00 p.m. J. Nossiter, Signs and Wonders (in English), 2000, 108 min
Discussion will follow with James Lasdun, co-writer of the screenplay and Lecturer in the Council of the Humanities and Creative Writing.
Alec Fenton (Stellan Skarsgård), an American and his wife, Marjorie (Charlotte Rampling), an American of Greek origin, live with their two children in Athens. Both Alec's business life and his relationship with his daughter are guided by a playful but deeply felt need to interpret the smallest details of the world as significant. Under the influence of powerful signs and premonitions, Alec allows himself to veer in and out of a love affair with a colleague, Katherine (Deborah Kara Unger), eventually leaving his family and returning to America with his lover. Once there, however, the same belief system urges him back home for one final attempt to win back his family. But his new quest is endangered by the presence of a political activist, Andreas (Dimitris Katalifos), in his family's life. Andreas becomes the victim of a series of incidents, each one more threatening than the last
Wednesday, April 20th at 5.00 p.m. P. Koutsaftis, Mourning Rock (with subtitles), Documentary, 2001, 87 minutes
"Eleusis is a small industrial town some 20 kilometers west of Athens. Since prehistoric times it has been linked to the favorite legend of the ancients, the myth of Demeter, goddess of the earth, of agriculture and of fertility in general, and her daughter Persephone. The Eleusinian Mysteries that were held here for two thousand years were related to the life cycle itself and granted the mystoe, or initiates, hope and blessedness in facing death. Here where according to legend grain, the gift of the goddess was first cultivated, some of Greece's largest industries developed with catastrophic consequences on the environment and the sanctuary. We have been filming this town for ten years from the perspective of the pilgrim. We observed everyday activities both humble and grandiose, discovering grave offerings from its ancient identity built into its modern life. Eleusis lies to the west. It is a sacred place, a landmark and a vantage-point from where one can gaze outward at the world around as well as inward into one's self."
Last updated 4/18/05