Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Simply Breathtaking! Lightning Over the Parthenon - Almighty Zeus is angry!

What a magnificent shot from Petros Giannakouris for Associated Press...
A brilliant photo from a very talented photographer!
Thank You for sharing your view with the world, Petros! 


Almighty Zeus is angry!

Like a picture taken straight out of our Mythology books, a bolt of lightning illuminates the sky around the 2,500-year-old temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena, the Parthenon, in Athens early yesterday morning....

Read the relevant article 
from the Daily Mail / from To Vima (In Greek) / Time (Picture of the Day)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Αντίο Otto! Ευχαριστούμε, Danke, Thank You!!! Ethniki Ellados Geia sou!



Ευχαριστούμε Όττο! Thank you Otto!

"They were nine glorious years,...The circle is closed today and I am pleased to have achieved so much with you,"  
  
Otto Rehhagel, Greece's coach for the last 9 years, speaking to the Greek players before they returned to Greece yesterday...

Often referred to as 'King' Otto for masterminding Greece's Galanolefki triumph in the European Championship of 2004 and helping to make 2004 the Year of Greece, Otto Rehhagel resigned as coach yesterday along with his Global Greek assistant Yiannis Topalidis, after the match with Argentina's Albiceleste! 

We agree, they have been 9 glorious years for Greece's Ethniki Ellados!  

They did so well and even though they didn't get any further in this year's World Cup in South Africa, they left with their heads held high. They did their best and that's all we can expect! 

We're proud of our Greek team, and we're proud of their achievements. A huge thank you-efharisto to them and to Coach Otto Rehhagel for the wonderful journey they have given us since those incredible, unforgettable days in June and July of 2004.

We thank our friend Otto for helping make the Greek team    European Football Champions and for making us so incredibly proud to be Greek wherever in the world we happened to be!!! 

It was a marvellous journey. 

Whether you were a fan of soccer or just a lover of Greece and all it stands for, it was a wonderful 9 years and for that we thank him from the bottom of our hearts and dedicate the video below to him!
From all of us in the Global Greek World we wish our favourite German, but honorary Greek, Otto Rehhagel all the very best and hope that he will stay with us in Greece... 

The team he helped build, we're sure, would love to have him here watching and advising.

For the moment though...

Αντίο Otto! Ευχαριστούμε, Danke, Thank You!!!



Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Demis Roussos at The Theatre of Herodus Atticus - The Herodeion - Friday, 25 June 2010

 
'I would like to tell a very beautiful story now, a story about myself and a very old friend of mine, the Wind.... you know, everytime I go back to Greece and climb up to the small hill which is outside of Athens, I meet my friend the Wind and he's telling me beautiful stories, sad stories and happy stories, and then, as the time is passing by with the sound of the bouzoukis coming through Athens....'

With this introduction,  our internationally acclaimed Global Greek performer, Demis Roussos, launches into an unusual version of, yes you guessed it, My Friend the Wind, at his concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London , at the height of his career in 1974.

Interspersed with words such as Agape Mou, (Αγάπη μου), Manoula Mou, (Μανούλα μου)  and Eleni Mou (Ελένη μου), the song became an international hit and the sound of the bouzouki could be heard everywhere... a sound which would make it instantly recognisable.

My Friend the Wind, a song which would speak straight to the heart of Greeks no matter where they were in the world and which 36 years later still manages to travel us back to the sunny and carefree days of the endless Greek summer...


Demis was born Artemios  Ventouris Roussos on June 15, 1946 to 2nd generation Greek parents George and Olga, and raised in Alexandria, the heart of Egypt's wealthy and prosperous Greek Community.

When the Suez Crisis  blew up, his family was one of the many families  who were effectively expelled, leaving all their property and assets behind and forced to go to back to their homeland, Greece.

In Greece, Demis, who had a sound musical education, and exposure to many musical influences, Byzantine, Greek and Arabic,  participated in various musical bands beginning with The Idols when he was 17, the We Five and others.

In 1968 Demis, Vangelis (Papathanassiou) and Lucas Sideras, all former schoolmates at Athens' prestigious Leontios Lykeion, formed Aphrodite's Child, a group which would gain international success with songs such as and It's 5 O'Clock and Rain and Tears 


Even though Aphrodite's Child soon disbanded and each of them began solo careers, their friendship didn't end and Demis and Vangelis continued to record together occasionally.  
Their most successful collaboration was "Race to the End", a vocal adaptation of the musical theme from the Oscar winning film Chariots of Fire, also sung in Spanish as "Tu Libertad", whilst Demis also guested on the soundtrack to Blade Runner (1982) in the song Tales of the Future.)

Demis' solo career began with the song "We Shall Dance" but he released many successful songs, with wonderful melodies.

His single, "Forever and Ever", topped the charts in several countries in the mid 70's and  "My Friend the Wind" was one of his many international hits. 

Other hits with their special Greek flavour which became well known internationally and are still very popular today include

"Velvet Mornings"

"Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye",

and "Lovely Lady of Arcadia".




He appeared on various TV shows throughout Europe, and his guest slots on The Nana Mouskouri show in the UK, were among the most popular. 

Here our two Global Greeks duet on a very catchy traditional Greek song, To Gelekaki..  (Το Γελεκάκι)



On another of her shows, Nana and Demi sing a duet version of his hit single "Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun".




Based primarily in Athens, where his son, Cyril, went to school, Demis travelled extensively between London, (we remember meeting him at the Christmas Day service in 1984 at London's Aghia Sophia), Paris and many other cities in the following years. Demis continued to record many new songs but also recorded some of his hits in other languages. 

In 1985 as a passenger on a TWA flight with his wife, he had a life-changing experience when the flight was hijacked on departure  from Athens and on surviving this ordeal, he felt like he was given a new lease on life. Apparently the hijackers were so impressed that they had a celebrity of Demis' stature on the flight that they even celebrated his upcoming birthday together...

After 1985 he made a comeback releasing new songs which became widely popular and has made a lot of personal appearances, including tours and concerts in Russia, Dubai, Germany, Holland and other European countries.


We are really looking forward to seeing and listening to Demi's unique voice as he performs old favourites and new at his much-awaited concert on 25 June 2010, at 9 pm, kicking off his world tour at the  Herodus Atticus Theatre under Athens' magnificent Parthenon. 

Demis, we thank you for all the wonderful music you have given us. We are really looking forward to your concert... we are really looking forward to hearing the music we loved and the songs we sang along to as we were growing up in the various Greek Communities  around the world. These beautiful nostalgic songs and melodies from one of Greece's most talented ambassadors, helped made Greek music so popular around the world.  

If you want to go, click here, but bear in mind that the tickets went on sale on 4th of June  and sold like hot ....souvlakia!

See you there!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Tonight! Greece vs Argentina ! Hellas Ole Ole!!! Good Luck! Καλή Επιτυχία!






In just over an hour Greece will be taking on the mighty Argentina in what promises to be a gripping game in their 2010  World Cup Odyssey, after defeating Nigeria by 2-1 in  one of the most exciting games so far! 






Let's show the world just what Greece can do!






But whatever happens today we're proud of our Greek team and thank them and Coach Otto Rehhagel for the wonderful journey Greek football has given us since those wonderful, incredible, unforgettable days in June and July of 2004, when the Greek team  became the European Football Champions and made us so incredibly proud to be Greek wherever in the world we happened to be!!!







Wherever we are in the Global Greek World today, our heart  and souls are with the Greek team in South Africa and wish them the very best of luck for this critical game...








Καλή   Επιτυχία!!! 


Go  Greece!!!!

The Beauty of Global Greece! Greek PM George Papandreou talks to Fox's Nicole Petallides About the Greek Economy

 Nicole Petallides
Photo Source: Fox Business News

This is what we love to see! One of our Global Greeks, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, talks to another, Greek American News Anchor for Fox TV, Nicole Petallides,  in an exclusive interview about the Greek Economy and why it's safe to invest in Greece...


Love the way she finishes off the interview by saying Καλή Τύχη!!!

Here is some more information about her!

Nicole Petallides joined FOX Business Network in September 2007. She is the floor correspondent at the New York Stock Exchange.

Prior to joining FOX, she was an anchor at Bloomberg Television where she reported from the New York Stock Exchange for the nationally syndicated shows, Bloomberg Business Report and Bloomberg Market Update. While at Bloomberg, Petallides also covered weekend news and served as a business news anchor for CW11's WPIX morning news program in New York.

Before joining Bloomberg, Petallides served as an assistant producer for CNBC, where she produced daily floor reports from the NYSE. Prior to CNBC, she was a segment producer for Dow Jones Television's The Wall Street Journal Report with Consuelo Mack and international programs Asian Business News and European Business News. Petallides has also contributed to FOX affiliate WNYW's morning show Good Day New York, NY1 News, CNN and News 12 Long Island.

Born in 1971 in Queens, New York, Nicole  is the daughter of Fannie Holliday and John C. Petallides.

Her father owns U.S. Amfax, a New York company that does telemarketing and promotions, a similar company called Salesforce 911, and Parent Reach, an emergency broadcast company.

Her mother is the founder and chief operating officer of Proini, a Greek-language daily newspaper, and of The Greek American, an English-language weekly newspaper.

Nicole graduated from American University in 1993 and in 1998 married fellow greek-American, Manhattan dentist Nicholas Tsiolas in a ceremony performed by Archbishop Spyridon of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States. 


Monday, June 21, 2010

The Greek Beach Experience Coming to a City Near YOU! This Week On The Thames!



Feeling blue? Itching to chase the sun or to dig your feet into a few inches of  golden greek sand but can't get away for the moment? Well we can't bring the SUN to you but we've brought the SAND! 

Enjoy a taste of Greece right  in the heart of London...

From June 18th to the 27th the Greek National Tourist Organisation has brought 300 tonnes of sand  to London and set it up so that all our friends in London can enjoy a Greek Beach experience right at their doorstep!

Have a lunchtime snack or after work refreshment at the beach bar, which is open until 6pm each night, serving authentic Greek food and drink.

Enjoy the beach sports - beach volley, beach rackets, and beach soccer, face painting for the littlies or biggies too...and create sand sculptures... it's so much fun!

Whether you choose to relax on the sunbeds,  dance to the music by DJs Konstantinos and Avgoustinos, enjoy Greek Dancing performances by the London branch of the Lyceum of Greek Women or enter the competition for a trip to Greece, you will love the experience!

Come  Friday, it's time to  enjoy a taste of  Crete, on Saturday a taste of Halkidiki and on Sunday it's the turn of the Ionian Islands! 



Bring your family and see what beautiful Greece has in store for you this Summer!

OPA!!!



To Check out the programme Click here or visit the Greek National Tourist Organisation UK's Facebook Page

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Χρόνια Πολλά Μπαμπάκα! Happy Father's Day !


Dedicated to all those wonderful fathers out there who taught us so very much, not just to walk or to talk, but to think and to feel.... Especially dedicated to those who left this world way too early and who we miss so much. 

Not a day goes by when we don't think of him, a laugh here, a soft caress, a crushing hug, a thoughtful gesture, a smile, a kiss - special memories that we will always cherish...

Happy Father's Day, Dad! 

Χρόνια Πολλά, Μπαμπάκα...



Saturday, June 19, 2010

Dance for Greece - Wherever You Are In the World Today, Saturday 19th June! OPA!!!

 OPA!!!

With the phrase ' Dance for Greece', California resident and Philhellene, Dale Johns started a movement on Facebook to protest the very negative press Greece was getting on all levels in the last few months, by shouting to everyone to do what Greeks all over the world just love doing - DANCE! 

' Please start your own party where ever you are !! JUNE 19TH 19.00 Lets get Dancing  -  DANCE FOR GREECE'


 The response to Dale's initiative was impressive! Cities around the world, with the City of Rhodes at the forefront, have joined her call to Dance for Greece and show the rest of the world the real picture... that Greece is a safe country with a great love for life and is still the best tourist destination in the world!


Rhodes will be kicking things off with Maria Markou Velidaki's School of Dance. She and her dance school students will be dancing for Rhodes, for Greece. Four wonderful  dances with students aged between  7-16 years old.. Along with the rest of us, they feel that there has been a great deal of injustice towards Greece and her people...


  'We feel there has been great injustice of our beautiful country and truly lovely people and we want, as other cities and towns around the world are doing, to dance our famous Syrtaki and have people join in with us. It will be in front of the 'Elafakia' at the Evangelismos in Rhodes town the 19th of June 2010 at 7:oo pm.'

The Facebook group  DANCE FOR GREECE - Χορός για την Ελλάδα now numbers nearly  1300 members!! Pretty impressive!


Lesley Demeda, one of the organisers, wrote on the wall a few days ago...

A very big "thank you" from me to all our members! We have just 3 days to go now. And this Saturday 19th at 19.00 we will DANCE FOR GREECE. It's been a pleasure to do this. And we have made some good friends too! You see what happens when you get together for a good reason. We want Greece, Greeks everywhere & people who love Greece to celebrate and have fun! This is our date people. Thank you so much.

 

Lesley and Dale, we thank you! We thank you for thinking of Greece! We thank you for taking the time to organise something which is to the benefit of the country we all love and which has been blackguarded so much by the world's press in the last few months. 

People should not be put off by what they read. Unfortunately blood and violence make good press and sells! We know that the publicity that is generated by the protests at Greece's austerity measures make it difficult for people who are unfamiliar with the country to realise that they will not necessarily affect their visit. We have been contacted by many people who need reassurance that things will be ok, and it is extremely upsetting that they should be made to feel like that, but we can understand them and sympathise.


This uncertainty has resulted in something like over 30,000 cancellations for the summer, which for a small country like Greece, especially in the midst of an economic crisis, is particularly significant, and we think it just shouldn't have happened.

We who live in Greece all know that Greece is a safe country with beautiful places to see, wonderful things to do and a lot of history and culture to experience and absorb.  


We just need to get that message around the world and initiatives like Dale's and Lesley's are especially valuable for doing just that! There are many others too. 


Global Greek Yiorgos Klivos' Facebook event SAVE GREECE: Let's all travel this summer to Greece has attracted nearly 38,000 people, while our own  Visit Greece This Summer page has nearly 1,000 members! Many people have joined the effort to promote Greece this year, each to the extent that they can, and each one of our Global Greeks of course are Greece's best Ambassadors-at-large! Every little bit helps! 


So...wherever you are tonight, whatever you're doing, put on your dancing shoes, go to the nearest Greek restaurant or club, and like Zorba the Greek says, Did you say Dance? Come on my boy!!!!  


Today, let's all Dance For Greece! OPA!!!


ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΟΛΟΙ ΧΟΡΕΥΟΥΜΕ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ!!!!!! ΟΠΑ!!!


Thursday, June 17, 2010

GO GREECE! Greece Celebrates World Cup First with 2-1 Win Over Nigeria!


What a fantastic game it was! These two videos will help you relive those tremendous moments!



When Salpigidis scored and equalised with Nigeria, every single Greek, wherever we are in the Global Greek World today, jumped for joy and hopes started to build up! As the ball came and went, and Greece missed several opportunities to score,  the ERT commentator sounded like he was about to have a heart attack or give us one....



When Torosidis scored that winning goal, not only did we jump, but for the next 15 minutes we all held our collective breath and hoped for the clock to stop.... 

Salpigidis - Torosidis - a clean sweep for Pontian Greeks, as one of our friends, Vangelis T, said! 

Thank you for the wonderful moments and the happiness you gave us all today! It was just the tonic we needed in these difficult times for Greece. Whatever happens next, we are all proud of you!

Μπράβο σας παιδιά! Μας κάνατε περήφανους! Εθνική Ελλάδος Γειά Σου!!! 

Ας κρατήσουν οι χοροί....




Global Greeks: Did you know Martha Stewart is One of our Global Greeks?

Martha Stewart 
Photo Source: David Shankbone


American home living business magnate Martha Helen Kostyra Stewart revealed that she has Greek heritage and that her father's family comes from the island of Kos, the home of Hippocrates, in the Dodecanese. 

As she told National Herald's Liana Sideri  

on my father’s side, a long time ago, I found out that I’m Greek, from the beautiful island of Kos. The family ultimately ended up in Poland. I have been to the island of Kos, and I saw the legendary sycamore tree under which Hippocrates is said to have authored his famous Hippocratic oath,” she said, informing the audience that she has grown three of these trees by procuring seeds from the Hippocrates Tree in Kos and bringing them to the United States.....  

We read it here on page 6 of the Hellenic Medical Society News,
(Thanks Liz K)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

It's All About Greeks - Bits n' Pieces From Around the World!

 Leo Bertos 
Photo Source: FIFA
 New Zealand Vs Slovakia 1-1 - The Greek Connection


Anyone watching the World Cup in South Africa knows about the plucky Kiwis who  in the last few seconds of their first game scored a magnificent goal and ended up drawing with Slovakia. What many of us following that game might not know, is that one of our very own Global Greeks is the All Whites' player wearing the No. 11 jersey, Greek-New Zealander, Leonidas Christos Bertos... Read More at Stuff.co.nz



The Firing Squad - Why Greece Lost it's First Game

Why did Greece lose to South Korea, so easily in fact as to make some say that “we lost a part of our national sovereignty,” a phrase so popular in the post-IMF era? The defeat is not hard to explain, depending on who you ask...Read More at Kathimerini



Greek Restaurateur pitches in to feed World Cup mob
Professional instincts kicked in for a septuagenarian restaurateur on holiday in South Africa, when he stepped behind the counter of a hamburger chain to help overwhelmed staff feed a mob of hungry World Cup fans.

Costas Kambouropoulos, a 71-year-old native of Greece and current Florida resident, was visiting South Africa with his son to attend matches involving the Greek and US sides, when ... Read More at Reuters


Saturday, June 12, 2010

Ellas Ole Ole!!! Greece in the 2010 World Cup ! Good Luck! Καλή Επιτυχία!


In just over an hour Greece will be starting it's 2010 World Cup Odyssey! 

 In 2004,  a milestone year for Greece, we lived through magical moments as Galanolefki Greece made us feel so proud as, just weeks before Athens' Magical, Dream Olympics,  they showed the world just what Greece can do! 


Incredible, unforgettable days in June and July of 2004, when the Greek team led by Coach Otto Rehhagel, or King Otto as he is fondly called,  became the European Football Champions and made us so incredibly proud to be Greek wherever in the world we happened to be!!!



Wherever we are in the Global Greek World today, our heart and souls are with the Greek team in South Africa as they play their first game with South Korea and wish them the very best of luck...



Καλή Επιτυχία!!! 

Go Greece!!!!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Greek Politicians: Payback Time! Εκτονωθείτε ελεύθερα... τα γιαούρτια είναι δωρεάν!


Fed up with the Greek Political System?  

Greek Payback
The game which helps you get rid of your frustrations,
also known as yiaourtoma, a classic Greek reaction ...

Βαρεθήκατε?

Εκτονωθείτε ελεύθερα... τα γιαούρτια είναι δωρεάν!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

It's LAGFF Time!!! 4th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival June 10 - 13, 2010

Four Black Suits
In a few days time the curtain will be rising on the 4th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) with a film line-up which is guaranteed to explore and entertain.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting Greek cinema, bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood and highlighting Greek contributions to the American film industry. Naturally, it has a number of prominent and award-winning Greek American Hollywood notables on it's advisory board, including Jim Gianopulos, Olympia Dukakis, Alexander Payne, Nia Vardalos, Kary Antholis, Sid Ganis and Phedon Papamichael.


About the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival
 
Apart from showcasing  new films by Greek filmakers, the Festival also offers screenings of film masterworks, seminars on important contemporary film issues, and tributes to significant filmmakers and performers of Greek origin. Orpheus Awards are given to the most outstanding new films in the dramatic, documentary and short film categories.

The 2010 line-up of films for its 4th annual Festival, which runs June 10 - 13 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood includes 7 feature films, 4 documentaries and 5 shorts, including 1 world premiere, 12 US premieres and 3 LA premieres during the 3-day Festival.

As LA Greek Film Festival celebrates its fourth year, we are proud to be the driving force behind the Greek film culture in Hollywood. We enjoy the opportunity to showcase amazing Greek cinema, content, filmmakers and talent to the entertainment industry and the Southern California communities,”  said Angeliki Giannakopoulos, Festival Co-Founder. 

“This is a prolific time for Greek film and has allowed for many filmmakers to create projects that raise questions about identity whether that is individual, cultural or national. Within the current crisis there is great opportunity, and we are extremely excited to see the fresh talent emerging out of Greek artists today,” said Ersi Danou, Festival Co-Founder.

Opening night of the Festival is the US premiere of director Vardis Marinakis’s BLACK FIELD (Mavro Livadi), starring Sofia Georgovassili. 

This will be followed by the LA Premiere of multi-festival winner DOGTOOTH (Kynodontas) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Christos Stergioglou, Michelle Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni and Hirstos Passalis.

DOGTOOTH will also be receiving a special prize for an achievement in filmmaking at this year's Orpheus Awards on Sunday, June 13. 

The Festival comes to a close Sunday, June 13 with a Gala event and US premiere of PLATO'S ACADEMY (Akadimia Platonos), directed by Filipos Tsitos and starring Antonis Kafetzopoulos and Anastasis Kozdine.

The LAGFF Closing Night will once again be hosted by "Deal or No Deal's" Patricia Kara.  

The night promises to be a gala event that you won't want to miss. Academy Award-winner Alexander Payne (SIDEWAYS) will present the Career Achievement award to filmmaker Phedon Papamichael. 
 

Papamichael has been the cinematographer on an impressive list of entertainment media ranging from the TV mini-series "Wild Palms" to the cinematic features PHENOMENON, PATCH ADAMS, THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL, MOONLIGHT MILE, SIDEWAYS, THE WEATHER MAN, WALK THE LINE, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, 3:10 TO YUMA, the upcoming KNIGHT AND DAY with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz and is currently in production on THE DESCENDANTS with George Clooney.

LAGFF's closing night Orpheus Awards' ceremony and Gala will be accompanied by sumptuous Mediterranean food served by La Fogata, Metaxa bar serving traditional Greek cocktails and exquisite Grecian wines.
The 4th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) runs from June 10 - 13 at Egyptian Theatre,located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, CA 90028. 

Volunteers Wanted!!!

If you are interested in volunteering, LAGFF is looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of preparation and on site organization leading up to and during this year's festival in Hollywood.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to experience first hand how a film festival comes together and to interact with a dynamic group.

Join LAGFF and learn what it takes to organize a film festival!

For a full programme schedule see below. For more information and tickets, including how to purchase Screening Passes and Gold Passes (VIP Access to all Events and Films), please  Click Here


FULL SCHEDULE PROGRAMME:

FEATURES
ARCADIA LOST
 
 USA/Greece, 2009, 90 min, LA Premiere
Director: Phedon Papamichael
Producer: Kelly Thomas
Executive Producers: Scott Chambers, Dan Giustina
With a coming of age theme of metaphysical undertones, the film follows the spiritual journey of two teenagers in the aftermath of a devastating car accident in the hidden terrain of Greece. Papamichael picks unseen before images of Greece that reveal the youths’ gradual psychological awakening.

BLACK FIELD (Mavro Livadi)
Greece, 2009, 104 min, US Premiere
Director: Vardis Marinakis
Producers: Highway Productions, Greek Film Centre, ERT, Nova, Lamisalia, 2/35, Yorgos Lykiardopoulos
Set in 1650, this is the love story of Anthi, a young nun, and an Ottoman Janissary warrior. Yet the story is only just beginning after they escape Anthi’s convent, for the nun has a secret: ‘she’ is in fact a ‘he’.  Thought-provoking and visually stunning, this film transcends gender and delves into matters of identity, loss, and restoration.

THE BUILDING MANAGER (O Diaheiristis)

Greece, 2009, 92 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Periklis Hoursoglou
Pavlos is a master at helping other people; his wife and children, his mother, and now the tenants of the residential block he has inherited. He tends to everyone’s needs except one: himself. All that changes when he meets Gianna, a beautiful woman half his age, and for a brief time Pavlos feels something he hasn’t felt in years: satisfied.

FIPRESCI'S prize, 50th Thessaloniki International Film Festival

DOGTOOTH (Kynodontas)

Greece, 2009, 94 min, LA Premiere
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Producer: Iraklis Mavroides
Intense and unyielding, this darkly comic fable spins around issues of control and power. Three siblings are confined to a sprawling estate where their parents have created a world with its own twisted rules and vocabulary. But when the eldest daughter questions the absolute authority of her father, she sets into motion a series of events that could rend their fragile world.

Winner, Un Certain Regard, Festival de Cannes, 2009

EVRIDIKI’S CASE (I Periptosi Evridiki)
Greece, 2009, 74 min, US premiere,
Director: Freddy Vianellis
Producer: MODIANO
Working through four cinematic themes at once, this engaging and unconventional film charts the life of Evridiki, who, after years of drug addiction and suffering, is now fighting to control her life. Interspersed with her chronicle of events is the development of a stage play, which provides a rich counterpoint to a personal account of the terrible lows of addiction.

FOUR BLACK SUITS (Tessera Mavra Koustoumia)

Greece, 2010, 90 min, US Premiere
Director: Renos Haralambidis
Producer: Angelo Venetis, Iraklis Mavroides, Takis Nikolakopoulos, Aris Dayios
Two down and out undertakers, an actor, and a convict get together in a desperate – and hilarious - attempt to change their trajectory of failure. The scheme: fulfill a rich dead man’s last wish to be transferred from Athens to his village in his coffin… on foot. But when the promised reward begins to appear as elusive as their final destination, things get complicated.

PLATO’S ACADEMY (Akadimia Platonos)
Germany/Greece, 2009, 103 min, US Premiere
Director: Filipos Tsitos
Producer: BAD MOVIES
Stavros’s days are spent caring for his senile mother, idling at his small Athenian shop, and harassing passing Albanians. But when he finds out that he has a missing brother who is Albanian, his Greek pride crumbles. Filled with comic moments, this poignant portrait of racial tension examines Greek attitudes to the immigrant influx in what used to be a homogeneous society.

Leopard for Best Actor, Ecumenical Jury Prize, Youth Jury Prize
Locarno International Film Festival 2009
Best Feature Award, Tirana International Film Festival 2009
Silver Taiga Award, Spirit of Fire, International Debut Film Festival 2010

DOCUMENTARIES

COLOSSI OF LOVE

Greece, 2010, 59 min, US Premiere
Director: Nikkos Mistriotis
Producer: XYZ Productions
Unique to Greece of the 70s and 80s, the story of the ‘Kamaki’ men whose mission was to court and conquer female tourists, is funny and revealing at once. One marvels at the precise and benevolent code of the ‘Kamaki’ culture and, at the same time, is reminded of a society with strict and unyielding ethics that exists no longer.

PLUNDER FROM A BLEEDING LAND (Leilatontas mia Matomeni Hora)
Greece, 2009, 83 min, World Premiere
Director: Takis Papayiannidis
Producer: Republic of Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, GREEK FILM CENTER, ERT
Thirty-five years after the Turkish invasion in 1974, a Greek archaeologist visits Cyprus and is faced with the cultural ravages and looting in the island’s occupied territory. For the first time in these years, there is a joint effort by Greek and Turkish scientists to restore the disasters and preserve the rich heritage of Cyprus.

SUGARTOWN: THE DAY AFTER (Sugartown, I Epomeni Mera)

Germany/Greece, 2009, 68 min, US Premiere
Director: Kimon Tsakiris
Producer: Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averov
The Mayor of Zacharo or Sugartown is a man on a mission. A self-proclaimed hero, he is set on developing the town after devastating wildfires burned his constituency to the ground in 2007. Will his plans to maximize the burned land’s profitability and his indifference to the rule of law destroy what is left – a delicate ecosystem and a population bereft of homes and possessions?

WORDS OF RESISTANCE (Logos Kai Antistasi)
Greece, 2010, 78 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Timon Koulmasis
An intelligent look at the Greek men and women who were forced into self-exile at the time of dictatorship (1967-1974), and who took it upon themselves to publicly express their ideas of justice through a daily radio program broadcast by the German Deutsche Welle. The filmmaker questions the power of politically engaged speech and redefines its necessity today.

SHORTS

THE BOY AND THE TREE  (Ena Dentro Mia Fora)

Greece, 2009, 29 min, LA Premiere
Director: Panagiotis Rappas
Producer: TIME LAPSE PICTURES, Hellas
A tender fairy tale centered on the friendship between a withering tree on the sidewalk and a homeless little boy.

Best Animation Film, 5TH Animfest Athens, 2009
2nd Best Production for Children, European Broadcasters Union, 2009

CATS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD (Gata Ex Ouranou)
Greece, 2009, 21 min, US Premiere
Director: Dimitra Nikolopoulou
Producer: Haris Padouvas
Katerina never says no to anyone or anything. The unexpected arrival of a cat with her litter of kittens in her life becomes an eye-opener and forces her to rethink her priorities.

2nd Prize, Drama International Short Film Festival, 2009

THE CHARMER OF GRAMMOS (O Planeftis tou Grammou)

Greece, 2009 27 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Vangelis Efthymiou
Follow an aging, part hunter, part philosopher charmer as he searches for honey, one bee at a time, and explore the impact humans have on some of the most important players in our environment – the honeybees.

2nd Prize, 11th International Documentary Film Festival Thessaloniki

MESECINA
Greece, 2009, 30 min, US Premiere
Director: Sofia Exarchou
Producer: GUANACO, ERT
A very ill boy escapes his gloomy life at the hospital into the bustling streets of Athens, and gets a sweet taste of love.

1st Prize, Greek Association of Film Critics (PEKK Award), Greek Film Center Award, 2009

N’ ME FOR MYSELF (Ke Ego Gia Mena)

Greece, 2009, 20 min, US Premiere
Director: Georgis Grigorakis
Producer: Costas Lambropoulos
This energetically charged story reminds us that true love comes in all shapes and forms.

1st Prize, Drama International Short Film Festival, 2009

Sunday, June 6, 2010

GLOBAL GREECE: 2010 OXFORD MODULE SUMMER SEMINAR IN THESSALONIKI, GREECE


AMERICAN COLLEGE OF THESSALONIKI (ACT) AND SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN STUDIES AT OXFORD (SEESOX),ANNOUNCE THE 2010 OXFORD MODULE SUMMER SEMINAR IN THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Dr. Othon Anastasakis, of St. Anthony’s College, the University of Oxford, will teach European Politics, an advanced seminar on the politics of European integration since the end of the Cold War,at the American College of Thessaloniki this summer.

The course will cover the history of the European Union (EU) and its main institutions and policies,and will also examine the European Union’s expansion toward the post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

He will be joined by colleagues from St. Anthony’s who will deliver guest lecturers in the course.

Dr. Anastasakis is the Director of South East European Studies at Oxford.

He holds an MA in Comparative Politics and International Relations from Columbia University, New York, and a PhD in Comparative Government from the London School of Economics. His research interests include the EU’s eastern enlargement, transition and democratization in South East Europe, Greek foreign policy and the extreme right in Europe.

Mr. Antonis Kamaras, an Anatolia College Trustee and political and financial analyst, who was one of the catalysts behind this unique study abroad opportunity at ACT, describes this project and its significance for students in today’s world:

The American College of Thessaloniki, by virtue of its location in Thessaloniki, enjoys a privileged vantage point through which to examine South East Europe.

SEESOX, which belongs to St Anthony’s College, Oxford University’s graduate college specializing in international relations, is one of the two premierSouthern European research centers in Britain. As such, it has attracted very high caliber scholarship, on the region, from throughout the world.


The complementarities between SEESOX and ACT are very strong and this is the reason that has made me, as a Trustee of Anatolia, support their partnership.

This partnership has taken the form of the Oxford Module, which consists of courses designed and offered by SEESOX faculty at ACT’s campus.The Oxford Module, offered for the second year at ACT, gives an excellent opportunity to both students from the region and from the US andelsewhere to engage with major issues that drive the European project and its interaction with Southern Europe.

The importance of these themes has been underlined by Greece’s recent economic crisis, an event which is of regional, European and global consequence.

We live in an interconnected world, and what a better way for a young person, whether from Southern Europe or the united States, or for that matter fromany other place of the world, to explore the reality of that statement in Greece by attending the Oxford Module?

Scholarship aid is available for qualified students.

Eligibility criteria include: junior or senior standing; academic major in history, politics, international relations, or some related academic field; and good academic standing (GPA: 3.2).

Inquiries should be addressed to Dr. David Wisner at drd@act.edu.

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