Panteli Voulgari retrospective in Thessaloniki and Athens
The thirteen feature-length and four short films directed by Pantelis Voulgaris will be screened at the Stavros Tornes theater from November 24th until December 1st and at the Film Gallery of Greece in Athens from December 8th to 14th.
At the dedication station, before the screening of the film “The Last”, Pantelis Voulgaris who is in the room to talk about his life, his work and the most important people in his great career. On Wednesday, November 30, after the screening of the film “Little England”, Paris Mouratidis (member of EDIP of the Film Department of AUTH, member of EMEKT – Greek Cinema & Television Study Laboratory) will deliver a masterclass entitled “Little England: A Distinctive Text” .
Pantelis Voulgaris with Giorgos Fredzos on the set of “Everything is a Road”
Screening Program (in Thessaloniki)
Thursday, November 24
20:30 The Last Note (2017)
Napoleon Soukatzidis, fighter of the popular movement, communist trade unionist and prisoner in exile and prison since 1936, acts as an interpreter for the German commander of the camp, Karl Fischer. All German savagery passes before his eyes. He is one of the 200 people selected to be executed on May 1st in Kaisariani, as a copy of the death of four Germans by the action of the Greek Resistance. On the day of the execution he will be faced with a dilemma of his life, when Fischer will give him the possibility to opt out but put someone else in his place.
Friday, November 25
19:30 The Great Lover (1973)
A visual journey to Athens, through a series of ten love songs by Manos Hadjidakis in lyrics by Elytis, Sapphos, Cavafy, etc. with the voices of Flerys Dantonakis and Dimitris Psarianou. A masterful cinematic experiment, in collaboration with two beloved creators – Voulgaris and Hadzidakis –, superbly photographed by Giorgos Arvanitis and Giorgos Panousopoulos.
21:15 Anna’s Consulate (1972)
Anna, a poor village girl, has been working for ten years as a domestic servant in a middle-class Athenian family. The bosses, when Anna reaches marriageable age, choose a new account for her and invite him to the house on a Sunday. That same night Anna alone to go out with the prospective groom. In this short outing, Anna will feel for the first time in her life the emotions that until then she was suffocating deep inside. But when he returns home, he will discover that the moods of the family have changed.
Saturday, November 26
18:30 Happy Days (1976)
On an island, scorched by the sun and battered by the winds, a camp of political prisoners awaits the visit of the “great mother”, preparing a feast in her honor. A prisoner, persistently refusing to express remorse, disappears and the camp authorities declare him dead, as a suicide. But, on the day of the official visit and during the celebration, the “dead man”.
21:30 The Stone Years (1985)
18-year-old Eleni and 22-year-old Babis meet and fall in love in Thessaly, in 1954. Very soon, Babis is arrested for illegal political activity and sentenced to a long prison term. Eleni, who is also recorded, flees to Athens where she will live, in a state of illegality, until 1966. When, in 1966, Babis is transferred from Crete to the prisons of Aegina, Eleni manages to enter the ship to see for a while , even from afar. Persecutions in the post-war years, persecutions in the seven years of the Junta and people with strength and heart.
Sunday, November 27
19:00 Quiet Days in August (1991)
Those who stay in Athens in August are the loners or those who prefer it deserted. The heroes of the film represent these categories. They are looking for company, for love, for communication. A female figure in a lighted window, a couple of glances at the empty train carriage, an unknown male voice on the phone, can start a human relationship. No one knows where a knowledge may end up. The need for contact prevails regardless of the price. Three stories of life in Augustan Athens linked by loneliness, the need for contact and the full moon.
21:30 Everything is a Road (1998)
A spine-tingling film about three people heading towards a defining moment in their lives. Xaronian coin: an archaeologist, whose son committed suicide in the army, discovers in an excavation a tomb with the remains of an officer from Greek times. The last pygmy goose: a group of ornithologists goes to the Ebro Delta to find, with the help of an old gamekeeper, the last pygmy goose that has taken refuge there. Vietnam: a middle-aged factory owner, pissed off because his wife took their children and left him, literally flattens a rural doghouse.
Monday, November 28
19:00 The 9 Shirt (1988)
Based on the novel of the same name by Meni Koumandarea, the film tells the life and works of Vassilis Seretis, a young, unknown, poor, but talented and ambitious football player, who dreams of conquering the fields. The hero is willing to give everything and suffer any situation in order to conquer the football firmament. With his talent as his only weapon, he tries to define his destiny, on a route from Thessaloniki to Volos and from there to Athens. With him, we taste the mud of the fields, the loneliness of the countryside, the “sold out” matches, but also the ephemeral glow of success.
21:30 Acropolis (1995)
Athens, 1950s. The Prince, the self-made theater entrepreneur of the inspection theater “Acropolis”, fires one of the leading actresses of the troupe, because she is drunk on the opening night. To replace him, he turns to the female comedy specialist Laki Loizos, a former child prodigy of the cinema, who runs a stunt agency. Lakis is at first surprised by the unexpected proposal, but finally decides to try his luck on the board of the famous theater.
Tuesday, November 29
18:30 Panteli Voulgari’s Short Films
The Thief (1965, 20′)
A police officer catches a pickpocket after some illegal activity on a bus, but is willing to hear what led him to the crime.
Jimis the Tiger (1966,15′)
“Jimis the Tiger” is a family sportsman, who lives by showing off his skills in impromptu “shows” on the streets of Athens. One day a young German woman approaches him and asks his permission to take a series of photographs for a report. A tenderness will develop between them and they will spend a night together in a hotel room. The next morning, Tzimis will find himself accused of seducing the young foreigner to rob her…
Ce n’est pas que le debut (1962, 12′)
This is a document that was filmed illegally by Pantelis Voulgaris during the years of the Dictatorship. More specifically, it includes images from the funeral of George Papandreou, which developed into the first major popular anti-dictatorship event. The film was completed in Paris with the help of Kostas Gavras. The Greeks of the world displayed it in political gatherings against the Junta.
The Dance of the Goats (1971.22′)
Carnival is crazy all over Greece, but nowhere is it more unbridled and authentic than in Skyros. All the elements – the figures that are half human half alive, the strange masks, pantomimes, parodies and obscenities – identify the carnival of Skyros with the ancient Dionysia. This documentary presents the dance of the goats or “old men”, as well as a parallel celebration organized by the fishermen of the island.
20:00 Eleftherios Venizelos 1910-1927 (1980)
A biographical film about the great Greek politician Eleftherios Venizelos for the period between 1910-1927. The film refers to important events in Greek history such as the formation of a government by Venizelos after the Goudi Movement, his dispute with the King over Greece’s stance in the First World War, his temporary withdrawal from politics after the defeat . of the 1920 elections and the Asia Minor Disaster.
Wednesday, November 30
20:00 Little England (2013)
20-year-old Orsa is madly in love with Lieutenant Spyros Maltabe. The Closed character, does not reveal her secret to anyone. Her younger sister, Moska, wants to leave Andros, to escape the fate of the island’s women marrying sailors who are always missing or drowning. Their mother, Mina, overrides her daughters’ feelings and dates them in order to marry them off out of self-interest. The Orsa with the ship owner and captain Nikos Vatokouzis and a little later the Moscow with the now captain Spyros, and thus, unwittingly, mines her own home.
Thursday, December 1st
18:30 Deep Soul (2009)
In 1949, during the last months of the Civil War, in Grammos and Vichy, two brothers are drafted against their will into different camps. Anestis, 17 years old, goes to the National Army and Vlasis, 14 years old, to the Democratic Army. Having grown up in the area and knowing the hidden paths and passages, from the army guides. The captain-Vounisios, the machine gunner Giannoula, the second lieutenant Triantafyllos, the Kalamatian corporal, the brigadier Tsaglis and the 14-year-old rebel Foula are some of the faces that surround them, each carrying their own tragic story.
21:30 Brides (2004)
Summer 1922. Photographer Norman Harris and Nikki travel on the same ship to America. Norman in first place, Niki in third along with 700 other brides. All carry a photo of an unknown groom and their wedding dress in their suitcase. Norman is moved to see the third place brides. Niki is the one who impresses him the most. Little by little they get to know each other and fall in love. The ocean liner “King Alexander” arrives in New York harbor. The epilogue of the Nikis-Norman relationship is written on the deck.
Retrospective on Panteli Voulgari | Thursday 24 November – Wednesday 1 December 2022 | Stavros Tornes Hall (Warehouse 1, Limani, tel. 2310-378404) | General admission: 4 euros | In collaboration with the Film Archive of Greece With the support of the Hellenic Film Center Report more information at official website of the Thessaloniki Festival.
Scene from “Jimmy the Tiger”