San Francisco Silent Film Festival begins tonight! Castro Theater, Opening Night Event starts 7 pm7/13/2023
A Feast for classic film and live music lovers! |
 Josephine Baker & Jean Gabin in ZOU ZOU |  Michèle Morgan & Jean Gabin in REMORQUES (STORMY WATERS) |
 Marlene Dietrich & Jean Gabin in MARTIN ROUMAGNAC (THE ROOM UPSTAIRS) |  Jean Gabin & ida Lupino in MOONTIDE |
GABIN 118 delights in finding films from disparate locations in Gabin’s career that showcase his steadfast persona being stretched by the wide-ranging material that interested him. “Gabin had to lobby hard to play opposite Josephine Baker in ZOU ZOU (1934), our opening film on Sunday afternoon,” Malcolm notes. “The result is a scintillating collision of personalities set in the free-for-all world of the Parisian music hall (from which, as you might remember, Gabin himself emerged).’’
Baker is often electrifying in ZOU ZOU, and you’d think she might blow Gabin off the screen with her exotic, sexualized presence. “But Gabin just stands there and holds his own,” Malcolm smiles, “and the story eventually pivots to his troubles. This is the first time, I think, where it’s clear that Gabin can command the screen without necessarily being the primary focus of the story. It’s a window into what made him so incredibly successful in so many different types of pictures.”
The second Sunday afternoon film, GUEULE D’AMOUR aka LADY KILLER (1937), is the orphan child of the Poetic Realist moment, with Jean Grémillon providing a significant variation from the better-known PEPE LE MOKO. “It’s a reteaming of the two stars of PEPE,” Malcolm explains, “but that turns the tables on both their characters. Gremillon knows that Gabin can take care of himself on screen, so he builds up the mystery and allure around Mireille Balin, who became—at least for a little while—the biggest movie star in France.”
The screening of LADY KILLER is a wonderful (and rare) opportunity to “check another box” with respect to the classic films from that mysterious, alluring, shape-shifting phenomenon known as Poetic Realism. “Gremillon is the least known of the directors associated with that movement,” Malcolm notes. “And we’re pleased to have two of his best films in this series.”
The matinee triple bill concludes with an intriguing curio from Gabin’s brief stay in Hollywood during WWII. MOONTIDE (1942) shows what happens when an international star is put through the Tinsel Town wringer. “Hollywood had found a way to assimilate Charles Boyer,” Malcolm notes, “because Boyer wore a tuxedo as well as anyone. But while you could dress up Gabin, he was no fashion plate—he was a man of the people. So, in MOONTIDE they take that idea a bit too far, and the results are a bit weird. But somehow it all works: Gabin’s chemistry with Ida Lupino and Claude Rains and the film’s brilliantly atmospheric photography keep you glued to the screen.”
Sunday evening’s show is one that holds great excitement for “renegade programmer” Malcolm. “These two films—STORMY WATERS and PEOPLE OF NO IMPORTANCE—are deeply engaged with the complex essence of Gabin’s acting style and his search for complex characters who can be portrayed with his unique brand of deceptive naturalism,” Don notes.
In both films, Gabin is a married man engaging in an affair with a younger woman, but from there all the circumstances (and all the character colorations) are different. “A sea captain and a trucker—men who choose solitude for their profession but who somehow wind up embroiled in complicated situations despite themselves—Gabin excels at roles combining strength and vulnerability, and despite the relative obscurity of these two films, these are two of his greatest performances,” Don enthuses. “And the actresses playing opposite him—Michèle Morgan and Françoise Arnoul—are simply superb. People need to see these films!”
So, yes, it’s a marathon day: but past audiences know that such days often prove to be the very best experiences one can have in a movie theater—particularly with the “renegade programmer” at the controls!
MONDAY evening brings us the fabled, bittersweet coupling of Gabin and Dietrich, in a film that, as noted previously, embodies the metaphorical arc of a world-famous love affair. “Unfortunately, Gabin wanted children—and Dietrich was not able to provide him with babies,” Don notes. “After Gabin had children of his own, we start to see Gabin with children in films, and we can see from his on-screen reaction to them how much children meant to him.”
MARTIN ROUMAGNAC would set the tone for many of the Gabin films that followed until his full commercial renaissance in 1954 after TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI. In this shadowy in-between period, he made films about men leading double lives, men who are lost; men who are blind, men who are unwitting murder victims—some of Gabin’s best performances are found in those years and still await rediscovery. Malcolm promises at least one of them in the next FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT festival (coming as usual in November).
The series concludes with an echo of GRISBI, in a film that is, in fact, a kind of sequel to it. “LE CAVE SE REBIFFE was novelist Albert Simonin’s follow-up to GRISBI,” Don notes, “and it was a standard gangster tale featuring Gabin’s character Max le Menteur. But Gabin’s friend and collaborator Gilles Grangier decided that the story take a more comic tone, so he hired noted scenarist Michel Audiard to rewrite it for the screen.”
The result is a rollicking caper film, one of the first (and best) of the “crime comedies” that flourished in France under the shadow of the Nouvelle Vague during the 1960s, with Gabin as a legendary counterfeiter lured out of retirement for the obligatory “one last job” (it seems there was one pigeon that got away!). Only Gabin doesn’t know how bumbling and incompetent his crew is, and how many absurd obstacles they will create for themselves as their efforts come closer to “crunch time.”
LE CAVE SE REBIFFE (aka COUNTERFEITERS OF PARIS) has a stellar cast in support of Gabin (Bernard Blier, Martine Carol, Franck Villard, Ginette Leclerc, and the imperious Françoise Rosay) and boasts a very satisfying twist ending. “I think of it as a wonderful palate-cleanser with which to conclude a feast of filmwatching,” Don smiles. “And I think the French would approve!”
Baker is often electrifying in ZOU ZOU, and you’d think she might blow Gabin off the screen with her exotic, sexualized presence. “But Gabin just stands there and holds his own,” Malcolm smiles, “and the story eventually pivots to his troubles. This is the first time, I think, where it’s clear that Gabin can command the screen without necessarily being the primary focus of the story. It’s a window into what made him so incredibly successful in so many different types of pictures.”
The second Sunday afternoon film, GUEULE D’AMOUR aka LADY KILLER (1937), is the orphan child of the Poetic Realist moment, with Jean Grémillon providing a significant variation from the better-known PEPE LE MOKO. “It’s a reteaming of the two stars of PEPE,” Malcolm explains, “but that turns the tables on both their characters. Gremillon knows that Gabin can take care of himself on screen, so he builds up the mystery and allure around Mireille Balin, who became—at least for a little while—the biggest movie star in France.”
The screening of LADY KILLER is a wonderful (and rare) opportunity to “check another box” with respect to the classic films from that mysterious, alluring, shape-shifting phenomenon known as Poetic Realism. “Gremillon is the least known of the directors associated with that movement,” Malcolm notes. “And we’re pleased to have two of his best films in this series.”
The matinee triple bill concludes with an intriguing curio from Gabin’s brief stay in Hollywood during WWII. MOONTIDE (1942) shows what happens when an international star is put through the Tinsel Town wringer. “Hollywood had found a way to assimilate Charles Boyer,” Malcolm notes, “because Boyer wore a tuxedo as well as anyone. But while you could dress up Gabin, he was no fashion plate—he was a man of the people. So, in MOONTIDE they take that idea a bit too far, and the results are a bit weird. But somehow it all works: Gabin’s chemistry with Ida Lupino and Claude Rains and the film’s brilliantly atmospheric photography keep you glued to the screen.”
Sunday evening’s show is one that holds great excitement for “renegade programmer” Malcolm. “These two films—STORMY WATERS and PEOPLE OF NO IMPORTANCE—are deeply engaged with the complex essence of Gabin’s acting style and his search for complex characters who can be portrayed with his unique brand of deceptive naturalism,” Don notes.
In both films, Gabin is a married man engaging in an affair with a younger woman, but from there all the circumstances (and all the character colorations) are different. “A sea captain and a trucker—men who choose solitude for their profession but who somehow wind up embroiled in complicated situations despite themselves—Gabin excels at roles combining strength and vulnerability, and despite the relative obscurity of these two films, these are two of his greatest performances,” Don enthuses. “And the actresses playing opposite him—Michèle Morgan and Françoise Arnoul—are simply superb. People need to see these films!”
So, yes, it’s a marathon day: but past audiences know that such days often prove to be the very best experiences one can have in a movie theater—particularly with the “renegade programmer” at the controls!
MONDAY evening brings us the fabled, bittersweet coupling of Gabin and Dietrich, in a film that, as noted previously, embodies the metaphorical arc of a world-famous love affair. “Unfortunately, Gabin wanted children—and Dietrich was not able to provide him with babies,” Don notes. “After Gabin had children of his own, we start to see Gabin with children in films, and we can see from his on-screen reaction to them how much children meant to him.”
MARTIN ROUMAGNAC would set the tone for many of the Gabin films that followed until his full commercial renaissance in 1954 after TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI. In this shadowy in-between period, he made films about men leading double lives, men who are lost; men who are blind, men who are unwitting murder victims—some of Gabin’s best performances are found in those years and still await rediscovery. Malcolm promises at least one of them in the next FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT festival (coming as usual in November).
The series concludes with an echo of GRISBI, in a film that is, in fact, a kind of sequel to it. “LE CAVE SE REBIFFE was novelist Albert Simonin’s follow-up to GRISBI,” Don notes, “and it was a standard gangster tale featuring Gabin’s character Max le Menteur. But Gabin’s friend and collaborator Gilles Grangier decided that the story take a more comic tone, so he hired noted scenarist Michel Audiard to rewrite it for the screen.”
The result is a rollicking caper film, one of the first (and best) of the “crime comedies” that flourished in France under the shadow of the Nouvelle Vague during the 1960s, with Gabin as a legendary counterfeiter lured out of retirement for the obligatory “one last job” (it seems there was one pigeon that got away!). Only Gabin doesn’t know how bumbling and incompetent his crew is, and how many absurd obstacles they will create for themselves as their efforts come closer to “crunch time.”
LE CAVE SE REBIFFE (aka COUNTERFEITERS OF PARIS) has a stellar cast in support of Gabin (Bernard Blier, Martine Carol, Franck Villard, Ginette Leclerc, and the imperious Françoise Rosay) and boasts a very satisfying twist ending. “I think of it as a wonderful palate-cleanser with which to conclude a feast of filmwatching,” Don smiles. “And I think the French would approve!”
Presenter Don Malcolm thinks Sunday night has the best films, although the others have better known stars to American audiences.
- The centerpiece of our Gabin birthday tribute occurs on Sunday evening with two films in which our hero is a haunted adulterer—a situation that shows the perils for a man with too much empathy for the opposite sex. In STORMY WATERS (1941), Gabin’s character is unaware of the emotional currents that are about to overwhelm him: he and his wife (Jacqueline Laurent) have lived in a state of denial since early in their marriage. Director Jean Gremillon uses the sea as a visceral metaphor that shows the danger of suddenly released passion; Michele Morgan, the only French cinema icon with more “eye power” than Gabin, is again the gentle catalyst for an unexpected reckoning.
- But it is perhaps in the criminally overlooked PEOPLE OF NO IMPORTANCE (1956) where we see the encroachments of the modern world as they both dictate and distort sexual politics and the viability of love itself. Torn from his family by an affair with a young woman he met on the road, Gabin’s trucker finds that his empathy for women can achieve little or nothing: his relations with all of them—his wife (the superbly beleaguered Yvette Etiévant), his daughter (Dany Carrel, alternately rebellious and remorseful), and his young, pregnant lover (Françoise Arnoul, luminous even in her terminal disaffection)—are irrevocably strained. A careless moment can undo all of the caring one gives…and there are no eyes more capable of registering this realization than Gabin’s.
San Francisco Greek Film Festival hybrid format;
virtual programs available for streaming April 8 - 16
Virtual Program tickets available soon
~ stay tuned ~
~ stay tuned ~
SFGFF 2022 VIRTUAL PROGRAMS, AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING APRIL 8-16
FEATURE NARRATIVE FILMS
MOON 66 QUESTIONS – Running Time 1hr 20 min.
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou
Synopsis: After years of distance, Artemis must get back to Athens due to her father's frail state of health. Discovering her father's well-kept secret allows Artemis to understand her father, in a way she was not able before, therefore love him truly for the first time.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUz16sNBrRU
Drama / All Audiences
Awards:
Winner Best Actor/Actress Award/Sofia Kokkali – Festival Du Nouveau Cinema (2021)
Winner Cineuropa Award/Best Film – Sarajevo Film Festival (2021)
Winner New Waves Award/Best Film – Seville European Film Festival (2021)
REMIND ME (GIA THIMISE MOU) – Running Time 1hr
Directors: Maria Svoliantopoulou, Antonis Renieris
Synopsis: Everything starts on a Group Therapy session. Eleni attends to face the bitter truth and cope with the situation with her mother, that has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The film features the side of the child that chooses to stand by the diseased parent till the end.
Drama / All Audiences
Awards:
Best Film Editing – 1st International Film Festival of Crete for Fiction Movies & Awards 2020
Best Original Film Song - 1st International Film Festival of Crete for Fiction Movies & Awards 2020
Best Feature Fiction Film Audience Choice Award - 1st International Film Festival of Crete for Fiction Movies & Awards 2020
Best Actor of Feature Film-Petros Farsarakis – Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (2021)
Best Actress of Feature Film-Amalia Zargianaki - – Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (2021)
Best Sound Design of Feature Film - Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (2021)
THE SISTERS KARRAS – Running Time 1hr 27 min
Director: Micah Stathis
Synopsis: Two estranged half-sisters form a complicated bond as they work together to retrieve their rare and precious inheritance, which their late father inexplicably leaves to the mysterious Marco.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/662043500
Drama /All Audiences
DOCUMENTARIES
ALPHABET COMMON CODE (ALPHA) – Running Time 49 min.
Directors: Agnes Sklavou, Stylianos Tatakis
Synopsis: A journey into the history and evolution of the Greek alphabet over the centuries and its connection with other languages. We study words, persons, myths, and concepts that start from Greek letters in all modern languages, and we explore their influence in the history of world culture. Alpha the first letter of the Greek alphabet, symbolizes the beginning, a starting point. From the goddess Athena and Plato's Academy to the Aegean Sea and the Abyss, an acquaintance with the letter from which it all began. How different cultures and languages use a common code “Alphabet” to communicate?
Documentary / All Audiences
SKG + Drag = BFF? – Running Time 27 min
Director: Eleftherios Hajianastasioo
Synopsis: The documentary focuses on 4 artists, Kharma Queen, Amelie Tea, Aurora Paola Morado and Dr. Oglie Boss, who describe what it is like to be a Drag Queen-King in the second largest city in Greece. The video consists of interviews and scenes from the performances of our Drag artists, as well as shots of our city. Finally, it focuses on the problems they face, but also on how much release it is for them to express themselves through drag.
Documentary / For Mature Audience / LGBTQ+
THE JEWS OF CORFU – Running Time 49 min.
Director: Mirjan Gjergjevica
Synopsis: Jews of Corfu: A population group that was an important part of the island, contributed to the formation of its history and to the development of trade and economy. But the tragic events that befell them were added to the black page of human history.
Documentary / All Audiences
CORFU, THE ISLAND OF PANCAKES – Running Time 54 min.
Directors: Spyros Badios, Spyros Paipetis
Synopsis: Corfu is one of the northern and most populated islands of the Mediterranean Sea. The marks from harsh times remain in some corners of its historic town center. Which was the important ingredient that shaped traditions and mostly helped the survival of not only Corfiots but people around the world through history? Pancakes are a round viand that is prepared with a basic mixture mostly of flour and water while archeological data shows that it might be the most ancient and widespread type of food with its structure and shape to vary from place to place.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/554959158
Documentary / All Audiences
REBETIKO UNDERGROUND – Running Time 31 min.
Directors: Apostolos Polymeris, Georgios Polymeris
Synopsis: Rebetiko Underground - A Research on Rebetiko is a short length documentary film about the spread of Rebetiko music and culture through the years in Europe.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQjhwrmYecE
Documentary / All Audiences
THE STRAY STORY: A DOGUMENTARY – Running Time 94 min.
Director: Christina Georgiou
Synopsis: In a consumerist world where everything, including man's best friend, is treated as disposable, everyday people aiding stray dogs remind us of what being human(e) is all about.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuxxLI9nGbY
Documentary / All Audiences / Cyprus
DR MARIA DELIVORIA - PAPADOPOULOS, THE "MOTHER" OF NEONATOLOGY – Running Time 1hr 47min.
Director: Antonis Kyritsanis
Synopsis: A personal narration of Maria Delivoria - Papadopoulos, known in the medical world as the "Mother" of neonatology, from her childhood, before the Second World War, until today. The survival in Greece of the German occupation and the civil war, the studies, the immigration to the USA, the brilliant scientific career, the recognition. A fictional life full of challenges and dilemmas as she remembers it. These always with the mind in Ithaca.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Q7Jb5WQW4
Documentary / All Audiences
LETHAL NATIONALISM: GENOCIDE OF THE GREEKS 1913-1923 – Running Time 1hr 10 min.
Director: Peter Lambrinatos
Synopsis: A historical documentary that for the first-time charts Ottoman Empire's and Turkish Nationalists Genocide of its 3,000-year-old ethnic Greek population, it took only 10 years to destroy over 3 Millenia of history. Since 1913 the Turkish government – including the founder of modern Turkey -- has exterminated or exiled over one million Christians of Greek heritage, collectively over 3 million Christian minorities of Asia Minor were exterminated. This was the Genocide that set the model for all future Genocides. Turkish governmental denial continues to this day. The veil of secrecy will be lifted, and the story of the Greeks of Asia Minor will be told.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G_EyonMPF8
Documentary /All Audiences
Awards:
Honorable Mention Best Documentary – Athens Marathon International Film Festival (2020)
KROUSSONAS: ON SATAN'S TRAIL – Running Time 1hr 45 min.
Director: Vicky Arvelakis
Synopsis: The documentary "Krousonas: On Satan's Trail" refers to the personality and action of the leader of the guerrilla group "Satanas", Antonios Grigorakis. A multi-layered cinematic "portrait" of him and the people who were his resistance group, shed light on the turbulent era he lived through. History is not always epic. People's precious microhistories of everyday life lead up to what we call major events. Kroussonas, a village in the eastern side of Psiloriti mountain in Crete, was the nourishing mother of the guerilla group of Satanas. Who were these flammable souls during the Second World War, who left their mark - while resisting the enemy - in their homeland? Who was Captain Satanas and how much burning desire for freedom was inside him to go against demons?
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6Naq8eKLs
Documentary / All Audiences
+1 – Running Time 1hr 15 min.
Director: Argyris Liapis
Synopsis: Three lives in a town. Anna-Maria makes her first steps in life. Orestis makes his first professional steps in painting. Maria finishes high school and makes dreams for her future. All three of them were born with an extra chromosome. All three of them were born with Down Syndrome. Orestis, Maria and Anna-Maria live in a town of Greece, Thessaloniki, and they are the main characters of this documentary. How can a redundancy cause ‘deficiencies’ and how can a ‘deficiency’ cause such an abundance?
Documentary / All Audiences
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/661574596
Documentary / All Audiences
Awards:
The Fischer Audience Award – 24th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (2022)
THE LAST VOYAGE – Running Time 58 min.
Director: Aris Chatzistefanou
Synopsis: A journey to modern Japan through the eyes of the great Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis (creator of Zorba the Greek) who visited the country before and after WWII. Sixty-five years after his fatal last journey in the pandemic-stricken country, his memoirs become the roadmap of a new voyage. Buddhist monks, prostitutes and Uber drivers co-exist in the land of manga, anime, and video games.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVq_AjOFtHc
Documentary / All Audiences
Awards:
Best Greek Film by the Greek Association on Film Critics – Thessaloniki, Greece (2022)
SHORTS
SON OF A DOG – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Georgios Mastrakoulis
Synopsis: Yannis' father is in hospital in a critical condition. On his way to the hospital, Yannis stops by the family home, where he realizes that the family dog is slowly dying of old age. At the hospital his father gives him a solution. Yannis must decide if he's ready to let him go.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/540781345
Drama / All Audiences
AT THE AIRPORT – Running Time 23 min
Director: Michalis Mathioudakis
Synopsis: In a small Greek island, Prokopis is the only employee of the local airport.
Comedy / All Audiences
Awards:
Audience Award – Micro μ Short Film Festival, Athens (2021)
MEA FILIA – Running Time 12 min.
Director: Christine Tsakmaka
Synopsis: Antigone and Stefanos are trying to start their own family. At the same time, Antigone bonds with little Danae, a five-year-old girl who lives in the orphanage that she runs.
Drama / All Audiences
FIRST SWIM – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Alexandros Kostopoulos
Synopsis: It’s the last day of the family’s vacations. A little girl wants to swim without her wings, but her parents want to postpone it until next summer. An allegory about the attitude of the Western civilization towards the refugee crisis.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/514333848
Drama / All Audiences
BETRAYAL – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Katiana Zachariou
Synopsis: 14-year-old Irene finds out a secret about her father that puts a strain on their relationship. Meanwhile, she discovers the power of telekinesis.
Drama / All Audiences
APRIL FOOL’S DAY – Running Time 18 min.
Director: Apostolis Iliopoulos
Synopsis: The life of a scavenger changes when he finds a book in the trash.
Drama / All Audiences
Awards:
Best Director Award – SEDIFF, Seoul (2016)
Best Short Film, New Directors Award – 6th Athens International Digital Film Festival (2017)
Set Design Special Award – BigBang International Short Film Festival
APODOMISI – Running Time 21 min
Director: Antonis Mandranis
Synopsis: A mother and a daughter can see each other only for one day after many years of departure
Drama / All Audiences
BEAUTY – Running Time 20 min
Director: Thanos Liberopoulos
Synopsis: Callie, an unemployed young woman living with her controlling mother, is looking for a way out through the glittery yet cruel YouTube beauty universe. She will go beyond her limits to please her handful of subscribers while keeping up a smiling face and maintaining a perfect image
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/570898612
Drama / All Audiences
HER’O – Running Time 13 min
Director: Maria Kasoli
Synopsis: Iro is an oppressed woman who lives in the countryside of Greece. She faces situations that will lead her to surpass her limits and reach her freedom.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npc1A9dJKeE&t=2s
Drama / All Audiences
JUST A THOUGHT – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Matteo Pizzocaro
Synopsis: Anna is waiting in a hospital hall. She is excited but also troubled. Her brother just woke up from an 11-month coma and she must tell him that she has fallen in love with Sofia, his fiancée. Suddenly, she realizes that everyone can hear what she has on her mind. Can just a thought give away her secret?
Drama /All Audiences
BREAK THE SILENCE – Running Time 13 min.
Director: Vaggelis Kalaitzis
Synopsis: Spyros dates deaf Eftihia while Maria is trapped in a violence wedding with Tasos. Their lives will change when one morning Spyros is running late to work.
Drama / All Audiences / Cyprus
VATHIKOFTO – Running Time 22 min.
Director: Ioanna Kryona
Synopsis: “What does vathikofto mean?” asked Eleni. “It’s a deep-cut décolleté” answered Anna slightly annoyed. Two girls, an empty suitcase, and the unpredictably fatal consequences of a single wrong lyric on a Saturday evening in Berlin.
Drama / All Audiences
THE KNIGHT’S HART – Running Time 30 min.
Director: Vivi Markatos
Synopsis: Col, a young farm boy, dreams of becoming a knight! On his journey he will visit a grand castle, explore a mysterious forest, and meet a colorful cast of characters. Will Col have the courage to face his fears, and prove he has what it takes to be a knight?
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLmwN2Oyl24
FEATURE NARRATIVE FILMS
MOON 66 QUESTIONS – Running Time 1hr 20 min.
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou
Synopsis: After years of distance, Artemis must get back to Athens due to her father's frail state of health. Discovering her father's well-kept secret allows Artemis to understand her father, in a way she was not able before, therefore love him truly for the first time.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUz16sNBrRU
Drama / All Audiences
Awards:
Winner Best Actor/Actress Award/Sofia Kokkali – Festival Du Nouveau Cinema (2021)
Winner Cineuropa Award/Best Film – Sarajevo Film Festival (2021)
Winner New Waves Award/Best Film – Seville European Film Festival (2021)
REMIND ME (GIA THIMISE MOU) – Running Time 1hr
Directors: Maria Svoliantopoulou, Antonis Renieris
Synopsis: Everything starts on a Group Therapy session. Eleni attends to face the bitter truth and cope with the situation with her mother, that has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The film features the side of the child that chooses to stand by the diseased parent till the end.
Drama / All Audiences
Awards:
Best Film Editing – 1st International Film Festival of Crete for Fiction Movies & Awards 2020
Best Original Film Song - 1st International Film Festival of Crete for Fiction Movies & Awards 2020
Best Feature Fiction Film Audience Choice Award - 1st International Film Festival of Crete for Fiction Movies & Awards 2020
Best Actor of Feature Film-Petros Farsarakis – Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (2021)
Best Actress of Feature Film-Amalia Zargianaki - – Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (2021)
Best Sound Design of Feature Film - Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (2021)
THE SISTERS KARRAS – Running Time 1hr 27 min
Director: Micah Stathis
Synopsis: Two estranged half-sisters form a complicated bond as they work together to retrieve their rare and precious inheritance, which their late father inexplicably leaves to the mysterious Marco.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/662043500
Drama /All Audiences
DOCUMENTARIES
ALPHABET COMMON CODE (ALPHA) – Running Time 49 min.
Directors: Agnes Sklavou, Stylianos Tatakis
Synopsis: A journey into the history and evolution of the Greek alphabet over the centuries and its connection with other languages. We study words, persons, myths, and concepts that start from Greek letters in all modern languages, and we explore their influence in the history of world culture. Alpha the first letter of the Greek alphabet, symbolizes the beginning, a starting point. From the goddess Athena and Plato's Academy to the Aegean Sea and the Abyss, an acquaintance with the letter from which it all began. How different cultures and languages use a common code “Alphabet” to communicate?
Documentary / All Audiences
SKG + Drag = BFF? – Running Time 27 min
Director: Eleftherios Hajianastasioo
Synopsis: The documentary focuses on 4 artists, Kharma Queen, Amelie Tea, Aurora Paola Morado and Dr. Oglie Boss, who describe what it is like to be a Drag Queen-King in the second largest city in Greece. The video consists of interviews and scenes from the performances of our Drag artists, as well as shots of our city. Finally, it focuses on the problems they face, but also on how much release it is for them to express themselves through drag.
Documentary / For Mature Audience / LGBTQ+
THE JEWS OF CORFU – Running Time 49 min.
Director: Mirjan Gjergjevica
Synopsis: Jews of Corfu: A population group that was an important part of the island, contributed to the formation of its history and to the development of trade and economy. But the tragic events that befell them were added to the black page of human history.
Documentary / All Audiences
CORFU, THE ISLAND OF PANCAKES – Running Time 54 min.
Directors: Spyros Badios, Spyros Paipetis
Synopsis: Corfu is one of the northern and most populated islands of the Mediterranean Sea. The marks from harsh times remain in some corners of its historic town center. Which was the important ingredient that shaped traditions and mostly helped the survival of not only Corfiots but people around the world through history? Pancakes are a round viand that is prepared with a basic mixture mostly of flour and water while archeological data shows that it might be the most ancient and widespread type of food with its structure and shape to vary from place to place.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/554959158
Documentary / All Audiences
REBETIKO UNDERGROUND – Running Time 31 min.
Directors: Apostolos Polymeris, Georgios Polymeris
Synopsis: Rebetiko Underground - A Research on Rebetiko is a short length documentary film about the spread of Rebetiko music and culture through the years in Europe.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQjhwrmYecE
Documentary / All Audiences
THE STRAY STORY: A DOGUMENTARY – Running Time 94 min.
Director: Christina Georgiou
Synopsis: In a consumerist world where everything, including man's best friend, is treated as disposable, everyday people aiding stray dogs remind us of what being human(e) is all about.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuxxLI9nGbY
Documentary / All Audiences / Cyprus
DR MARIA DELIVORIA - PAPADOPOULOS, THE "MOTHER" OF NEONATOLOGY – Running Time 1hr 47min.
Director: Antonis Kyritsanis
Synopsis: A personal narration of Maria Delivoria - Papadopoulos, known in the medical world as the "Mother" of neonatology, from her childhood, before the Second World War, until today. The survival in Greece of the German occupation and the civil war, the studies, the immigration to the USA, the brilliant scientific career, the recognition. A fictional life full of challenges and dilemmas as she remembers it. These always with the mind in Ithaca.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Q7Jb5WQW4
Documentary / All Audiences
LETHAL NATIONALISM: GENOCIDE OF THE GREEKS 1913-1923 – Running Time 1hr 10 min.
Director: Peter Lambrinatos
Synopsis: A historical documentary that for the first-time charts Ottoman Empire's and Turkish Nationalists Genocide of its 3,000-year-old ethnic Greek population, it took only 10 years to destroy over 3 Millenia of history. Since 1913 the Turkish government – including the founder of modern Turkey -- has exterminated or exiled over one million Christians of Greek heritage, collectively over 3 million Christian minorities of Asia Minor were exterminated. This was the Genocide that set the model for all future Genocides. Turkish governmental denial continues to this day. The veil of secrecy will be lifted, and the story of the Greeks of Asia Minor will be told.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G_EyonMPF8
Documentary /All Audiences
Awards:
Honorable Mention Best Documentary – Athens Marathon International Film Festival (2020)
KROUSSONAS: ON SATAN'S TRAIL – Running Time 1hr 45 min.
Director: Vicky Arvelakis
Synopsis: The documentary "Krousonas: On Satan's Trail" refers to the personality and action of the leader of the guerrilla group "Satanas", Antonios Grigorakis. A multi-layered cinematic "portrait" of him and the people who were his resistance group, shed light on the turbulent era he lived through. History is not always epic. People's precious microhistories of everyday life lead up to what we call major events. Kroussonas, a village in the eastern side of Psiloriti mountain in Crete, was the nourishing mother of the guerilla group of Satanas. Who were these flammable souls during the Second World War, who left their mark - while resisting the enemy - in their homeland? Who was Captain Satanas and how much burning desire for freedom was inside him to go against demons?
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6Naq8eKLs
Documentary / All Audiences
+1 – Running Time 1hr 15 min.
Director: Argyris Liapis
Synopsis: Three lives in a town. Anna-Maria makes her first steps in life. Orestis makes his first professional steps in painting. Maria finishes high school and makes dreams for her future. All three of them were born with an extra chromosome. All three of them were born with Down Syndrome. Orestis, Maria and Anna-Maria live in a town of Greece, Thessaloniki, and they are the main characters of this documentary. How can a redundancy cause ‘deficiencies’ and how can a ‘deficiency’ cause such an abundance?
Documentary / All Audiences
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/661574596
Documentary / All Audiences
Awards:
The Fischer Audience Award – 24th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (2022)
THE LAST VOYAGE – Running Time 58 min.
Director: Aris Chatzistefanou
Synopsis: A journey to modern Japan through the eyes of the great Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis (creator of Zorba the Greek) who visited the country before and after WWII. Sixty-five years after his fatal last journey in the pandemic-stricken country, his memoirs become the roadmap of a new voyage. Buddhist monks, prostitutes and Uber drivers co-exist in the land of manga, anime, and video games.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVq_AjOFtHc
Documentary / All Audiences
Awards:
Best Greek Film by the Greek Association on Film Critics – Thessaloniki, Greece (2022)
SHORTS
SON OF A DOG – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Georgios Mastrakoulis
Synopsis: Yannis' father is in hospital in a critical condition. On his way to the hospital, Yannis stops by the family home, where he realizes that the family dog is slowly dying of old age. At the hospital his father gives him a solution. Yannis must decide if he's ready to let him go.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/540781345
Drama / All Audiences
AT THE AIRPORT – Running Time 23 min
Director: Michalis Mathioudakis
Synopsis: In a small Greek island, Prokopis is the only employee of the local airport.
Comedy / All Audiences
Awards:
Audience Award – Micro μ Short Film Festival, Athens (2021)
MEA FILIA – Running Time 12 min.
Director: Christine Tsakmaka
Synopsis: Antigone and Stefanos are trying to start their own family. At the same time, Antigone bonds with little Danae, a five-year-old girl who lives in the orphanage that she runs.
Drama / All Audiences
FIRST SWIM – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Alexandros Kostopoulos
Synopsis: It’s the last day of the family’s vacations. A little girl wants to swim without her wings, but her parents want to postpone it until next summer. An allegory about the attitude of the Western civilization towards the refugee crisis.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/514333848
Drama / All Audiences
BETRAYAL – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Katiana Zachariou
Synopsis: 14-year-old Irene finds out a secret about her father that puts a strain on their relationship. Meanwhile, she discovers the power of telekinesis.
Drama / All Audiences
APRIL FOOL’S DAY – Running Time 18 min.
Director: Apostolis Iliopoulos
Synopsis: The life of a scavenger changes when he finds a book in the trash.
Drama / All Audiences
Awards:
Best Director Award – SEDIFF, Seoul (2016)
Best Short Film, New Directors Award – 6th Athens International Digital Film Festival (2017)
Set Design Special Award – BigBang International Short Film Festival
APODOMISI – Running Time 21 min
Director: Antonis Mandranis
Synopsis: A mother and a daughter can see each other only for one day after many years of departure
Drama / All Audiences
BEAUTY – Running Time 20 min
Director: Thanos Liberopoulos
Synopsis: Callie, an unemployed young woman living with her controlling mother, is looking for a way out through the glittery yet cruel YouTube beauty universe. She will go beyond her limits to please her handful of subscribers while keeping up a smiling face and maintaining a perfect image
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/570898612
Drama / All Audiences
HER’O – Running Time 13 min
Director: Maria Kasoli
Synopsis: Iro is an oppressed woman who lives in the countryside of Greece. She faces situations that will lead her to surpass her limits and reach her freedom.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npc1A9dJKeE&t=2s
Drama / All Audiences
JUST A THOUGHT – Running Time 15 min.
Director: Matteo Pizzocaro
Synopsis: Anna is waiting in a hospital hall. She is excited but also troubled. Her brother just woke up from an 11-month coma and she must tell him that she has fallen in love with Sofia, his fiancée. Suddenly, she realizes that everyone can hear what she has on her mind. Can just a thought give away her secret?
Drama /All Audiences
BREAK THE SILENCE – Running Time 13 min.
Director: Vaggelis Kalaitzis
Synopsis: Spyros dates deaf Eftihia while Maria is trapped in a violence wedding with Tasos. Their lives will change when one morning Spyros is running late to work.
Drama / All Audiences / Cyprus
VATHIKOFTO – Running Time 22 min.
Director: Ioanna Kryona
Synopsis: “What does vathikofto mean?” asked Eleni. “It’s a deep-cut décolleté” answered Anna slightly annoyed. Two girls, an empty suitcase, and the unpredictably fatal consequences of a single wrong lyric on a Saturday evening in Berlin.
Drama / All Audiences
THE KNIGHT’S HART – Running Time 30 min.
Director: Vivi Markatos
Synopsis: Col, a young farm boy, dreams of becoming a knight! On his journey he will visit a grand castle, explore a mysterious forest, and meet a colorful cast of characters. Will Col have the courage to face his fears, and prove he has what it takes to be a knight?
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLmwN2Oyl24
Hybrid format will present in-person showings at
Delancey Screening Room in San Francisco,
and virtual screenings
SFGFF 2022 DAILY SCREENINGS AT DELANCEY SCREENING ROOM
Guests expected at the San Francisco Greek Film Festival*
Guests expected at the San Francisco Greek Film Festival*
WHAT: 2022 San Francisco Greek Film Festival – 19th annual
WHEN: April 8-16, 2022
WHERE: Delancey Screening Room, 600 The Embarcadero, San Francisco and Online
COST: $15 general in person screenings / $40 for April 8 & 16 (opening & closing nights) including reception / $170 for festival pass for all in person screenings / $40 virtual pass for all online programs
LANGUAGE NOTE: all films in Greek or other non-English languages are subtitled in English
MORE INFO: grfilm.com and facebook.com/SFGreekFilmFest
PURCHASE TICKETS
WHEN: April 8-16, 2022
WHERE: Delancey Screening Room, 600 The Embarcadero, San Francisco and Online
COST: $15 general in person screenings / $40 for April 8 & 16 (opening & closing nights) including reception / $170 for festival pass for all in person screenings / $40 virtual pass for all online programs
LANGUAGE NOTE: all films in Greek or other non-English languages are subtitled in English
MORE INFO: grfilm.com and facebook.com/SFGreekFilmFest
PURCHASE TICKETS
 Opening night feature: HOLY EMY |  Closing night feature: MY BELOVED SMYRNA |
Friday, April 8, 6:30pm, Opening Night Film
HOLY EMY – Running Time 1h:11min
Director: Araceli Lemos
Synopsis: Young Filipina searches for the missing links between her strange bleeding condition and her faraway mother's healing powers.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5fWHs7TvM
Drama / Mature Audience
Awards:
Best First Feature – Locarno International Film Festival (2021)
J.F. Costopoulos Foundation Award – Thessaloniki Film Festival (2021)
Araceli Lemos – WIFT Award winner
HOLY EMY – Running Time 1h:11min
Director: Araceli Lemos
Synopsis: Young Filipina searches for the missing links between her strange bleeding condition and her faraway mother's healing powers.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5fWHs7TvM
Drama / Mature Audience
Awards:
Best First Feature – Locarno International Film Festival (2021)
J.F. Costopoulos Foundation Award – Thessaloniki Film Festival (2021)
Araceli Lemos – WIFT Award winner
Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm, Closing Night Film
MY BELOVED SMYRNA – Running Time 2hrs 21 min
Director: Grigoris Karantinakis
Synopsis: The historical incidents and facts that preceded and occurred during the occupation of Smyrna in 1922 by the Turkish army, including the massacre of the local Greek and Armenian population, are recounted through the lives of the Baltatzis family members.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjZQjJZyyMw
Drama / All Audience
MY BELOVED SMYRNA – Running Time 2hrs 21 min
Director: Grigoris Karantinakis
Synopsis: The historical incidents and facts that preceded and occurred during the occupation of Smyrna in 1922 by the Turkish army, including the massacre of the local Greek and Armenian population, are recounted through the lives of the Baltatzis family members.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjZQjJZyyMw
Drama / All Audience
*Guests expected at the San Francisco Greek Film Festival
The following guests are expected to attend their screenings at this year's SFGFF, and will be on hand for Q&A.
Araceli Lemos, director of opening night feature HOLY EMY
Grigorios Karantinakis, director of closing night feature MY BELOVED SMYRNA
Dimitris Zouras, director of short film MAMA
Aggeliki Pardoulidou, director of short film FLIK FLOK
Barbara Dukas, director of short film HAMAM
The following guests are expected to attend their screenings at this year's SFGFF, and will be on hand for Q&A.
Araceli Lemos, director of opening night feature HOLY EMY
Grigorios Karantinakis, director of closing night feature MY BELOVED SMYRNA
Dimitris Zouras, director of short film MAMA
Aggeliki Pardoulidou, director of short film FLIK FLOK
Barbara Dukas, director of short film HAMAM
Greek Film Festival virtual program, April 8 16
Melanie posts:
SF Bay Area updates on upcoming events and what's happening now around town.
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