Minas Hatzisavvas
Three separate narratives each following a love story between a foreigner and a Greek. Each story represents a different generation falling in love during a time of socioeconomic turmoil that dominates Southern Europe as a whole, only to connect as a single story in the end.
Sotiris is a police investigator in Athens who lives by a strict moral code. An honest man, he carries himself as though held down by the weight of the world. Dora is a cleaning lady, struggling to get by any way she can. Dealt a rough hand in life, she has developed a rich layer of cynicism and mistrust that informs her every action. When a man Sotiris believes is innocent is arrested for a brutal crime, his attempt to uncover the truth results in a grave mistake. Finding himself on the other side of the law for the first time, he places his fate in Dora, the only witness to his malfeasance and the only person who can help him, for better or for worse.
Twice-orphaned Jace, a seven-year-old Albanian of Greek origin, witnesses a massacre that wipes out his entire foster family in Argyrokastron, and then falls in the hands of a bunch of ruthless gangsters who "export" children abroad for various profitable reasons (ranging from beggary to organ trade). Jace ends up in Athens, Greece, begging at street corners, exploring the secret horrors of brutal institutions for young offenders or, much later, serving obscure patrons, in an underworld where violent loss seems to be his only destiny. The movie follows Jace's inverted Odyssey in a dark universe of abuse, murder and fear, as he desperately (and silently) seeks for a "family" of his own or, at least, for a sense of belonging
The trainee Orthopedic Doctor George Spyrou began his career in the fictional General Orthopedic Hospital "All Saints', somewhere on the outskirts of Athens. There you will discover that the hospital population, by physicians, administrators and nurses, to patients, they are all forced to confront dancing a grotesque dance routine. With humor and humanity within a social landscape so angry George Spyratos trying to balance between the warring parties these microcosms. The gradual evolution from inexperienced trainee to experienced editor will be done through the encounter with the absurd environment. Something that would transform from naive young man who initially stands speechless in front of modern Greek chaos, a mature man who will ultimately make a thoughtful account of choice, but persevere, continue to work on public health.
Inspired by the real-life story of a bus hijacking in Northern Greece, HOSTAGE explores the sensitive issue of Greek-Albanian relations through a young Albanian who takes over an intercity bus. Upon hijacking the bus, he takes the seven passengers hostage and demands a ransom of half and million euro, and safe passage to his homeland of Albania. Surrounded by police, the bus trundles towards the Albanian border and the tension mounts until the final harrowing conclusion.
A 35-year old man, just released from jail, decides to make a clean break from the big city and his troubled past. He retreats to the abandoned village his father came from and moves into an old, collapsing house. Alone, far from the bigger village and doing petty jobs to survive, he will strive to find himself once more. Amidst a haze of suspicion and scorn by villagers who treat him an intruder, his past catches up to him in the form of his girlfriend from Athens. Conflict is inescapable
In 1974, a group of 11-year-old boys spend the last carefree summer of their childhood, unaware that the world of grown-ups, with its loves, passions, prejudices and curses, is about to seal their fate. Aaron, Stelios, Sakis, Galanos and Verios, "the acrobats", are best friends. School has closed for the summer holidays and the children spend their time playing games, running errands, and riding their bikes. Life is a game, into which they channel all their physical energy and imagination. They practice their diving abilities in a big cistern. It is a game through which their special talents and competitive spirit unfold. One is good at balancing acts, another at diving and another at somersaults. It is in this neighborhood that Aaron will spend the most important summer of his life: a rite of passage from childhood to adolescence, a time for learning about love, jealousy and friendship.
The story follows the sporadic reunions of six friends during the seven year period of their integration into society. The reunions take place on their ancestral island, the setting of their common past. Every time they return "home" they carry with them the results of their personal choices. They also carry with them the effects of modern Greek society, a society the slowly but surely changes them, weathering their relationships, until they gradually lose contact with each other. The end of this epoch, will find them dispersed, confronting the dawn of an era where the pursuit of individual ambitions reigns.
Two friends, former shooting champions get involved with the world of professional assassins.
Four episodes, four instances from a man’s life covering 25 years, from 1965 in Germany to 1990 in Athens. The episodes seem to be irrelevant to one another, yet they all focus on male powerplay, reveal the self-consciousness and moderation of the protagonist’s idiosyncrasy and depict some special aspects of the Greek male mentality. Probably Nikos Panayotopoulos’ most personal film, covering a substantial period of his generation’s years, “I’m dreaming of my friends” is based on the book by Dimitris Nollas, looks a lot like a “road movie” and features an all-male cast, as if there’s no room for women in it.
After the death of her father a young woman who was a student in Germany suffers a nervous breakdown and withdraws inside herself. Her younger sisterʼs attempt to stop the family from having her locked up in a mental hospital fails and brings about her own mental decline. The film marked Stavros Tsiolis re-emergence after a 14-year absence but was also the film debut of actress Pemi Zouni.
Aris and Thanos are good friends and they share an apartment. The arrival of Stella will unbalance their relationship.
A young chemical engineer finds a new job in a multinational corporation. As he climbs the career ladder, he loses his humanity.
Antonis always goes by train. He is in a rush to make it on time. His recent past keeps catching up on him. Reality does not allow him to escape the images. That's how it is. because that's how it goes. He couldn't give a damn about anything. He needs to pee. Dependent on his girlfriend just as he's on himself. He doesn't owe anything to anybody.
