Welcome to the 13th Antipodes Greek Film Festival

The Antipodes Festival, in partnership with Palace Cinemas, is proud to present the 13 th Greek Film Festival - a visionary portrait of films that captures both the directorial lyricism and the compelling performances that constitute Greek filmmaking.

Opening night features the Australian premiere of Brides, a film whose box office success was complemented by the ten awards it received at the 2004 Thessaloniki International Film Festival, including Best Feature Film. Directed by Pantelis Voulgaris and with executive producer Martin Scorsese, this cinematic extravaganza tells the personal and intimate story of a doomed love affair between star crossed lovers.

The contemporary Greek cinema section of the programme presents a mosaic of multi-award-winning films from accomplished as well as emerging young directors. Hostage, Real Life and Delivery with their audacious tone deconstruct the contrasting realities of contemporary Greece. Alemaya, Rakushka and Love at 16 delve into the many facets of love that evolve within human relationships, whilst Liza and all the Others provides a light-hearted approach to modern day romance in Athens. The off beat satirical comedies Testosterone and Like Chef, Like God juxtapose the dark and light aspects of sexuality and culinary decadence.

After his Palme d’Or winning Eternity and a Day, Theo Angelopoulos returns with Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow, which will be screened for the first time in Melbourne. A visually poetic film and rich in imagery, Trilogy presents the multi-award-winning director at his cinematic zenith.

We pay tribute to auteur Pantelis Voulgaris, whose inspiring journey of creativity is a poignant insight into ordinary people confronted with extraordinary circumstances. This retrospective offers a rare opportunity to view The Engagement of Anna, Stone Years and It’s a Long Road, as well as the historical masterpiece Eleftherios Venizelos and the soccer inspired The Striker with the No. 9.

America America will be screened as a special event. Directed by controversial Academy Award winning Elia Kazan, it depicts the struggles of a young man whose family, after many trials and tribulations, reaches America - their land of hope and opportunity.

Considered by many to be the best Greek film ever produced, The Counterfeit Coin will be screened as the closing night event. There is no more complete Greek cinematic creation.

We would like to thank our partners, Palace Cinemas and The Greek Film Centre, and all our sponsors and supporters for their generous support. We invite you to explore the rich cinematic tapestry that is the Greek Film Festival.

All Festival films are restricted to persons 18 years of age and over unless specified. This relates not necessarily to the content of the films, but to the legal requirements of holding the Festival, as set by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC). As such, no exceptions will be made.

Note: Brides is classified is PG
Stone Years is classified MA 15+

****Please note that screenings are subject to change.

An initiative of the Greek Orthodox Community
of Melbourne and Victoria