26th Athens International Film Festival: Thursday 1st October [Daily schedule]

The 26th Athens International Film Festival will take place between 23rd September and the 4th October 2020,  presenting a total of 138 films from around the world, three competition sections, special tributes, documentaries, Greek premieres, selections from the cancelled Cannes Film Festival and Greek short stories. For the online screenings of the 26th Athens International Film Festival visit online.aiff.gr.

Download the daily schedule HERE.

Buy tickets online: www.viva.gr/tickets/cinemas/nyxtes-premieras-2020.

YIORGOS OF KEDROS
DIRECTORS: Yiannis Kolozis, Yorgos Kolozis

A personal journey in time, through the eyes of two generations of filmmakers, to the island of Donousa from the 70s to the present day. Yiorgos Kolozis went to Donousa for the first time in 1972, at a time when there was no tourism or electricity on the island. He lived alone on the beach of Kedros and so the locals gave him the nickname “Yiorgos of Kedros”. His death in 2009 resulted in his son, Yiannis, continuing his father’s work, completing a story in which time is looked upon as the process of reevaluating the present. Filmmakers in attendance

1/10/2020, 19:15, AEGLI ZAPPIOU

GREEK SHORT STORIES - IN COMPETITION VIII
Duration: 86'

Route-3
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 13’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Thanasis Neofotistos

Nadja, the princess-teen in her pink hijab; Luka, the virgin bully; an Orthodox Priest; an old creepy man and many, many more ordinary people in this tram have nothing in common, but a juicy slice of orange. All except a shy, yet horny, teenager.

Πρώτος Έρωτας / Premier Αmour 
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 15’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Haris Raftogiannis

Two loners meet for the first time. Their dogs interact. Perhaps they do too.

Μελατονίνη / Melatonin
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 13’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Nikos Pastras

A small love story about electronic music and sleep disorders.

Όταν Γελάω Κλείνουν τα Μάτια μου / When I Smile My Eyes Close
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 17’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Daniel Bolda

A teenage girl believes she never dreams, or otherwise doesn't remember any of her dreams; apparently , they are too dull to be worth keeping. But in the course of a single day at home, time will pass like a dream. And when she opens her eyes, she will find that her waking life, outside the world of her empty dream state, is a much lovelier place to be in.

Σεβαράμπες / Sevarambes
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 12’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: George Kontos

In the city of Sevarambes, where giant machine hands impose the law, any artistic expression by the human workers is pursued and terminated. When Er is seized while attempting to play music, he manages to escape inside the apparatus of a sinister machine. Until he realizes that he is not alone.

Το Τέλος του Πόνου (Μία Πρόταση) / The End of Suffering (A Proposal)
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 14’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Jacqueline Lentzou

Sofia is panicky, again. The Universe decides to contact her. An other-wordly dialogue. A planet symphony for Mars, where people dream awake and fight for love.

1/10/2020, 19:30, ANESIS

BILLIE
DIRECTOR: James Erskine

A lot has been written about the fame and tremendous importance of Billie Holiday in the history of music. To this day, however, an abundance of questions remain about her turbulent and tragic life.This precious documentary tries to find answers to these questions through countless hours of recorded interviews with close friends and great collaborators (such as Count Basie and Tony Bennett), which are seen here for the first time, through confessions by Lady Day herself and through a magnificent archive bound to cause chills, capturing something of the grandeur of her exceptional performances.

1/10/2020, 19:30, ATHINAIA

INSTINCT
DIRECTOR: Halina Reijn

A psychotherapist, whose methods are questionable, is hired at a correctional facility, where she gradually allows herself to be seduced by a serial rapist. Or is the exact opposite the case? Destined to divide audiences and with Carice van Houten (Melisandre in “Game of Thrones”) giving an electric performance, the directorial debut by Halina Reijn develops as an erotic thriller which examines the shady aspects of sexual fantasies, the limits of political correctness and the basic - and beyond- human instincts. Recipient of two awards at the Locarno film festival and the Netherlands’ selection for the Oscars international feature film category.

1/10/2020, 19:30, GREEK FILM ARCHIVE

PETIT SAMEDI
DIRECTOR: Paloma Sermon-Daï

This is the story of the small triumphs and inevitable defeats of Damien Samedi, a 43-year old drug addict who lives with his mother in the heart of a small village of Wallonia. Traversing the daily distance between euphoria and utter emptiness, “little” Samedi struggles to return to normality as his sister’s camera records every turn of his addiction and every moment their mother lovingly tries to ensure her son has time and a place to continue to dream. A surprisingly funny, deeply insightful and humbly tender portrait of a man and his battle against all that haunts him, which stood out at the Berlin Film Festival Forum.

1/10/2020, 19;45, TRIANON

TRANSFER
DIRECTOR: Elias Giannakakis

On the occasion of its move from the imposing Valianeio building on Panepistimiou Street to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the National Library is given a voice with which to narrate its troubled journey. The narration reflects every historical landmark from the formation of the Hellenic Republic to the present day. A priceless psychological portrait of an Athens which often resembles a battlefield, a multi-layered journey through time with the aid of the priceless treasures of this country’s most significant intellectual body, but above all current commentary on the importance of preserving memory, directed by one of the top contemporary Greek filmmakers. Filmmakers in attendance

1/10/2020, 19:45, RIVIERA

MINYAN
DIRECTOR: Eric Steel

New York in the 80s. 17-year old David discovers his sexuality on the queer scene of the East Village while starting to question the strict rules of the Russian-Jewish community he belongs to. In this much-promising debut, Eric Steel sketches a portrait of a young man caught between two minorities, charting with care the deeply personal search for identity in a diverse world, set against the backdrop of the unspoken terror of AIDS, James Baldwin’s writings and the irresistible attraction of the “forbidden”.

 

A young film student with the rare talent of getting everything wrong, try as he might, buys a second-hand jeep.He rides through town with Hip Hop music blasting out loud, and while others see a jalopy, he sees the key to making his wildest dream come true. More of a self-aware unfulfilled coming-of-age story, this autobiographical debut by the 29-year old Chinese director is a great urban poem, a playful combination of a road movie with comedy which bridges the gap between Hsiao-Hsien Hou and Woody Allen. Official selection at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

1/10/2020, 22:15, ATHINAIA

 

 

MANO NEGRA: OUT OF TIME / ¡PURA VIDA!

DIRECTORS: Joseph Dahan, Thomas Darnal, Phillippe Teboul

 

Interviews against a backdrop of their live performances, scenes from a never-ending tour which preached their multicultural gospel to every part of the world and a gushing account of the band’s history combine to form the manifesto of Mano Negra about a “Pure Life” on the road and genuine artistic expression. Manu Chao and the rest of the gang in a raw ska-punk documentary from a time when alternative music changed forever. Introduction by Alexis Kalofolias who selected the film

1/10/2020, 22:15, TRIANON
 

 

BANKSY MOST WANTED

DIRECTORS: Aurélia Rouvier, Seamus Haley

 

The ideal unofficial companion to the Oscar-nominated “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, a thorough portrait of the most enigmatic yet established figure of street art, a stimulating commentary on the contemporary meaning of art and its commercialisation but most of all a documentary that will do anything to answer the following viral question: who in the world is Banksy?

1/10/2020, 22:30, ANESIS

 

 

WISDOM TOOTH
DIRECTOR: Liang Ming

Two step-siblings trying to make their way in a seaside area of northern China, an ambiguous love triangle, a toothache, a pocket recorder left in the wrong place at the right time and a murder result in one of the most impressive Chinese cinema debuts in recent years. A script featuring many intriguing mysteries, an impressive director’s gaze, an atmospheric soundtrack and dream-like elements transform a disguised coming-of-age and sexual awakening story into a thematically and stylistically worthy successor of the amazing “Burning”.

1/10/2020, 22:45, GREEK FILM ARCHIVE

 

GAGARINE
DIRECTORS: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh

 

Young Yuri is determined to do everything it takes to stop his home, a workers’ housing estate bearing the name of the famous Soviet astronaut Gagarin, from being demolished. Combining bold fiction and reality, the emerging directors worthily pick up where Ladj Ly’s “Les Misérables” left off, to illustrate the hardship of living in the Parisian suburbs through the sphere of magical realism. Official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, the film stood out with the Festival’s director singing its praises. Introduction by the founder of the organization Apostoli ANTHROPOS, Ipatia Dousi-Anagnostopoulou

1/10/2020, 23:00, STELLA

 

 

JOSEP

DIRECTOR: Aurel

In 1939, the Spanish civil war comes to an end, and 50.000 defeated Republicans are sent into French concentration camps where they are tortured. Under such adverse conditions, a friendship is unexpectedly formed between a French guard and Josep, a Catalan prisoner who records, through the medium of his sketches, all the terrible things that happen there. After 10 years of gruelling preparation, Le Monde’s cartoonist switches over to animation, illustrating a visually stunning and emotionally generous lesson in resistance and history, based on true events from the life of the famous anti-fascist artist and lover of Frida Kahlo, Joseph Bartoli. Official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

1/10/2020, 23:15, RIVIERA