26th Athens International Film Festival: Tuesday 29th September [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.

WHO ARE YOU, POLLY MAGGOO? / QUI ÊTES-VOUS, POLLY MAGGOO?
DIRECTOR: William Klein

Using his own experience as a photographer, William Klein gives the most timeless and insightful critique on the world of fashion with “Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?”. Combining Cinéma vérité, comedy and vitriolic satire against the backdrop of the 60s, he disguises his highly derisive perspective with the use of playful pop references and scenes from the life of a supermodel who remains apathetic to the supposed excitement that surrounds her. Undoubtedly a cult film, this quintessential pseudo-documentary openly flips its middle finger to the self-proclaimed intellectual elite who define lifestyle through time. Introduction by Giannis Nenes who selected the film

29/9/2020, 19:15, ATHINAIA

CUNNINGHAM
DIRECTOR: Alla Kovgan

An intricate and original documentary about the life and way of thinking of the top New York choreographer. Thoughts which are unravelled through notes to friends, collaborators and lovers such as John Cage and Andy Warholl, come to life in fourteen 3D choreographies, each of which is a separate chapter of contemporary culture, a masterpiece that attacks the senses recreating with accuracy the animalistic energy of the Merce Cunningham method.

29/9/2020, 19:30, ARTEMIS

GREEK SHORT STORIES - IN COMPETITION VI
Duration: 92'

Ανθολόγιο μιας Πεταλούδας / Anthology of a Butterfly
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 10’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Kostis Charamountanis

Plants are immersed in a world of eternal silence. Caterpillars fall from the clouds into salt and what attracts butterflies, those that fly in the stomach?

54 / Η Τυφλή Χελώνα κι η Απέραντη Θάλασσα / 54 / The Blind Turtle and the Endless Sea
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 13’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Isabella Margara

A woman who cannot stop running. A mysterious man who knows everything about her life. A turtle pin. An unexpected encounter in the elevator that goes up to the 54th floor – but takes us all elsewhere.

Fiat Lux
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 10’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Yorgos Korakianitis

When night falls, the cities of light open. The stars are not visible there. The idea of a dark city fills every part of it with fear. The vast starry sky remains untouched. Maybe it’s just there to remind people how small they really are.

Aνάπαυσις / Anapafsis
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 18’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Dimitris Papagiannopoulos

A small group of World War I soldiers getting out of the dreary trenches. Their constant fear of the bombs steps aside for a brief moment of time, while brotherhood along with violence, steps in.

Το Μάους Στόρυ / The Mouse Story
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 15’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Miltiades Christides

The everyday life and troubles of Yorgos Armouse, a human sized mouse living among people, as he struggles to make a living, fit in, and get some cheese to eat.

Mare Nostrum
ΔΙΑΡΚΕΙΑ / DURATION: 26’ ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΣΙΑ / DIRECTOR: Dimitris Anagnostou

1863. In a vast and desolate coast, Grand Tour voyagers are seeking Arcadia and the ancient ruins, symbols of an emerging Greek and European identity. More than one century later, the body of an unidentified man lies on the same coast…

29/09/2020, 19:30, AEGLI ZAPPIOU

LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD / L'ANNÉE DERNIÈRE À MARIENBAD
DIRECTOR: Alain Resnais|

In a stately hotel, a married woman is ruthlessly pursued by a man trying to convince her to run away with him, claiming they had a passionate love affair in the same place a year ago. A milestone in world cinema, the magnificent riddle by Resnais can be viewed as a Gothic dream, a mind game or a ghost story. Through its haunting geometry and its indomitable imagery the film offers the most unforgettable journey down the entangled paths of memory, the subconscious and the human mind. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and a massive influence on the cinema of Bergman, Fellini and Rivette.
 
29/9/2020, 19:45, TRIANON

THE REASON I JUMP
DIRECTOR: Jerry Rothwell

The sensational best-seller written by a 14-year old autistic kid in Japan is transformed by Jerry Rothwell into a real whirlwind of sound, visions, memories and magical images thus illustrating with rare sensitivity the way children with autism perceive the world. The result is a unique documentary, both miraculous and wonderful, which won the Audience Award at Sundance and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Director in attendance

29/9/2020, 19:45, RIVIERA

THE FOUNDATION PIT / KOTLOVAN
DIRECTOR: Andrey Gryazev

A bizarre craze has recently taken over many Russians, who dig massive foundation pits where they plan to build in the future. In most cases the pits remain empty for years resulting in many comic yet tragic newsworthy incidents. Composed of dozens of YouTube videos and on-camera complaints by citizens who are looking for any reason to criticise Vladimir Putin, Andrei Gryazev’s documentary offers up a psychological portrait of a tormented society that knows it is being dragged through the dirt, while also proving that you don’t need much of a budget to tell a an important and true story well.

29/9/2020, 19:45, GREEK FILM ARCHIVE

MARKOS
DIRECTOR: Nikos Skarentzos

A group of musicians travel to Syros to participate in a tribute to Markos Vamvakaris. In parallel to this journey, composers, musicologists and artists from around the world highlight the musician’s legacy in the 21st century. A documentary on Marko’s influence on the contemporary soundscape both in Greece and the whole of Europe.

29/9/2020, 21:00, STELLA

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT / DIQIU ZUIHOU DE YEWAN
DIRECTOR: Bi Gan

A man returns to the city and the memories he holds of a woman he met in summer twenty years ago. A personal quest during which memories and film compete to see which is further from reality. This is, of course, a landmark of a film and an achievement, which combines neo-noir with the magnificent cinema of Kar-Wai Wong, in the middle of which you will be required to don your 3D glasses to follow it on a truly mystical journey. This cinematic gem by Bi Gan will be screened in our country for the first time, having first seduced the Cannes Film Festival audience two years ago.

29/9/2020, 22:15, ARTEMIS

INNOCENCE
DIRECTOR: Lucile Hadžihalilović

In the heart of a dense forest, surrounded by a high wall, there is an isolated school for girls. There are no men and only two teachers (one of whom is portrayed by Marion Cotillard) and the underage girls are strictly forbidden from leaving before completing their strange education which destines them for a mysterious future. A dark fairy tale for adults, something between “Suspiria” and “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, a beguiling coming-of-age allegory, a dreamy descent into a world plagued with mystery and dangers, one of the most enchanting directorial debuts of the last 20 years.

29/9/2020, 22:15, GREEK FILM ARCHIVE

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.

29/9/2020, 22:30, AEGLI ZAPPIOU

LIQUID SKY
DIRECTOR: Slava Tsukerman

In an expressionist New York defined by syringe-looking skyscrapers, bright neon lights and countless pleasures, a group of drug-consuming androgynous inhabitants have sex, go clubbing and enjoy fashion like there is no tomorrow. An alien creature finds sustenance in a bohemian community in the city and more specifically in the substance secreted by its heroin-addicted members upon climaxing. If ever fanciful imagination, punk philosophy, new wave aesthetics and a dark comedy of manners could ever fit in one film they did so in 1983 leaving behind a legacy of one of the most successful indie films and the ultimate cult movie of the eighties.

29/9/2020, 22:30, ATHINAIA

AUGUST / AGOSTO
DIRECTOR: Armando Capó

In the summer of 1994, in a Cuba full of major social unrest, a young man experiences first-time love, sexual awakening, the burden of loss and the daily anxiety of the adult world. Featuring summer hues and a juxtaposition of personal stories against the inevitability of history, this beautiful debut perfectly conceives the end of innocence and showcases those little moments which can leave a lasting effect on human lives.

29/9/2020, 22:30, TRIANON

COLONEL CHABERT / LE COLONEL CHABERT
DIRECTOR: Yves Angelo

Having recovered from a near-fatal wound in the fields of the Napoleonic wars, a colonel returns to Paris to find that his wife has remarried and his fortune is at the mercy of her new husband. Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant fight to the death for honour, money and a truth that is not always self-evident, in a landmark of a film of the last glorious era of French cinema, which marks the directorial debut of the distinguished cinematographer Yves Angelo (“A Heart in Winter”) and one of the best adaptations of Balzac’s books to the big screen. Introduction by Christos Xanthakis who selected the film

29/9/2020, 22:45, RIVIERA