Greece Thrives at the Cannes Short Film Corner

Though Greek films were not represented in this year’s competition for the Palme d’Or at the 65th Cannes Film Festival, fourteen films that were either produded by Greeks or have a Greek theme were featured in the Short Film Corner, a showcase of handpicked international short movies.

Below are the Greek films selected for the Short Film Corner”

– “Hidden Life,” directed by Dimitris Gkotsis – A dramatic thriller about the last journey of a successful British investigative journalist in Greece that loses his memory, thus changing the rest of his life. Stars Theocharis Ioannidis, Errikos Litsis, Tety Kalafati; script by Andreas Savvidis.

– “Mikros Vasilias(Little King),” directed by Socrates Alafouzos – A dramatic short in which Ari, a Greek man in his forties, lives in denial of childhood abuse he has suffered. His wife’s infidelity wakens decades of latent anger and she dies for betraying him. While serving a sentence for murder, Ari is offered an unusual opportunity to channel his fury rather than suppress it. Stars Socrates Alafouzos, Iro Loupi, Gerasimos Skiadaresis; script by Socrates Alafouzos.

– “7:15,” directed by Rafika Chawishe – A crime-action short film. The story is revealed through the hands of each character. No faces. No lies. Martha is dying: 8 times raped. She lost her baby. The rapist was set free due to lack of evidence. Petros, her husband takes the situation in control. Stars Peris Michailidis, Stefania Goulioti, Dimitris Lalos; script by Rafika Chawishe.

– “To Patari (The Attic),” directed by Minos Nikolakakis – In this dramatic short, Manos, a 50-year-old man, gets divorced from his wife and moves into a new house in order to start all over again. Quite unexpectedly, he discovers something spectacular. Ziggy, his childhood pop idol, is rehearsing in the most unusual of places. His attic. Stars Manos Vakoussis, Maximos Moumouris, Eleni Kalamida; script by Minos Nikolakakis.

– “Compulsion,” directed by Constantinos Yiallourides – A US/Greek co-production in which Jane discovers that a registered child molester lives directly across the street, and begins obsessively to follow his every move. Stars Nicole Steinwedell, Shawn Parsons, Brahm Gallagher; story by Constantinos Yiallourides.

– “The Foreigner,” directed by Alethea C. Avramis – A US/Greek co-production in which a remote Greek village must raise its population in order to avoid being cut off from the local government. When a foreigner, Eric, stumbles into town, the village mayor rallies the hostile townspeople to convince Eric to stay. Stars Manolis Sormainis, Philip Bretherton, Gerasimos Pavlou; script by Alethea C. Avramis.

– “Buyout,” directed by Carmen Zografou – A UK/Greek co-production. In this dramedy, Melina lives in Athens. Peggy, her daughter, lives in Berlin. A decision will change their lives. Peggy is returning with a plan that will bring family relationships and values at stake. Stars Melina Vamvaka, Stelios Goutis, Sofia Koroni; script by Carmen Zografou.

– “Serenity,” directed by Alex Pitoulis – A US/Greek co-production. In this dramatic thriller, a Trip for Alexia to meet her boyfriend for dinner turns deadly. Alexia embarks in a journey she will soon regret. Stars Nansy Chrisikopoulou, George Panteleakis, Maria Mamouri; script by Alex Pitoulis.

– “Nobody’s Perfect,” directed by Despina Kavyri – Elena is an aspiring journalist in a lifestyle column of a Greek newspaper during the 1960’s. Despite Erica’s (her dominant boss) orders, she’s trying to investigate a series of killings but she will discover that in order to bring the truth to light, she must first walk through some dark alleys. Stars Liana Taousiani, Daphne Kiourktsoglou; script by George Mantzouranedes.

– “Dream House,”  directed by Eirini Karamanoli – A Greek/Czech Republic co-production. A young woman takes a tour of a house that she is interested in buying. Guided by a mysterious real estate agent, the woman discovers that there is more in the house than it seems. When our destiny is already written, do we have the strength to change it? Stars Nicole Grisco, Peter Hosking, Grant Podelco; Script by Daria Kasinamova.

– “Film#1 – A Disorder,” directed by Alexander Koyk – Assuming that all types of disorders are diagnosed by observing certain symptoms, it is clear that this short film describes a very special one. With the guidance of a rope our hero is going to present you a circular procedure. A procedure that could last from a second to a lifetime in one’s mind.

– “O Tharraleos (The Courageous One),” directed by Panayiotis Yannitsos – A Canadian production in Greek. This is the story of three old Greek men who critique a young boy as he draws on the sidewalk. The film, through a comedic and beautifully simple event, illustrates the frustrations of Greece, both past and present, while in the end showing the promise it has for the future. Stars Christos Papagiannis, Costas Tsamos, John Zorotheos; script by Panayiotis Yannitsos.

– “I Rafi (La Couture),” directed by Sandra Fassio – A Belgian production in Greek. Anna has been sewing Nicolas’ suits for years. In her workshop they speak Greek, in remembrance of the country they’ve had to run away from during the Colonels’ Regime. Anna’s routine will be shattered by a fateful announcement, and Nicolas will learn why Anna didn’t kill him. Stars Michele Valley, Nikitas Tsakiroglou; script by Sandra Fassio.

-“Pseudocracy,” written & directed by Montreal based filmmaker Philippos Balabanos, follows Taki Politis (played by Peter James) as he attempts to leave his crisis stricken homeland, in search of work and a safer life in the west. Being no stranger to working and living abroad, Taki is shocked to discover that the once lovable image held by foreigners of the Greeks does not exist anymore.

We would like to thank our partner, Turkish Airlines, for flying us to Cannes.

Turkish Airlines offers many daily flights from most International destinations. The award winning air carrier also offers international flights that connect most major international cities directly with Istanbul and Greece. New York, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo are only some of the cities that Turkish is flying directly. Turkish Airlines is flying in more than 200 destinations worldwide with an excellent fleet and unique services.