Should we talk about Georgis Grigorakis and “Digger,” Yorgos Zois and “Arcadia,” or Theo Angelopoulos and his “Trilogy” project, cut short by his tragic death? Or what about Dimitris Nakos’ “Meat” that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, or the unforgettable documentary by Filippos Koutsaftis, “Mourning Rock,” a tribute to the West Attica town of Elefsina that took more than 10 years to make and was first screened in 2000, beautifully raising the curtain on a new century?
It is almost impossible to list all the names and titles that have helped shape a quarter of a century in the Greek cinema landscape, shaped by new, interesting productions and talent, and major institutional events, such as the creation in 2009 of the independent Hellenic Film Academy; the restructuring in 2017 of the state funding system for audiovisual works through the introduction of cash rebates; and, most recently, the establishment of the Hellenic Center for Film, Audiovisual Media, and Creation (EKKOMED) in 2024.
We would not be able to speak of Greek cinema’s “spring,” however, were it not for a generation of filmmakers – many of them women – who shaped a contemporary, demanding landscape for domestic cinema, aligned with international standards.
Such a wave of fresh and interesting new filmmakers may never have emerged were it not for the earlier generations that remained active, fostering a productive process of cross-pollination
The first decade of the new millennium introduced trends and themes that have continued to evolve, such as examining the traditional Greek family dynamic and addressing the issue of migration, which has grown in complexity since its emergence in the 1990s. Previously “invisible” people on the fringes of society were given visibility, migrants and other “others” became protagonists, while those who are “different” or diverge from social norms were given a place in this landscape as Greek filmmakers took the filters off and recorded reality with unprecedented candor. The self-referential directorial style was gradually abandoned; the fluid and the everyday acquired substance; and the camera went everywhere, insatiable and inquisitive, as a new form of cinema began to take shape, a hybrid of documentary and fiction.
Fresh talent emerged, mixing in with the so-called New Greek Cinema generation, which continued to make films and maintain a strong presence. Influential figures of that generation, such as Theo Angelopoulos, Nikos Nikolaidis, Nikos Panayotopoulos, Lakis Papastathis and Stavros Tsiolis remained active until their deaths. Pantelis Voulgaris’ contribution, well into the 21st century, was also decisive, while to date, Nikos Perakis has added seven films to his oeuvre, some of them major box-office hits.
Last year, another veteran of Greek cinema, Giorgos Tsemperopoulos, sold over 800,000 tickets for “I Exist,” a biopic of music legend Stelios Kazantzidis, making it the most commercially successful Greek film of the past decade. Another biopic, “Eftychia” (2019), by the 55-year-old Angelos Frantzis, about the singer Eftychia Papagianopoulou, sold 600,000 tickets and was subsequently included on the Netflix platform. At the same time, an established generation of filmmakers carries on making good films; from Thanos Anastopoulos, now in his 60s, whose work is grounded in social observation and historical awareness, to Sotiris Goritsas, in his 70s, long associated with a bitterly ironic and incisive portrayal of Greek reality.
The next generation
One of the most pivotal years for Greek cinema was 2009, when three films whose reputations crossed national borders and whose subject matter marked both the beginning and the trajectory of a new era for Greek cinema hit the big screen: “Dogtooth” by Yorgos Lanthimos, which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival; “Strella” by Panos H. Koutras, screened at the Berlinale; and “Akadimia Platonos” by Filippos Tsitos, presented in Locarno. A “strangely seductive” commentary on the pathology of the family; a love story with a transgender protagonist, centered on the acceptance of difference, while simultaneously opening up the conversation about queer identity; and a tale of four modern Greeks guys spending their days drinking frappés, killing time, and talking trash about Albanian migrants – until the central character discovers his own Albanian roots. The film’s original title was “You Will Never Be Greek.”
Indeed, there has been a clear trajectory, starting with the explosive appearance of Yannis Economides in 2002 with “Matchbox,” a scathing critique of the typical working-class Greek family. With “A Touch of Spice” in 2003, Tassos Boulmetis struck a perfect balance between a polished production and commercial success. With his sharp, unflinching gaze in “Dekapentavgoustos” (2001) and “Hostage” (2005), Constantine Giannaris focused on the figure of the unwanted foreigner, exposing Greek society’s underlying pathologies.
In 2008, Argyris Papadimitropoulos made a striking entrance into Greek cinema with the comedy “Bank Bang” (500,000 admissions), before taking a creative leap with “Wasted Youth” (2011) – a raw, violent portrait of crisis-era Athens – and later with “Suntan” (2016), tracing a man’s descent from erotic obsession into despair.
At the dawn of the 2010s, Syllas Tzoumerkas presented his first feature, “Homeland,” a confrontation of three generations and value systems within a single family, while Athina Rachel Tsangari – by now a chapter unto herself, with an international presence and body of work – directed her second feature, “Attenberg,” a bold, unclassifiable exploration of the emotionally fractured world of two young women.
It is at this moment that the imported term Greek Weird Wave first took hold, encompassing – alongside Lanthimos and Tsangari – Alexandros Avranas, whose “Miss Violence” won awards at the Venice Film Festival in 2013. These artists explored the darker regions of human existence through a series of paradoxical films. Neither a “wave” nor, in truth, all that “weird,” only the label eventually stayed.
However, such a wave of fresh and interesting new filmmakers may never have emerged were it not for the earlier generations that remained active, fostering a productive process of cross-pollination. Greek cinema is like an informal relay race – Lanthimos has even made a cinematic reference to Takis Kanellopoulos – while prominent women filmmakers such as Angeliki Antoniou, Katerina Evangelakou, Penny Panayotopoulou and Marianna Economou have contributed their acuity and sensitivity to shaping a diverse new landscape. Following with an equally dynamic spirit are the younger voices of Sofia Exarchou and Elina Psykou.
And, of course, Greek cinema today would not be what it is without the contribution of a group of exceptional actors who helped shape it. Vangelis Mourikis – identified with the “spring” of Greek cinema since 2002 and his iconic performance in “The King” by Nikos Grammatikos – along with Makis Papadimitriou, Angeliki Papoulia, Sofia Kokkali and Christos Stergioglou, rank among the central protagonists of the “new wave.”
For the epilogue, we turn to Vrasidas Karalis’ book “A History of Greek Cinema” (Doma Editions): “Despite its difficulties and distractions, Greek cinema confronts its many challenges with success and flexibility (…) History shows us that the unexpected and the incalculable have always been the most enduring constants of Greek cinema.”
