Greek Cinema - Hellenic University Club of Southern California

Tou Polemou (The Refugees of The War) in
1922, and since Demetris Gaziadis and Giorgos
Prokopiou filmed the Battle of Sagarios
River in 1919-1922. 8 It is the first historical
and political documentary.
For the best short documentary in 1961,
the first prize went to the movie To Krifo
Palati Tis Manis (The Secret Palace of Mani),
produced by Despina Skalotheou, directed
by Despina Skalotheou and Athanasios
Spiliotios who also won another award for
“Best Director of Photography.” He was also
a cameraman.
The director Takis Kanelopoulos who
had successfully directedthe documentary
Makedonikos Gamos (Macedonian Wedding)
in 1960, in 1961 directed the short documentary
Thasos. It was like an emotional
song, colorfully depicting the characteristics
of the people of the island of Thasos and is
full of nostalgia, love and beauty.
The year 1962 shows the production of
twenty one short documentaries and short
movies with nine of those selected to be presented
in the Thessaloniki film festival that
took place from 17th through 23 of September,
1962. Two films one short movie and
one short documentary that attracted most of
the attention in the festival were Athens Chi-
Psi-Ksi produced by Lia Kariotou and directed
by Demetris Kollatos. His short movie
was an original in strong satiric tone, but a
charming work in many aspects. Its original
plot was based on a young tourist girl who,
after loosing her glasses, started looking at
people very closely. What she saw was very
different than what is seeing from the distance.
Lia Kariotou and Demetris Kollatos
rightly won the “First Prize” award for “Best
Short Movie.”
The second one was the short documentary
Ta Egenia (The Opening) produced and
directed by Kostas Sfikas which represented
Greece at the Festival of People in Florence
in 1962. Its plot was based in the activities of
16
a young boy as a lottery seller and gives in a
very sentimental way the efforts of a small
“business” boy trying to survive financially.
The year 1962 shows the appearance of some
new directors in short documentaries and
short movies. Nikos Nikolaedis with his
short movie Lacrimae Rerum presents a
nostalgic, romantic and lyric presentation of
Lanbros Porfiras poem in a cinematography
language. Kostas Sfikas with his movie Ta
Egenia mentioned above, Athonis Kiros with
his movie Irene Ke Zoe (Peace And Life),
Athanasios Meritzis with his movie Hora
Ton Kentavron (The Land Of Centaurs),
Mycenae directed by Nikos Sabatakos, and E
Parastasis Teliose (The Performance Is
Over) directed by Minas Christidis. The same
year two short documentaries were produced
by Filopoimin Finos of Finos Film, Jannena
and Nauplion directed by Errikos Thalassinos.
The year 1963 shows a slight decrease in
the production of short documentaries and
short movies. They were produced a total of
nineteen movies. That year also marks the
appearance of the newcomer Francis
Karabot, a devoted person to this kind of
movies. Since 1963 he is credited with a total
of forty- one short movies and documentaries
as a director and some of them as a producer
too. From the nineteen movies that were produced
this year, three of those their subject
was for Cyprus. The director Kostas Sfikas
returned that year in the Thessaloniki film
festival with his short movie Anamoni
(Waiting). Kostas Sfikas again with his subject
the working class, touches on nostalgia
and sentimentality of that period. Its title
“Waiting” indicates how the construction
workers wait for decades daily outside of the
Athens City Hall Square for someone to hire
them for a day’s work. Their agony and hope
that “I may be the lucky one today and get a
job” is painted in their face and their everyday
drama is given in a very simple way and
tone by the director.