“An emotional day” – Sydney kicks off milestone 30th Greek Film Festival in grand fashion

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The feeling of solemnisation was palpable astatine the opening of the 30th Greek Film Festival of Sydney, with hundreds coming together to honour the large milestone of 1 of the astir important events successful the taste calendar.

The Film Festival kicked disconnected its 30th variation connected Tuesday evening (14 October) astatine Palace Cinemas Norton Street successful Leichhardt, packing retired galore theatres with Kostas Haralambous’ adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ work ‘Kapetan Mihalis’.

For Nia Karteris, the Chair of the Film Festival of Sydney, the time held immense significance.

“It’s been rather an affectional time today for maine to beryllium rather honest,” Karteris told Neos Kosmos.

“It is simply a milestone, not for maine but for the Greek Orthodox Community and for the Greek movie industry.”

The Film Festival Chair expressed her pridefulness successful the hard work from everyone progressive to enactment together the event, while noting this year’s programme features a wide scope of pictures from the past three decades.

Upon reflecting connected reaching 30 years, Karteris expressed it is testament some to the assemblage of Australia and the strength of the movie manufacture successful Greece.

“I think arsenic a Greek of the Greek diaspora, we should beryllium very arrogant of what we person achieved…This is what ever was the objectives and goals of the Greek Film Festival: to marque sure that it is present to stay for the adjacent 50, 60 years,” she said.

“Greece is simply a small state but compared to the state it is and everything it has to offer, I think the movie manufacture is flourishing.

“When you person the likes of Lanthimos being an oscar-nominated and oscar winner now, it conscionable goes to amusement that being Greek is simply a happening that we are each arrogant of and I think Greece is arrogant of what we person achieved also.”

Harry Danalis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, besides remarked connected his pleasance with the maturation of the Film Festival implicit the past 30 years, while praising the efforts of each the radical who marque it the success it is.

“It is bully to spot that aft 30 years, this movie festival has grown to the magnitude it has today,” Danalis told Neos Kosmos.

“The offering tonight is very impressive, and it shows that we are very funny successful Greek civilization and we will look to proceed to bash so.”

The Film Festival has besides served arsenic a means of promoting the work of Greek Australian filmmakers since its inception, including Alex Lykos, who attended the opening and spoke glowingly of its impact.

“It is fostering the Greek talent within the assemblage arsenic well arsenic bringing us movie from Greece which allows us to watch what is going successful Greece and get an thought of what benignant of things they (the filmmakers) are exploring,” Lykos told Neos Kosmos.

Lykos noted the support the Film Festival has shown him, having premiered his films ‘Alex and Eve’ (ten years ago) and ‘Disconnect Me’ (two years ago), the erstwhile of which has been included successful this year’s schedule.

Reflecting connected the large turnout for the opening night, Lykos stated the Greek assemblage is “very loyal and very supportive”.

“To spot the Greek radical that are retired present tonight, present the set play, and conscionable research our Greekness the way we bash is, I think is simply a large thing,” helium said.

“I’m so gladsome we person the Greek Orthodox Community who bash that and foster that. I think it is very important and I’m very grateful to beryllium a portion of it.”

There was a strong Cretan flavour astatine the lawsuit successful enactment with the film’s subject matter, including traditional euphony played by a unrecorded set and traditional dancing from the island.

Nick Andriotakis, who is of Cretan inheritance and has gone to astir each Film Festival since its inception, addressed the humanities discourse of the representation which is acceptable successful the precocious 1800s during which Crete was still occupied by the Ottoman Empire.

“What you person present is the quality of Nikos Kazantzakis’ begetter Mihalis and helium has fictionalised him successful this story of the past throes of the Ottoman Empire successful Crete,” Andriotakis told Neos Kosmos.

Speaking much broadly connected the Film Festival, helium emphasised it is simply a important avenue for Greece’s modernism to beryllium communicated to Australia.

“This is not the state present of our parents and grandparents. This is simply a modern country, a European country, and arsenic a state grows successful its sophistication and education, so too does it successful the arts.”