Online panel discussion:

Greek directors Elias Demetriou, Vasilis Mazomenos,

Dimitris Tsilifonis and Angelos Kovotsos

(who will be also representing the Greek Documentary Association),

Irini Souganidou, Managing Director at Feelgood Entertainment,

cinema owner Babis Kontarakis (Astor)

and Athena Kalkopoulou, Director of Hellas Film, representing the Greek Film Centre.

A brief note from our Artistic Director Ninos Mikelides who will moderate this online discussion:

“The distribution of Greek films has always been and continues to be a major, and unresolved problem for Greek Cinema.  Big-budget Hollywood blockbusters and films from major film companies are screened in high season in theatres, leaving no room for the distribution and promotion of Greek films, especially those artistic films that are wrongly considered to be "non-commercial". As a result, these films, like their European counterparts, are usually screened in theatres only when there is no other scheduled screening or towards the end of the season, a period that is anti-commercial for the screening of blockbusters or films from major studios.

Although other European countries, have managed to find ways to support their domestic cinematography, Greece, hasn’t managed to find any solution to this problem yet, although some efforts had been made towards this direction in the past (efforts that had been rather rough and ineffective). It is time we act and propose effective ways to tackle the problem efficiently and with consistence.

All the above regarding this complex and unresolved matter was the main reason why we decided this year (and we hope to continue in the following years as well) to showcase some Greek films that didn’t get the distribution they deserved -with our tribute “A Second Viewing”- and to have a discussion over this crucial issue; a discussion that will certainly not provide the solution to the problem but which we hope will lay some foundations for its finding.”

-Ninos Mikelides