Greek Salad is an ongoing Greek cinema strand. Each screening explores a gem of Greek cinema – tossing together classics, festival favourites, and directors’ spotlights alike.

After concluding our mini retrospective on maverick director Nico Papatakis, we will return this autumn with two monumental works from Greek cinema’s history.

We begin in September with Stella (1955), directed by Mihalis Cacoyiannis, widely considered one of the defining films made in Greece, and for many Greeks, simply the greatest film ever made. Stella brought together three exceptional artists: Cacoyiannis, who would later earn five Academy Award nominations and six Palme d’Or nominations for films including Zorba the Greek (1964); actress, activist and politician Melina Mercouri, in her screen debut; and composer Manos Hatzidakis, the world-famous composer of Never on Sunday (1960). 

October brings John The Violent (1973) by Tonia Marketaki. Tonia Marketaki’s masterful debut is based on real-life events that caused great controversy in the media and mesmerised audiences at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. It is a definitive study of ethics in 1960s Greece, a stifling delineation of a psychologically fractured social fabric looking for redemption.

Programming these two films back to back is a deliberate choice. Stella’s portrayal of female desire and defiance of misogynist convention was strikingly progressive for its time, even if still shaped by the limitations of the male gaze. Marketaki’s John The Violent does not focus on the crime, but only uses it as a springboard for a feminist exploration that is light years ahead of its time.  

Introductions: Stella screening on Thursday 10 September will be introduced by former Judge and human rights advocate, Betty Iliadou. John the Violent screening on Thursday 22 October will be introduced by Film Lecturer Tonia Kazakopoulou.

The film strand is held under the auspices of the Embassy of Greece in London.

evDoron is the in kind sponsor of the film strand.