This year’s “Restored and Beautiful” programme is pleased to show newly restored films coming from all over the world: France, United States, Mexico, Sweden, Czech Republic and of course Greece. Many of these films are opportunities to rediscover rare films that were incomplete, as in the case of “Our Hospitality” by Buster Keaton, “Ekstase” by Gustav Machatý or “Two Monks” by Juan Bostillo Oro, which have been rebuilt from the original nitrate material in their uncut versions. “The Apaches of Athens” by Dimitris Gaziadis, for instance, was considered lost for decades until its recent discovery in the vault of the Cinémathèque française in Paris.
Across 45 years of filmmaking – from 1923 to 1968 – we see how mainstream movies were influenced by experimental forms and avant-gardes, but also the rise of the new independent cinema of the 1960’s, in films such as “Imagine Robinson Crusoe” by Jean Daniel-Pollet and “Barnvagnen” by Bo Widerberg. Through the development of the film genres, we are also witnessing the evolution of technologies such as sound, special effects, and color in film. This year’s selection demonstrates the political impact of the films in their time and their function as mirrors of societies: women’s fights for rights, destruction of the family life, modern visions of love, and the future of humanity.
The programme consists of five sections:
Athens in the 1930s: from the operetta to the screen ➔ The Apaches of Athens
Showcasing the first “singing and sound” film or early Greek cinema, “The Apaches of Athens” (1930) by Dimitris Gaziadis.
Ladies, Paradise Now ➔ Outrage | Ecstasy | The Baby Carriage | Ladies' Paradise
Like a continuous back and forth between hell and paradise, this section introduces figures of women characters, fighting for independence and happiness, through cinema’s history, from the silent era to the beginning of sound and from classical Hollywood until the new wave of the ‘60s.
Anywhere οut οf the world ➔ Our Hospitality | Voyage To The End Of The Universe | Imagine Robinson Crusoe
In reference to a poem written by Baudelaire, this section, consisting of 3 films, is dedicated to escape, journey, and being inside oneself in a wild, beautiful, empty world or universe.
Mexican Νoir ➔ The Εxterminating Αngel | Two Monks
A vision of the Gothic, “noir” and claustrophobic atmospheres in two films, representatives of the genre in Mexico.
Midnight Movie ➔ Black Sabbath
Traditionally, the midnight movies in theaters were scheduled very late, hidden from a larger audience, because of their content, which could have been either subversive, violent, scary or could have had the flavor of uncensored B movies. This year’s selection focuses on the great Italian master of strange and dreadful films: Mario Bava.
Curation, programming, introduction: Céline Ruivo (independent expert in film restoration)
