Greece - Korina Miller [46]
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But Greece hasn’t had a major international hit since Zorba, and beyond the festival circuit few have made an impact outside Greece. Two major mainstream films that gained international cinematic releases outside Greece – the first in many years – were Tasos Boulmetis’ A Touch of Spice (Politiki Kouzina; 2003) and Pantelis Voulgaris’ 2004 hit Brides (Nyfes), which was executively produced by Martin Scorsese. Perakis’ chauvinistic but fun 2005 comedy Sirens in the Aegean was a big local hit, as was the high-budget El Greco (2007), and Malea’s 2007 comedy First Time Godfather.
The latest wave of filmmakers is attracting international attention with films that present a grittier, up-close and candid look at contemporary Greek life, a shift from the idealised and romanticised views from the past. Directors to watch include Konstantinos Giannaris, whose provocative documentary-style films such as From the Edge of the City and his most recent release Hostage seem to split audiences and critics alike. Dennis Iliadis directed his first American film, Last House on the Left (2009), a remake of the classic horror film, on the back of his 2004 movie Hardcore, about young prostitutes in Athens. Writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos won the new talent (Un Certain Regard) section at Cannes in 2009 for his drama Dog Tooth (Kynodonta), the first major prize at the festival for Greece in a decade.
Greece’s most prestigious film event is the annual Thessaloniki International Film Festival in November, which has been going for 50 years.
Television
Greek TV offers a jumble of programs from histrionic comedy series, talk shows and soap operas to Greek versions of reality TV, game shows and star-producing talent shows, including Fame Story and Greece Has Got Talent. Prime-time TV is dominated by news and locally produced shows, with significant investment in original Greek TV series, though in recent years many programs have been adaptations of foreign show (such as The Nanny).
Popular comedies are generally hammed up and loud, though there have also been some excellent dramas in recent years tackling social themes such as immigration, single mothers and life in rural Greece. The most popular show in 2009 was actor-comedian Lakis Lazopoulos’ satirical news show Al Tsantiri News.
TV reflects Greek stereotypes and local preoccupations, as well as attitudes to gender roles and sexual mores, one example being younger women often portrayed in relationships with much older men, while comedies such as Seven Deadly Mothers-in-Law play on well-known stereotypes. Outlandish weather girl Petroula’s nightly forecasts are a mind-boggling recent addition to Greece’s TV offerings (and a YouTube hit).
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SPORT
Football (soccer) remains the most popular spectator sport in Greece, followed by basketball and volleyball. For a brief time after Greece’s astounding football victory in the 2004 European Cup, Greece was the reigning European champion in both football and basketball (2005 winners). This followed the resounding success of the Athens 2004 homecoming Olympic Games, but little of international note has since happened in the Greek sporting arena.
Football’s first division is dominated by the big glamour-clubs of the league: Olympiakos of Piraeus and Panathinaikos of Athens, with their rivalry occasionally interrupted by AEK Athens and PAOK from Thessaloniki. Olympiakos has dominated the domestic game and in 2009 clinched the Greek Championship for the fifth consecutive year and claimed its 14th double after a spectacular 15–14 win in a penalty shootout with AEK.
Greek soccer teams have attracted some top international players in recent years, but hooliganism and violence at soccer matches has affected attendance at games. Greece normally fields two teams in the European Champions League, but remains in the shadow of Europe’s soccer heavyweights.
Greece