WASHINGTON, DC – The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in association with the New York City Greek Film Festival, is presenting “Athens Today: New Greek Cinema,” a series of six films to be shown weekends during January and February at the National’s East Building Auditorium, 6th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.
Opening the series on January 9 is Angeliki Aristomenopoulou’s A Family Affair, a documentary on the Xylouris family, world-famed exponents of Cretan music. The much acclaimed Little England, directed by Pantelis Voulgaris, follows on January 16. Chevalier, the new film by Athina Rachel Tsangari, will be shown on January 24, and Oscar contender Xenia, directed by Panos Koutras, on February 7. Margarita Manda’s romantic drama Forever will be shown on Valentine’s Day, February 14. The series closes on February 28 with the U.S. premiere of Silent, a psychological drama directed by Yorgos Gkikapeppas. The director is expected to attend the screening.
“There is an inventive spirit infusing cinema and the culture of filmmaking in Greece today,” said Margaret Parsons, head of the National Gallery’s Film Department. “Young filmmakers, typically born after 1970, are meeting the challenges of economic downturn with creative and committed approaches and a vast artistic reserve. As a result, recent cinema in Greece has been imaginative, wise, hugely varied, and often daring or offbeat enough to shun the conventions of an earlier generation.”
“The emergence of Greece as the source of vibrant cinema continues unabated,” said James DeMetro, director of the NYC Greek Film Festival. “I am pleased that the National Gallery of Art will give audiences in the Washington area the opportunity to experience these wonderful films that people all over the world are discovering,” he said, adding that he was very pleased to work with Parsons.
DeMetro told TNH, “Our mission at the NYC Greek Film Festival has always been to find an audience here for Greek films. With the support of donors and audiences, we have been able to expand beyond New York City to Long Island, Boston and Atlanta – and now Washington. There is a large international audience in the area that can appreciate the quality films the National will be screening. Young Greek filmmakers are consistently turning out world-class films that deserve to be seen.”
Admission to all screenings is free. More information is available by clicking on Winter 2016 Film Calendar at: nga.gov/film.
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