Passing into its second decade, the Syros International Film Festival (SIFF), arrives in the capital of the Cyclades from July 28–31. Exploring the theme of Passage, SIFF invites its audience to embark on a cinematic journey of discovery, featuring a rich program of rare film screenings, audiovisual performances and public events.
With an unwavering commitment to the island of Syros, SIFF proudly presents its program at a range of locations interlinked with the island’s social and cultural fabric: the Pallas outdoor cinema, the emblematic Apollon Theater, the aesthetically unique Tarsanas shipyard, the popular Dellagrazia Drive-In, and the “Vikelas” Pool.
With Passage as the central theme for this edition, SIFF initiates a dialogue between audience and moving image, exploring states of transition between notions such as reality and fiction, life and death, personal memory and history, tradition and modernity, through a diverse selection of local and international works.
DAILY SCHEDULE
DAY 1
Friday, July 28, 2023
17.00–20:15
Alternate Paths: I Walk Where you Walk
Ersi Varveri and Gijs Waterschoot (Pink House press) organize a walk that highlights stone engravings in the wider area of Hermoupolis and Ano Syros.
*Please note that registration to the event is now closed. Thank you for your interest.
PALLAS OUTDOOR CINEMA, HERMOUPOLIS
20:30
Opening Remarks
20:45
The Wind Will Carry Us
Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1998, 118′
In this lyrical, austere, yet transcendental masterpiece of Iranian cinema, a film crew arrives in a small village in Iranian Kurdistan to make a film on lament. As days pass uneventfully and life goes on at its normal pace, the crew decides to depart and afterlife bleeds into the everyday.
22:45
Fit
Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece, 1994, 8′
Lizzie finds it frustrating and difficult that she is unable to fit things together. In the process she learns how much of the world actually has the need to fit into something else.
CANTINA ANALOGUE, HERMOUPOLIS
23:00
Launch Party
DJ Set: Dimitris Karaiskos
DAY 2
Saturday, July 29, 2023
APOLLON THEATER, HERMOUPOLIS
11:00
Forensis: The Pylos Shipwreck
On 14 June 2023, the Adriana, a boat leaving Libya for Italy with hundreds of migrants on board, sank inside the Greek Search and Rescue (SAR) zone in the Mediterranean Sea, becoming the deadliest migrant shipwreck in recent history. The ongoing investigation by Forensis is presented, highlighting the lethal nature of modern border regimes and the stakes of passage through the Aegean sea.
Presented by Georgia Skartadou
18:00
Turkish Delight
Pınar Öğrenci, Greece/Turkey/Germany, 2022, 31′
An art project that follows the production of lokum, one of the most emblematic delicacies of Turkish culinary culture, which extends from Western Anatolia to the Greek island of Syros.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Dina Sykoutri, a local loukoumi producer.
Filmmaker in attendance
DELLAGRAZIA DRIVE-IN, POSIDONIA*
21:00
The Photograph
Nikos Papatakis, Greece, 1987, 102′
The story of an encounter between the Greek son of a Communist who wishes to cross over to Europe, and a Greek emigré who wishes to return to his homeland, becomes a fierce comment on the modern history of the country and the power of the collective imaginary.
23:00
We Are The Houses We Lived In
Katerina Markoulaki, Greece, 2022, 15′
A trip to the village where the filmmaker’s mother grew up becomes the backbone of an intimate film that reflects on familial bonds, personal memory, and the boundaries of gender structures.
Filmmaker in attendance
23:30
Perfumed Nightmare
Kidlat Tahimik, Germany/Philippines, 1977, 93′
The remarkable debut of the father of Philippine independent cinema puts us in the back seat of a “jeepney” (one of the many American Army jeeps abandoned after the end of World War II and later appropriated as means of public transport), while the driver, “played” by the filmmaker himself, is a young man who dreams of becoming an astronaut.
*Guests with vehicles are asked to arrive by 20.30 to ensure timely parking and seating arrangements.
00:30
Komito Beach Party
DJ Sets: Andreas Palmer & Blue Lagoon w/ guests
DAY 3
Sunday, July 30, 2023
APOLLON THEATER, HERMOUPOLIS
18:00
What We Ask of A Statue is That It Doesn’t Move (Work-In-Progress)
Daphne Heretakis, Greece
What is it that connects us to statues and monuments? How do we look at them and how do they look back at us? Daphne Heretakis, who has entered the process of creating her next film, shares the first images of an essay documentary containing elements of fiction, discussing the filmmaking process with a wider audience.
VIKELAS POOL, HERMOUPOLIS
21:00
Eaux d’Artifice
Kenneth Anger, USA, 1953, 13′
Against the backdrop of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, a woman dressed in a Renaissance gown immerses in a magical nocturnal reverie in Tivoli’s Villa d’Este. With the title’s wordplay alluding to the fluid nature of the human gaze, the seemingly simpler and more unstrained film in the oeuvre of the iconic director remains an ode to the sweeping power of water and the moving image to elicit desire.
21:15
3 Women
Robert Altman, USA, 1977, 124´
Amid the arid landscape of the Californian desert, three women of different ages, social classes, temperaments, and backgrounds come together with the power of water. In Robert Altman’s kaleidoscopic masterpiece, the passage from the blue lagoon of a hydrotherapy clinic to the empty swimming pool of a secluded housing complex – a canvas for the representation of a rehearsal for the Apocalypse – is a reflecting maze leading to the unfathomable depths of female psyche.
MOUSOUTOU
23:30
Vikelas After Party
DJ Set: 132 Hertz, Ablaze Meursault and coupdetat
DAY 4
Monday, July 31, 2023
APOLLON THEATER, HERMOUPOLIS
11.00
Archipelagic Passage
Contemporary artists and cultural practitioners residing in or coming from the Aegean islands, discuss past and future artistic engagements and exchanges. With James Bridle, Antonis Pittas, and Ersi Varveri & Gijs Waterschoot.
Moderated by Rachael Rakes
18:00
Trans-Mediterranean Archive Dialogue
An open conversation between Tamer El Said (Cimatheque – Alternative Film Center, Cairo) Ayman Nahle (UMAM Documentation & Research, Beirut), and Jacob Moe (Archipelago Network, Syros) tackles ethical questions that arise from the preservation and re-use of audiovisual archival materials, and collaboratively investigates the social, political, and legal considerations of open access.
TARSANAS SHIPYARD
21:00
Boatbuilding on Syros: Short Films
Jacob Moe, Greece, 2022, 45´
A living traditional craft, wooden boatbuilding has been practiced on Syros for millenia. The portraits of five boatbuilders who live on the island (Makis Mavrikos, Thanasis Vlamis, Nikos Karamolegos, Manolis Zorzos, and Spiros Xagoraris) narrate an island and society in transition.
A production of Archipelago Network.
22:00
Finis Terrae
Jean Epstein, France, 1929, 82´
Live Score: Savvas Metaxas
The legendary French cinéaste makes use of early documentary techniques to imagine the reality of a tiny island off the coast of Brittany, where a quarrel between seaweed fishermen camped by the sea transforms the ecosystem of an insular community.
Savvas Metaxas is a musician and sound artist who works with composition, experimental music, field recordings, and modular synthesis. His music has been released on various Greek and international labels.
00:00
Closing Ceremony
DJ Set: Khmer
FESTIVAL SCREENING LOCATIONS
PALLAS OUTDOOR CINEMA
27 Chiou St, Hermoupolis
Located at the southwest corner of Chiou street, on Miaouli Square in central Hermoupolis.
APOLLON THEATER
Vardaka Sq, Hermoupolis
A short walk up Melina Merkouri street, 50m. up the road from Miaouli Square in central Hermoupolis.
DELLAGRAZIA DRIVE-IN
Iras Ave, Posidonia
A 20-minute drive from Hermoupolis, heading south along the port and out of town. From the roundabout, take the southward road, Iroon Politechniou. Continuing south, this road may alternatively be called Iras or Eparchiaki Odos Kato Manna – Megalos Gialos. This one road will take you past the towns of Vari and Megas Gialos, and on towards Posidonia. No turns necessary. As you near Posidonia, the Drive-In will be in a field to your left, visible from the road.
KOMITO BEACH
Posidonia
Komitо beach is οn thе southwest part оf Sуrоs and can be reached by car. It is just 1.5 km awаy from Pоsidοnia and easily accessible via pаved road.
VIKELAS SWIMMING POOL
Hermoupolis
The Athletic Center of the Municipality of Syros-Hermoupolis is located next to the sea and the shipyard.
TARSANAS SHIPYARD
Iroon Politechniou St, Hermoupolis
A 20-minute walk from Miaouli Square, following the port road southward (Akti Ethnikis Antistaseos, which bends right then left to become Nikiforou Mandilara). From the roundabout, continue south on Iroon Politechniou until you pass the “Vidalis” supermarket. Tarsanas will be on your left, easily identifiable by the boats in the shipyard.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Daily tickets, with a purchase price of five (5) euros, are available for sale at the SIFF kiosk in Miaouli square and at screening locations. Zero-value tickets for the events at the Apollon theater must be reserved separately through the www.ticketservices.gr platform. Admission to the events taking place in the Apollon Theater is free, as is the closing event at Tarsanas.
All entry is on a first come, first served basis.
To avoid delays in the program, timely arrival at the Festival venues (approx. 30 minutes before each screening) is strongly recommended.
*The program may be modified. Please follow SIFF’s Facebook (@syrosfilmfest) and Instagram pages (@syrosinternationalfilmfestival) for the latest developments.
SIFF 2023 FESTIVAL STAFF
Team
Director/ Co-Founder Jacob Moe Program Justine Arvanitis, Arion Kalogeras, Rafaela Karagianni, Zina Lefkou, Geli Mademli, Jacob Moe, Katerina P. Trichia, Lead Producer Dimitra Dernikou General Production Coordinator Katerina Gnafaki Print Traffic Coordinator Manolis Melissourgos Projectionist Christos Giampoulakis Technical Coordinator Vagelis Moschos Head of Communications Feni Benou, Marina Sakellariou Social Media Coordinator Katerina P. Trichia Local Production and Volunteers Coordinators Rafaela Karagianni, Arion Kalogeras, Justine Arvanitis Hospitality Coordinator Marylina Freri Runners Kakkanas Georgios, Mpormpantonakis Ioannis Production Intern Martha Arvanitidou
Passage 2023 Campaign Design Studio Precarity – A Joint Gesture by Vassiliki-Maria Plavou and Marios Stamatis Translations Geli Mademli, Jacob Moe Photographers Alexandros Petrakis, Myrto Tzima Videographer Apostolos Zarris
Legal Advisor Stavros Koutalas Legal Assistant Panayotis Korakovounis Development and Fundraising Consultant Argiro Mesimeri
2023 Volunteers Amalia Birba, Jonathan Bugiel, Chrysanthos Dalezios, Sofia Dara, Antonia Halavazi, Dimitris Kapsilis, Liana Karakosta, Sofia Karydi, Regina Korkovellou, Ida Lützenkirchen, Mikael Whomsley Mabileau, Pinelopi Mamai, Silia Mavropoulou, Elena Athina Mieslinger, Sofia Noti, Sofia Panagiotopoulou, Io Papadatou, Jay Ian Sutherland, Evi Theodoraki, Zoe Xaralambidou
External Collaborators
Audiovisual Support Nikos Kontizas, Dimitris Kontizas Technical Support Two Thirty Five (2|35) Subtitling Neaniko Plano Accounting Services FK Consulting SIFF Visual Identity MNP Website Design MNP Website Development Tool Website Support Konstantinos Papasteriadis
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Friends of SIFF
Genie Adrianopoulos, Gina Marcou, Michalis Matantos, Sia Xanalatou
Thanks
Thanks to all of SIFF’s local partners, to the filmmakers, participating artists, and other individuals who contributed their thoughts and reflections towards this year’s theme.
