The Syros International Film Festival (SIFF) returns July 28-31, celebrating its 10th anniversary in the capital of Cyclades with an edition packed with film screenings, audiovisual performances, installations, workshops and parallel events.
As each year, SIFF utilizes the cultural heritage of Syros in unexpected ways by carrying out screenings and public programs in selected parts of the island that enter into dialogue with the history of the place. From the open-air Pallas cinema to the emblematic Apollo theater and from the unique aesthetic of the Tarsanas Shipyard to the popular drive-in cinema in Dellagrazia, SIFF celebrates a decade of cooperation with local communities, and experimentation with different settings and viewing environments highlighting the island’s cultural and natural heritage.
The edition’s theme “Topos”, focuses on the local identity of Syros as an integral part of the dynamic creative process of SIFF, experiencing artistic works in a context that is defined by the characteristic landscape of Syros, and collaborations that work across traditional geographical borders. The selected theme proposes an alternative perspective, beyond the confines of large urban centers, where islands and other so-called “peripheral” areas emerge as places of contemporary artistic creation.
DAILY SCHEDULE
DAY 1
Thursday, July 28, 2022
PALLAS OUTDOOR CINEMA, HERMOUPOLIS
20:45
Opening remarks
21:00
Syros, the Embroidered Island
Antonis Albanopoulos, Greece, 1965, 14′
A hymn to Syros, extolling the island’s rich history and unique cultural, industrial, and natural heritage. The filmmaker worked as a projectionist in Syros’s many summer cinemas – most notably, the Pallas Outdoor Cinema – for several decades beginning in the 1950s, and made documentary films such as this one in his spare time.
The screening is accompanied by a presentation about the film and filmmaker by Nikos Albanopoulos. Developed in the context of the Peripheral Vision 2022 workshop. (Presentation in Greek with English interpretation).
21:45
Talking about Trees
Suhaib Gasmelbari, Sudan, 2019, 93′
In Sudan, cinema is a thing of the past, but four directors and lifelong friends refuse to accept it. They learned their art abroad – one of them is jokingly referred to as the Sudanese Eisenstein by the others. With their Sudanese film club, the men struggle to keep their film culture alive. To introduce others to the magic of film, they decide to rent a dilapidated old open-air cinema for a big free screening. But how do you do this in a country where there are power cuts, you lack the equipment and infrastructure, and the call to prayer blares out from mosques on all sides?
Held in collaboration with the platform Shasha Movies, with an introduction by programmer Bella Barkett.
CANTINA ANALOGUE, HERMOUPOLIS
00:00
Publication Launch Party
On the occasion of SIFF’s 10th anniversary, the Festival presents 4,924,800 seconds, a catalog edited by Eva Vaslamatzi and designed by OGUST. Through photographs, film stills, and original texts, it recounts the festival’s history as an expressive tale.
DJ set: Dimitris Karaiskos
DAY 2
Friday, July 29, 2022
APOLLON THEATER, HERMOUPOLIS
18:00
YOU SHALL NOT DISBAND US
Jazra Khaleed, Greece, 2022, 11′
Moments of class warfare in Syros during the early 20th century.
Produced in the context of Alternate Paths, a public walking workshop organized by SIFF that invites participants to encounter under-explored sites on Syros selected by a guest artist.
Filmmaker in attendance.
TARSANAS, HERMOUPOLIS
21:00
Architects’ Congress
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, France / Greece, 1933, 29′
In a unique cinematic journal, Bauhaus pioneer Moholy-Nagys records the meeting of the CIAM (International Congress of Architecture) in August 1933. The meeting was held on a yacht that cruised the Mediterranean Sea between Marseille, the Aegean Islands, and Athens.
Live Score by Saber Rider
Saber Rider is a producer, composer, performer, DJ, and educator currently focusing on plunderphonics and analogue synthesis. She performs an original live score set to the film, in an improvised soundscape highlighting the film’s ethnographic subject matter and formal qualities.
22:00
The Homeland of Electricity
Larisa Shepitko, USSR, 1967, 38′
This adaptation of an Andrei Platonov story, in which a naive young mechanic is sent to a remote village to bring it electricity, was one of three short films collected in an omnibus work (Beginning of an Unknown Era) commissioned to honor the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution.
A Tall Tale
Lucia Nimcova & Sholto Dobie, Slovakia, 2016, 34′
An improvised observational documentary shot in western Ukraine, bringing narrative, sound, and musical elements and nearly photographic tableaux vivants of reality into creative counterpoint. Figures of various ages alternate before the camera; interior and exterior locations change, but the song goes on.
DAY 3
Saturday, July 30, 2022
APOLLON THEATER, HERMOUPOLIS
18:00
Peripheral Vision 2022
Screenings and presentations of projects produced over the course of the 2022 Peripheral Vision workshop organized by SIFF, with the participation of Tamer El Said (Cimatheque – Alternative Film Center, Cairo), Ayman Nahle (UMAM Documentation & Research, Beirut), Alexandra Saliba (NAIAS, Syros), and Jacob Moe (Archipelago Network, Syros).
DELLAGRAZIA DRIVE-IN, POSIDONIA
21:00
Ghastly Memories 1
Nikos Theodosiou, France, 1968, 3′
In 1968 Nikos Theodosiou and Teos Romvos, two young filmmakers, meet one another in what becomes a lifelong friendship. They scrape together enough money to buy their first film camera, and enthusiastically roam the streets of Paris, capturing images.
1…
Teos Romvos, France, 1969, 6′
A short film shot in Paris by Teos Romvos with the participation of Blanche Molfessis, François Garnier, and Takis Giannakopoulos, among others. Snapshots of a bustling city, fragments of youthful romance, and the looming presence of a mysterious man.
Filmmaker in attendance.
Follow Them
Evi Kalogiropoulou, Greece, 2020, 25΄
This film about Teos Romvos and Chara Pelekanou, artists and activists on Syros, is titled after one of Teos’s own phrases – one that encapsulates his belief that we should follow the lead of women, if the world is to have a real chance at survival. Commissioned by curator Nadja Argyropoulou for the exhibition, TRYPA: Stories of love, anarchy, care and disruption, as are told with Teos Romvos and Chara Pelekanou, organized by PLATO Ostrava, in Czech Republic.
Introduction by Nadja Argyropoulou
22:00
The Petrified Forest
Archie Mayo, USA, 1936, 82΄
In this classic American crime film which established the inimitable Humphrey Bogart as a major talent, the waitress in an isolated Arizona diner dreams of a bigger and better life. A penniless intellectual drifts into the joint, and the two strike up a rapport. When a notorious killer takes the diner’s inhabitants hostage, the patrons and staff, surrounded by miles of desert, are forced to sit tight and make the best of being stuck in the middle of nowhere.
KOMITO BEACH
00:00
DJ set: Blue Lagoon & Andreas Palmer. Opening set: Jo Rad Silver
DAY 4
Sunday, July 31, 2022
APOLLON THEATER, HERMOUPOLIS
18:00
Syros: Transtopia
Celebrating the decades of activism, art-making and eco-rebellion of Teos Romvos and Chara Pelekanou, this conversation takes up Syros as a focal point for, and portal onto an international flow of people and ideas.
With the participation of Teos Romvos, Chara Pelekanou, and Nadja Argyropoulou
21:00
Live performance: Panos Alexiadis
Panos Alexiadis is a sound artist mainly working with electronics and magnetic tape. His approach to sound lies between composition and improvisation, all merged in long form built structures of synthetic and acoustic textures, evolving a sense of wandering in an introverted semi – abstract sound environment.
ASTERIA DOCK
22.00
Caiques at Asteria
SIFF’s closing event takes the form of a site-specific intervention celebrating elements of Syros’s maritime heritage designed by Konstantinos Pantazis & Marianna Rentzou (Point Supreme), Irini Peraki and Adrien Meuwly (Comte/Meuwly). With the participation of traditional boats from Syros.
In the context of the Peripheral Vision 2022 workshop, the installation The Haunting Disappearance designed by Ayman Nahle (UMAM Documentation & Research) is on display from July 29-31, 11:00-14:00 at the Apollon Theater. Tracing Escaped Images, a parallel interactive installation and book project by Tamer El Said (Cimatheque – Alternative Film Center), is presented from 11:00-14:00 and 18:00-20:00 daily between 29-31 July. Visit the project and participate in its development during visiting hours (free admission).
Festival Venues
PALLAS OUTDOOR CINEMA
27 Chiou St., Hermoupolis
Located at the southwest corner of Chiou street, on Miaouli Square in central Hermoupolis.
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.
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 – Megas 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.
APOLLON THEATER
Vardaka Sq., Hermoupolis
A short walk up Melina Merkouri street, 50 meters up the road from Miaouli Square in central Hermoupolis.
ASTERIA DOCK
Vaporia, Hermoupolis
A short walk down the stairs from Agios Nikolaos church in the Vaporia neighborhood of Hermoupolis.
Important Information
The Syros International Film Festival fully complies with the guidelines and recommendations of the Covid-19 Committee of Experts of the Greek Ministry of Health for the safe operation of live events and open-air performances with seated spectators.
Audience members are kindly requested to follow the guidelines closely. The Festival team is at the audience’s disposal for further assistance during the events.
Each SIFF 2022 location has limited capacity of visitors. All entry is on a first come, first served basis.
Hand sanitisers are available at the entrance of each location.
Wearing a face mask is suggested throughout the open-air screenings and performances.
For reasons of safety and to avoid delays in the program, timely arrival at the Festival venues (approx. 30 minutes before each screening) is strongly recommended.
Daily tickets, with a purchase price of 5 euro, available for sale at the SIFF kiosk in Miaouli square and at screening locations, are required for entry to festival events. Admission to the events taking place in the Apollon Theater from 11:00-14:00 and 18:00 is free, as is the closing event at Asteria Dock.
The program may be modified due to exceptional developments in the health sector. Please follow SIFF’s Facebook page for the latest developments.
SIFF 2022 Festival Staff
TEAM
Program Cassandra Celestin, Aaron Khandros, Jacob Moe Head of Communications Natalie Tsirigoti Social Media Coordinator Katerina P. Trichia Print Traffic Coordinator Manolis Melissourgos Projectionist Christos Giampoulakis Technical Coordinator Vagelis Moschos Local Production and Volunteers Coordinator Rafaela Karagianni, Arion Kalogeras, Justine Arvanitis Local Production Runners Konstantinos Sidiropoulos Peripheral Vision Workshop Coordinator Mikaela Popović Early Frames Youth Workshops Coordinator Zina Lefkou
Topos 2022 Campaign Design Studio Precarity – A Joint Gesture by Vassiliki-Maria Plavou and Marios Stamatis Publications Editor Eva Vaslamatzi Translations Geli Mademli, Jacob Moe Photographers Alexandros Petrakis Hospitality Coordinator Marylina Freri
Legal Advisor Stavros Koutalas Development and Fundraising Consultant Argiro Mesimeri
2022 Volunteers Lucia Amieva-Wang, Minnie Bates, Chris Eaves, Georgios Goulielmos, Antonia Halavazi, Foteini Haliabalia, Polydoros Kalaitzis, Zoe Kapsili, Hannah Kofman, Wanda Konstantinidi, Erika Mallett, Sebastien Malo, Penelope Mamai, Malvina Michaloudi, Sofia Noti, Savina Onisiforou, Anna Panagiotidou, Sofia Panagiotopoulou, Io Papadatou, Katerina Papageorgaki, Nikolina Plivouri, Aliki Vasileiou, Lilli Walter
EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS
Audiovisual Support Nikos Kontizas, Dimitris Kontizas Technical Support Accelere, 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, Kurt Schwarz, Sia Xanalatou, Anthony E. Comninos
THANKS
Tasos Adamopoulos, Kyriakos Angelakos, Iris Asimakopoulou, Sakis Bouzanis, Aris Christou, Irini Drakou, Katerina Georgiou, Stelios Kimionis, Maria Komninou, Georgios Kritsinis, Elina Kountouri, Panayiotis Konstantinidis, Giannis Kotsonis, Panos Kouanis, Panayiotis Koutsabasis, Théo Koutsaftis, Nikos Leivadaras, Aliki Leontaritis, Giorgos Leontaritis, Kostas Lorenzos, Polina Mouratidou, Nikos Moutselos, Dionysis Notarakis, Pantelis Panteloglou, Phaedra Papadopoulou, Panos Papoulias, Hara Pelekanou, Stefanie Peter, Angeliki Psilopoulou, Teo Romvos, Dimitris Spirou, Grigoris Stavropoulos, Danae Stefanou, Petros Stefanou, Peggy Stergiou, Maria Tavlariou, Katerina Triantafyllou, Tonia Tzortzi, Stelios Vassilakis, Markos Voutsinos, Fay Zika, Maria Zoidou
Thanks to all of SIFF’s local partners, and to the filmmakers and other individuals who contributed their thoughts and reflections towards this year’s theme.
