Tribute to Niko’s Peraki’s comedies

TRIBUTE TO NIKOS PERAKIS’ COMEDIES

The festival honors the leader of contemporary social satire in Greek cinema, the recipient of 2018 NYCGRFF Audience Award with his uproaring comedy “Success story” and the instigator of this year’s Best New Director Award, screening three of his most defining films.

Loafing + Camouflage

Fiction, 96’, 1984

Synopsis: In 1967, infantryman Papadopoulos is transferred from an outpost on the snow-bound Greek-Bulgarian border to a unit in Athens, near his wife and his newborn twin daughters. He becomes part of a group of soldiers, who, in the course of their compulsory service, have to deal with the military dictatorship which seizes power. The men are assigned to the recently-formed “Armed Forces Television” unit.

Cast Nikos Kalogeropoulos, Yorgos Kimoulis, Takis Spyridakis, Stavros Xenidis, Christos Valavanidis, Andreas Filippidis

Living Dangerously

Fiction, 101’, 1987

Synopsis: On the day of the World Cup Final, Karamanos, an employee of the Hellenic Telecom Organization, connects his CEO’s personal computer to a complex explosive device. He threatens to blow up the floor and the satellite links, unless he is allowed to appear on national TV ten minutes before the soccer match is broadcast in order to denounce all the evils plaguing the life of the Greek citizen.

Cast Yorgos Kimoulis, Dimitris Kallivokas, Yorgos Kotanidis, Pavlos Kontogiannidis, Takis Moschos, Dimitris Poulikakos.

Sirens in the Aegean

Fiction, 111’, 2005

Synopsis:A Turkish yacht puts three illegal immigrants and castaways ashore on a little Greek island. Apart from the crew, there are three women on board, two of them beauty contestants and a former winner, as well as a reporter and a cameraman from the Turkish network that organizes the annual event. The six Greek soldiers stationed there force the crew and passengers to disembark and impound the yacht.

Cast Yannis Tsimitselis, Yorgos Seitaridis, Orfeas Avgoustidis, Vassilis Haralambopoulos, Vicky Kaya, Ioannis Papazisis.

Nikos Perakis

One of the leading comedy auteurs in contemporary Greek cinema, Nikos Perakis was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1944 of Greek parents. He studied costume and stage design at the Munich Fine Arts Academy (1962-66) and worked as set designer in minor theatrical and TV productions. After his military service (1966-69) in the “Armed Forces Television” unit, he re-emigrated and worked as set, costume, and production designer for many notable productions in Germany and later in Greece. In 1971 he started writing, directing and producing his own films, first in Germany and then in Greece, where he decided to settle in 2000.