1. Reconstruction (1970), “Anaparastasi” (original title)
A woman murders her husband, upon his return home after a long absence, with the complicity of the lover who has relieved her loneliness. Costas Ghoussis, an emigrant recently returned to his native country, is coming back from the fields, a shovel on his shoulder. He pushes open the garden gate in front of his house and calls his wife: Eleni! She does not answer; the reason: she is hidden behind the door of the kitchen with another man, Christos, a gamekeeper, the lover that she took during her husband’s absence. Just as Costas crosses the threshold he is attacked and strangled. Despite their precautions, a relative of the victim suspects them and alerts the police. The criminals confess their crime. The reconstruction is that of the examining magistrate, whose inquiries are interspersed with sequences of the crime – although the actual murder is never shown – and with a social documentary which a TV unit (including the director himself) is making about the crime and the village.
- Director: Theodoros Angelopoulos
- Writers: Theodoros Angelopoulos, Stratis Karras,
- Stars: Toula Stathopoulou, Yannis Totsikas, Thanos Grammenos
2. Plato’s Academy (2009) , “Akadimia Platonos” (original title)
A Greek shopkeeper discovers something about his family’s past when his mother embraces an Albanian worker.
- Director: Filippos Tsitos
- Writers: Alexis Kardaras, Filippos Tsitos
- Stars: Antonis Kafetzopoulos, Anastasis Kozdine, Titika Sarigouli
3. Brides (2004), “Nyfes” (original title)
Set in 1922, is the story of a mail order bride, one of 700, aboard the SS KING ALEXANDER, who falls in love with an American photographer. She is bound for her new husband, in New York; he is on his way home to a failed marriage.
- Director: Pantelis Voulgaris
- Writer: Ioanna Karystiani
- Stars: Damian Lewis, Victoria Haralabidou, Andréa Ferréo
4. Rembetiko (1983)
The story of a group of Rembetes, singers and musicians of the Greek equivalent to the blues, in the early decades of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a young female singer.
- Director: Costas Ferris
- Writers: Costas Ferris, Sotiria Leonardou
- Stars: Sotiria Leonardou, Nikos Kalogeropoulos, Michalis Maniatis
5. The Trojan Women (1971)
The women of Troy face enslavement after the fall of their city.
- Director: Mihalis Kakogiannis (as Michael Cacoyannis)
- Writers: Euripides (play), Edith Hamilton (English translation), 1 more credit »
- Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Geneviève Bujold
6. Hostage (2005), “Omiros” (original title)
Inspired by the real-life story of a bus hijacking in Northern Greece, HOSTAGE explores the sensitive issue of Greek-Albanian relations through a young Albanian who takes over an intercity bus. Upon hijacking the bus, he takes the seven passengers hostage and demands a ransom of half and million euro, and safe passage to his homeland of Albania. Surrounded by police, the bus trundles towards the Albanian border and the tension mounts until the final harrowing conclusion.
- Director: Constantine Giannaris
- Writer: Constantine Giannaris
- Stars: Stathis Papadopoulos, Theodora Tzimou, Yannis Stankoglou
7. A Girl in Black (1956), “To koritsi me ta mavra” (original title)
Marina’s sister drowned herself, her brother is both headstrong and weak, and her widowed mother has a reputation for sleeping around. Plus, Marina, who’s family was rich before the war, is aloof: so she’s the object of the jealousy and scorn of Hydra’s young men, especially Christos, whom she rejected. She fears harassment whenever she leaves her house. When two Athenians on vacation board at Marina’s family home, things come to a head: she falls in love with Pavlos, one of the visitors, and he with her. The young men in town stalk and jeer her; then play a cruel trick on Pavlos that goes awry with tragic results. Can any good come from the catharsis of tragedy?
- Director: Mihalis Kakogiannis
- Writer: Mihalis Kakogiannis
- Stars: Ellie Lambeti, Dimitris Horn, Eleni Zafeiriou
8. A Touch of Spice (2003), “Politiki kouzina” (original title)
“A Touch of Spice” is a story about a young Greek boy (Fanis) growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor,teaches him that both food and life require a little salt to give them flavor; they both require… A Touch of Spice. Fanis grows up to become an excellent cook and uses his cooking skills to spice up the lives of those around him. 35 years later he leaves Athens and travels back to his birthplace of Istanbul to reunite with his grandfather and his first love; he travels back only to realize that he forgot to put a little bit of spice in his own life.
- Director: Tassos Boulmetis
- Writer: Tassos Boulmetis
- Stars: Georges Corraface, Ieroklis Michaelidis, Renia Louizidou
9. LITTLE GREEK GODFATHER (2007), ‘’Proti for a nonos’’
A famous politician sends to Crete his 13 years old son to baptize a child instead of him. There he will be for first time Godfather in the sake of Democracy and his father ‘s love.
- Director: Olga Malea
- Writer: Nikos Papandreou
- Stars: Antonis Kafetzopoulos, Eleni Kastani, Tex Pardiou.
10. Little England (2013), “Mikra Anglia” (original title)
One home, one secret, one man, two sisters.
- Director: Pantelis Voulgaris
- Writer: Ioanna Karystiani
- Stars: Pinelopi Tsilika, Sofia Kokkali, Aneza Papadopoulou
11. Iphigenia (1977)
To appease offended gods before going to war, a commander must sacrifice his favorite daughter to them but does so under the pretext of marrying her off.
- Director: Mihalis Kakogiannis
- Writers: Euripides (play), Mihalis Kakogiannis
- Stars: Irene Papas, Kostas Kazakos, Kostas Karras
12. The Travelling Players (1975), “O thiasos” (original title)
Greece 1939 – 1952 Fascist, Nazi, Communist conflict as seen through a family of travelling provincial players
- Director: Theodoros Angelopoulos
- Writer: Theodoros Angelopoulos
- Stars: Eva Kotamanidou, Aliki Georgouli, Vangelis Kazan
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