The Collections

HELLAFFI Collection

HELLAFFI, the well-known collection of giant cinema posters was donated to the Thessaloniki Cinema Museum by the Hellenic Culture Organization (OPEP A.E.)

The HELLAFFI collection is considered unique worldwide as it consists of, apart from the gigantic hand-made poster-paintings, pre-drawings executed in pen, lithographs, watercolour paintings, pieces executed in ink and pencil.

Kostas Arvanitidis Collection

The Arvanitidis Collection involves hand-made giant cinema posters in a variety of dimensions. During the past, those were placed on the facades of Thessaloniki cinema theatres in order to advertise the Greek or foreign films that were scheduled for screening. Moreover, there is archival material consisting of meetings proceedings and documents from the Thessaloniki based Apellis Association of Greek Painters – Sign-Painters - Decorators and Advertisers.

Nicholas & Catherine Bililis Collection

The Bililis Collection comprises approximately 55 films, basically Greek productions spanning from 1962 to 1972 as well as foreign ones from USA (1940’s), England (1950’s), Germany (1960’s), India (1970’s) etc. Of great importance are the newsreels and the chronicles dated between 1964-1982. In this particular collection there exist French documentaries, silent movies, German newsreels, American animation films, Greek concerts, advertisements as well as trailers from USA, Russia, Italy, England, China, France and Turkey. Another category of the collection one comes across while visiting the museum is a selection of film equipment and components such as cameras and film projectors, film reels, 1890’s magic lanterns, lenses, film negatives, lamps e.t.c.

Vasilis Papadopoulos Collection

The Papadopoulos Collection contains films, newsreels, animation, film extracts, trailers and documentaries from different parts of America and Europe. The particular collection also includes film projectors, books and publications relating to cinema.

Other Collections 

The museum hosts amongst others collections such as that by the Macedonia-Thrace Ministry which comprises approximately 90 educational films produced in the 1970’s - mostly Greek productions but also American – as well as trailers of English productions from the 1990’s onwards.