The 4th Evia Film Project, Thessaloniki Film Festival’s green initiative, is landing on Agia Anna, Edipsos and Limni, from June 17th to June 21st, 2025, with the notion of Greek summer at its thematic core, relived through its cinematic imagery.
A selection of Greek and international films, classics and latest releases, fiction films and documentaries, urge us to rediscover Greek summer in the screenings held in the open-air cinemas Apollon in Edipsos and Elymnion in Limni, as well as in the Fishing Shelter in Agia Anna. Moreover, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy a collection of short films, which depart from different points but always end up at the center of this year’s thematic core, as well as daily VR screenings in Edipsos. The opening film of the 4th Evia Film Project is the explosive musical Mamma Mia! by Phyllida Lloyd, starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, which was shot in Greece and will serve as an ideal opening to this year’s edition. The closing film is Stelios by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, a tribute to a great Greek singer whose voice found its way to the hearts of Greeks around the world, Stelios Kazantzidis.
The films of this year’s edition:
Animal by Sofia Exarchou (2023)
Under the hot Greek sun, the animators at an all-inclusive island resort prepare for the busy tourist season. Kalia is the group leader. As summer intensifies and the work pressure builds up, their nights become violent and Kalia’s struggle is revealed in the darkness. But when the spotlights turn on again, the show must go on.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/YRvh1Vv6ieo?si=Q60UMlZtZsBvpxsp
Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Thursday 19/06, 21:30
Before Midnight by Richard Linklater (2013)
Almost two decades have passed since Jesse and Celine first met on that train to Vienna (Before Sunrise) and nine years since Before Sunset. The couple, now married with children, are on holiday in Greece and facing new challenges in their relationship, against the backdrop of the magnificent Mani countryside. A summer tour of Messinia, directed by Richard Linklater and produced by Faliro House.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/J1aaxE9BWgg?si=tuLhtEo6cd-6FOZ_
Elymnion, Limni: Friday 20/06, 21:30
Girls in the Sun by Vassilis Georgiadis (1968)
A shepherd wants to offer some almonds to a beautiful English tourist. She misunderstands his action, gets scared and starts running. He starts running after her and soon finds himself in jail accused of attempted sexual assault. In vain, both the tourist and the shepherd try to convince the police captain that nothing at all happened. Soon, a strange love affair will develop between them, since neither of them speaks the other person's language.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/FMre9wNv0TU?si=KYVR4wh7Jk0VxWCR
Elymnion, Limni: Wednesday 18/06, 21:30
Jenny Jenny by Dinos Dimopoulos (1966)
The film takes place on the Greek island of Spetses, where there is intense political enmity between the local party leader Skoutaris and the shipowner Kassandris. The latter is nominating his nephew, Nikos Mandas, who has been abroad until now, while Skoutaris is passionately supporting Gortsos, who is already ahead. When Skoutaris' daughter realizes her father's financial problems, she will accept Kassandris' proposal for a white marriage with his nephew in exchange for bailing out her father financially. The white wedding, however, will bring unexpected developments.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/Rn33t3Zmxgw?si=jqiLjeUfUwm7s0Bk
Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Wednesday 18/06, 21:30
Madagascar by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath (2005)
Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York's Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends — Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo — have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape — with the help of some prodigious penguins — to explore the world.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/o6yzg9ZJPjI?si=WXOUhH_Am0vvOV3g
Children’s screening Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Friday 20/06, 21:30
Mamma Mia! by Phyllida Lloyd (2008)
The ultimate summer musical, filmed at the Greek islands of Skopelos and Skiathos and at Damouchari beach in Pelion. Sophie dreams of the perfect wedding and has only one wish: for her father to accompany her to the church. The only thing left is to find out who her father is... Academy Award-winning Meryl Streep leads a glamorous cast including Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper. Based on the massive Broadway hit and flooded with popular ABBA songs, Mamma Mia! will keep you singing and dancing.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/NoXk28u-3f0?si=nL1XDxbGY7HCkSiP
Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Tuesday 17/06, 21:30
Stelios by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos (2024)
The touching story of a child from a Pontic refugee family who managed to survive and thrive against all odds, thanks to his immense talent and resilience in the face of social and personal challenges. Music, love, family, friends, fishing, creativity, people of the night, hardcore fans, and intense conflicts come together to create the mosaic of his life. This film is a tribute to legendary singer, Stelios Kazantzidis, whose voice touched the hearts of all Greeks around the world.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/rQWBbIzWe6Y?si=kyPyYaS-a8z6Gq0Q
Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Saturday 21/06, 21:30
Summer Lovers by Randal Kleiser (1982)
A love triangle, set against the backdrop of the Cycladic summer of the '80s and Daryl Hannah in one of her first film roles. Michael and Cathy, young American lovers, vacation on the picturesque island of Santorini. Michael is soon drawn to the exotic, self-sufficient Lina. But instead of challenging the love between Cathy and Michael, Lina's appearance adds to their joy, as the three share an idyllic summer together.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/_yH7f9SVQ7g?si=Ets2bKEb74ofBfPH
Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Thursday 19/06, 23:30
Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos (2016)
Makis Papadimitriou and Elli Tringu star in a film that captures the Greek summer from a different angle. The lonely and introverted Kostis is a 42 year old doctor in Antiparos. His everyday life is turned upside down when he meets a group of young tourists and falls in love with the beautiful 19 year old Anna. Kostis will go out of his way to conquer her and impress them, but the more they tease him, the furthest he draws his lines. And too far might be closer than he thought.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/nxu2V2idDhc?si=v9gSeTLE7VhEOR6I
Elymnion, Limni: Thursday 19/06, 21:30
Fishing Shelter, Agia Anna: Friday 20/06, 21:30
Super Paradise by Steve Krikris (2024)
A documentary about the evolution of the island of Mykonos. Over the past 50 years, Mykonos has experienced radical transformations. It was dirt cheap, today it is unaffordable; it was “off-the-beaten-track,” now it is a top destination; it was a symbol of inclusivity, today it is one of exclusivity. How did a tiny island become a melting pot for such divergent experiences? Was it paradise? Is it still?
Trailer: https://youtu.be/oi5I_SjvTRo?si=Tq4b5Ub4ln-N26aw
Ciné Apollon, Edipsos: Friday 20/06, 23:00
The Big Blue by Luc Besson (1988)
The film that made the Greek island of Amorgos famous, as some of its scenes were shot on the picturesque beach of Agia Anna. The highly fictionalized story is based on the friendship of two divers, Jacques Mayol and Enzo Molinari who have been into freediving since they were young boys, in the late 1950s. Twenty years later, they meet again and find themselves competing for the championship in Taormina. At the same time, a love affair is born between Zach and Johana. The stunning underwater shots and the music by Eric Serra, for which he was awarded a César, create a dreamy setting.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/P49819tOmIc?si=FahdRblimSI6bHDs
Elymnion, Limni: Saturday 21/06, 21:30
Short films:
Fishing Shelter, Agia Anna: Thursday 19/06, 21:30
11:20 a.m. by Dimitris Nakos (2022)
Olga, a domestic worker originally from Albania, will be in a house she works in downtown Athens, at the right time. Or at the wrong one?
Trailer: https://youtu.be/CGzoDphox_w?si=s48etGaNFBioBPox
Goldfish by Yorgos Angelopoulos (2017)
Seven-year-old Stratis is different from other boys his age and that’s quite upsetting to his father. On his birthday, little Stratis will choose as a gift a goldfish quite “different” from others. His father is not ready to accept that.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/FUCxFVngWZU?si=lzQuJDOnJq0M0cAy
Kioku Before Summer Comes by Kostis Charamountanis (2018)
The short film that was a precursor to the director's first feature film, Kyuka Before Summer’s End, is an everyday memory collage of two siblings who are longing for summer.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/o0n5i6s4Y4o?si=d01T1H0yfKBjZ1nN
L’éclairage revient / Waves of Light by Pantelis Kalogerakis, Michalis Kalogerakis, Panos Andrianos (2025)
Five landmark PPC's steam-electric power plants — in Aliveri, Ptolemaida, Megalopolis, Ladonas, and Lavrion — come alive through music and visuals, within the framework of the 'Waves of Light' online festival, carried out by the Greek National Opera in collaboration with the Public Power Corporation, under the artistic curation of Yorgos Koumendakis. Five artistic teams create site-specific video performances, drawing inspiration for the music and the script from the spaces, the history, and the people who worked there. The first video, titled L'éclairage revient (The Light Returns), was filmed at the Steam-Electric Power Plant of Aliveri. The artists behind it drew inspiration from notes and journals found at the plant, crafting a soundscape where Arthur Rimbaud's poetry interacts with the reflections of those who once worked at Aliveri.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/_tBJrA5PbdQ?si=C4H3pQ917FYh1tWJ
My Mother, The Sea by Aspasia Kazeli (2022)
My Mother, The Sea is a short animated film, which explores and symbolically expresses the director's grieving process for her mother’s loss. This three year journey is captured allegorically in this film as a weaving of two parallel paths; the mother’s journey to the afterlife and the parallel grieving states of her child. From the last breath, to the mourning and the only temporal salvation from it. It is an observation of her transition, which her child follows with its personal emotional dissolve.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/SD3YVO-6I4E?si=EoNuWaDe_YWTX8fn
Immersive: All Around Cinema - VR Screenings:
From the 17th to the 21st of June (12:00-15:00 & 17:00-21:00) the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy a collection of VR films. We would like to inform you that VR films are screened in English or with English subtitles and that the VR headset can be used by children over 13 if accompanied by an adult.
21-22 USA by Thierry Loa (2023)
We live in the Anthropocene epoch marked by the Human impact on the planet. 21-22 USA offers an immersive cinematic journey across the World's largest superpower for a rare and profound look at its environments and landscapes of the Anthropocene: urban expansion, suburban sprawls, industrial development, oil fields, climate disasters, transformed natural territories. This film takes us out of our daily reality to reveal the planet through a new perspective: from the sky in virtual reality.
Oto’s planet by Gwenael François (2024)
Oto’s Planet follows the peaceful life of Oto, who loves nothing more than lounging in his hammock and enjoying the fruits of the single tree on his tiny planet. His tranquility is shattered when Exo, a hyperactive and cumbersome cosmonaut, crash-lands in a small spacecraft. The ensuing attempts at communication and cohabitation between these two unlikely roommates are fraught with difficulty.
Sweet end of the world! by Stefano Conca Bonizzoni (2024)
Once, men and gods dined together, but human greed turned their feasts into a sacred mountain reaching Olympus. This bedtime myth, told by a mother while nursing, explores the dreamlike space between wakefulness and sleep. In a dystopian present, during maternal breastfeeding, this myth aims to guide new generations as humanity faces a dark future.
