Thursday 16 September 2021, 7pm 

Dr Marios Psaras

‘The Weird Wave of Greek Cinema: a Movement or a Moment?’

Hellenic Centre (Friends & Members Room), 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

‘Is it just coincidence that the world’s most messed-up country is making the world’s most messed-up cinema?’ wonders The Guardian journalist Steve Rose in his article ‘Attenberg, Dogtooth and the Weird Wave of Greek Cinema’, asking whether ‘the brilliantly strange films of Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari [are] a product of Greece’s economic turmoil’ (2011). The correlation between the country’s severe financial crisis and a particular corpus of its cinematic production emerged as an interesting hypothesis back in the early 2010s, generating a number of epistemological and ethical questions with regard to the meanings and interpretations of the crisis, but most significantly with regard to its social, cultural and affective manifestations. 

In this talk, Dr Psaras will revisit landmark films that constituted the original ‘weird corpus’, such as Yorgos Lanthimos’s Dogtooth (2009) and Alps (2011), Panos Koutras’s Strella (2009) and Athina-Rachel Tsangaris’s Attenberg (2010), reflecting on reading the “weird” as “queer” and identifying the thematic and formal disenchantment with traditional heteropatriarchal values and the representation that guided the national imaginary and experience. We shall then turn to later works, such as Tonia Mishialis’ Pause (2018), to evaluate the after-effects of the original wave. 

Dr Marios Psaras holds a Degree in Education & Philosophy (University of Cyprus), an MA and a PhD in Film Studies (Queen Mary University of London). He is the author of the first book-length study on contemporary Greek cinema, The Queer Greek Weird Wave: Ethics, Politics and the Crisis of Meaning (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). As a film scholar, Dr Psaras has taught film theory at Queen Mary, King’s College London, University of Greenwich, and has lectured across Europe. He has published articles, reviews and book chapters on contemporary Greek, European and global queer cinema. Dr Psaras has previously worked in education, radio and TV production, and has directed for the theatre and cinema. His most recent short film, The Call (2020), has won Special Mention at the 43^rd Drama International Short Film Festival and is currently screening at film festivals worldwide. Dr Psaras is a member of the Hellenic Film Academy, artistic director of the annual festival Cyprus Short Film Day, London, and a member of the editorial board of Filmicon: Journal of Greek Film Studies. Since September 2018, he has been the Cultural Counsellor at the Cyprus High Commission in London.

On the assumption that no new public-health restrictions have been imposed, we hope to be able to hold a wine reception after the event. Please keep following the latest Government health advice. At the time of writing, the wearing of masks indoors is optional. Please do not attend the event if (a) you have or suspect you may have coronavirus symptoms or are in contact with others who have or suspect they have such symptoms, (b) you are still under quarantine restrictions from an overseas’ visit.

Places for this event will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve your place(s), contact us at info@anglohellenicleague.org by 14 September.

Rescheduled from Monday 28 September 2020 and Tuesday 16 March 2021

Council of the League

24 August 2021

Thursday 30 September 2021, 7pm 

Kate Smith CMG in Conversation 

Friends Room, Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

Until July of this year, Kate Smith was the British Ambassador to Greece, responsible for Britain’s relations with the Hellenic Republic. As such, she was also one of the League’s official patrons. We are delighted that she has agreed to talk with members and supporters of the League. On 30 September 2021, she will be in conversation with Prof. Kevin Featherstone about the state of British-Greek relations, her experiences as ambassador in Athens, and prospects for future developments between Greece and the UK.

Kate Smith CMG is a professional diplomat. She studied PPE at the University of Oxford (1983-1986) and entered Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service in 1987. After postings in London, Athens, New York and Tehran, and a career break at Shell International, she was, from 2012-2016, Director of Americas at the Foreign Office. In January 2017, she took up post as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Greece, serving for 4½ years in that role. She has now returned to London.

Prof. Kevin Featherstone is a member of the Council of the League. He is the Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics in the European Institute at the LSE, where he is also Director of the Hellenic Observatory.

On the assumption that no new public-health restrictions have been imposed, we hope to be able to hold a wine reception after the event. Please keep track of the Government’s latest health advice. At the time of writing, the wearing of masks indoors is optional. Please do not attend the event if (a) you have or suspect you may have coronavirus symptoms or are in contact with others who have or suspect they have such symptoms, or (b) you are still under quarantine restrictions from an overseas’ visit.

Places for this event will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve your place(s), contact us at info@anglohellenicleague.org by 28 September.

Council of the League

25 August 2021

Wednesday 13 October 2021, 7.30pm

Lance Foyster MW

A Taste of Greek Wines

Hellenic Centre (Friends & Members Room), 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

The tasting will be led by Lance Foyster MW. Lance is an experienced wine importer and a lifelong lover of Greece. He gained a degree in Classics at Oxford University before qualifying as a Master of Wine.  Alongside his wife Isabelle Clark, Lance is co-founder and co-owner of Clark Foyster Wines Ltd., a specialist importer based in West London. Clark Foyster Wines began in 2003 and made its first imports of Greek wines in 2013. Both Lance and Isabelle have spent much time in Greece exploring the country and its vineyards. The company works primarily with small family-run estates in Greece, Austria, France, Portugal, Georgia, Australia and New Zealand. The wines imported by the company are handcrafted, many on a small scale. The company’s clients include London’s famous restaurants and wine retailers.

Greek wine is in a fascinating state of rejuvenation. For several decades, many Greek producers created “me-too” wines, using international grape varieties to copy the classics of France and Italy, mostly for the domestic market. But in recent years, Greek wine-makers have rediscovered many of the traditional grape varieties which better reflect the country’s heritage: Agiorghitiko from the Peloponnese, Xinomavro from the north, and Assyrtiko from Santorini, to name but three. 

We’ll look at eight wines, all from indigenous varietals, covering red, dry white and sweet styles, and discuss the ‘work in progress’ that is making Greece such a dynamic and increasingly fashionable wine producing country.

This event has been rescheduled from 21 April 2021,19 October 2020, 23 March 2020. 

This event is now sold out (as at 03.06.21). We have contacted ticket-holders to let them know about the new date; if any tickets are released by this process, they will be advertised from July.