Those who moved to the previous Sunday from center of Athens they saw crowds gathered both in Koray Square and at the University near the Ideal Cinema. Over 5,000 Athenians declared their support for its preservation. Idealfrom Astor And her Iristhat is, those halls that are in immediate danger of disappearing, as we have pointed out in latest reports. Yesterday at a press conference – an event organized in the crowded Astor – almost all the bodies and associations of Greek cinema – and not only – were “present”, calling for the salvation of the historic theaters (Astor – Ideal), which are housed in concession buildings owned by EFKA.

However, the first… signal came from abroad. In particular, award-winning directors such as Ken Loach, Emir Kusturica and Fatih Akin. The latter sent a video message saying: “Cinema is our heritage. Our ancestors already used film technology to entertain and educate their children thousands of years ago. Now we’re learning about heritage sites like these halls that are in danger of disappearing, and that’s a big shame.” A similar message was sent from France Kostas Gavras: “I have known both halls since my youth when I first visited them. Watching a movie together on the big screen is completely different than watching it on TV or even on the phone, which, in my opinion, is barbaric. I want to appeal to the minister, Mrs. Mendonis I’m sure he has the cultural patriotism, hopefully cinematic patriotism, to save these theatres.”

In general, his intervention Ministry of Culture most (many) speakers at the event asked, even though he said in a press release last week that he was incompetent on the subject. The owners of Astor (Bambis and Andreas Kontarakis) and Ideal (Giorgos and Spyros Spentzos), for their part, were equally responsible. Ministry of Environment and Energy which, they say, prevents a final decision on whether to designate the use of the halls as conservation or not.

“The ideal is the history of 101 years ago. This is not a 30 square meter store that you pick up from here and carry on. We don’t care if Spentzos has it. We are interested in Ideal being a cinema, and let the investor give it to whoever he wants,” said Giorgos Spentsos excitedly. His brother Spyros said that “these cinemas show films that are not shown in other parts of Athens, and people who want to see them know that they will converge in the center. If the specific ones close, then only three cinemas will remain in the historic center,” while he added that the delays by the Foreign Ministry may be deliberate in order to close the parliament and transfer responsibility to the next government.

“The cinema, contrary to what they say, is recovering today with a peak at a younger age,” says Babis Kontarakis.

Meanwhile, the Mitsis hotel group, which was granted the Schliemann-Mel Palace, which includes the Ideal, recently announced an investment program totaling 36 million euros with the possibility of expanding the use of the cinema and theater. and conference center.

Babis Kontarakis (Astor), for his part, commented on the “cultivated impressions and paraphilology” of the last period that there are no more spectators in the central cinemas. “Actually, after two years of exclusion due to the pandemic, it was only this year that we were allowed to have regular viewers. And cinemas, contrary to what has been said, are now recovering with a peak at younger ages.” Mr. Kontarakis, like several others present, also referred to what he called a “methodical” blockade of the city center to make it an exclusive tourist zone.

Unanimous Resolutions

A little later, the mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, presented two unanimous resolutions of the municipality in favor of cinemas, stating the following: “We are all here because we want to join your votes and emphasize the need to declare preserved – during use – these two historical cinemas. I want to remind you that something similar was done in 1997 for 47 summer cinemas. Yes, we want economic growth. We need investments, we need visitors. However, we do not want Athens to lose her soul. We don’t want to turn into an ancient Greek Disneyland.” The position of the artistic director of the Francophone Film Festival, Thodoris Koutsaftis, is interesting: “Our festival would not have such a wealth of films if we did not have such an extensive network of filmmakers in France who every day enlighten the public about what good cinema is, what cinema in the hall means. World experience tells us that it is very important for the city center to have a developed network of cinemas, both for citizens and for domestic cinema.”

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“Frontline” city?

Lena Divanis*

Nightmare Scenario: A city centered on hotels and tourist shops. And we who inhabit it, how will we live without a heart? How will we find solace in the dark times we live in if we can’t get to the dark cinema for an antidote? How will we understand the absurdity of our lives if we do not allow the lives of others to unfold before our eyes?

Have you seen The Crimson Rose of Cairo by Woody Allen? Where did the main character run to multiply her life? In cinemas! Did you know that during the difficult years of the American financial collapse, which took on global proportions, devastated people sought and found light in dark rooms? Where will we find it?

Gentlemen managers, a little respect, please. We grew up in dark rooms, so we became strange and complex children. Moving images are our food, without them we will fade, we will turn into humming cymbals. And with us the city will lose its soul, become a shadow of itself. Be careful, the city will bleed – what blood will feed its new mechanical heart? And then no one will need it, neither the Greeks nor the foreigners. Who wants to live on a facade?

* Mrs. Lena Divani is a writer.

Production divisions of culture and education

Michalis Zeis*

The theater is the natural living space of films. With the closure of cinemas, we destroy the whole ecosystem built around them. Even if as businesses they are not the most profitable financially, they nevertheless stood alone for years without any financial backing against the laws of the market. We are currently in a serious crisis. This is not the first time in cinema. Early 70s coffee shops, television, video, illegal download piracy, legal platforms have all come and gone, but movie theaters still exist. Maybe less, maybe different, someone less, and someone more renovated, with a common denominator. They provide culture and education. For the same reason, cinemas are needed not only by those who visit them, but by the whole society. Cinema must be preserved even for the sake of those who never leave. Because it has an individualistic impact not only on its viewer, but also as a unit of culture and education affects the whole society as a whole. Thus, the Amazon is not “replaced” by the Areos field. And if none of us yet goes to visit him, he still remains the main source of oxygen for the entire planet.

A holistic approach to film viewing is needed so that the cinema can withstand this difficult period. Views that belong to a particular context have high traffic. Shows, festivals can stimulate the market a little. In addition, the integration of the arts in the field of cinema always pays off very fruitfully at the box office level. An additional step that needs to be taken towards the salvation and viability of theaters is the strict delimitation of standards for how film projection can be characterized as cinema. Now with digital media it is very easy to organize screenings in places that are not at all connected with cinemas and certainly not. Just like feta is not Danish, projection is not cinematic unless it takes place in a movie theater.

Another measure would be to support the cinemas with some kind of “rescue” program for cinemas, so that these enterprises can bear the unsustainable burden of the constantly galloping development of technology, repairs, as well as their energy needs. In the end, cinema will come out of this crisis stronger. As the screen gets smaller, the continuous time of the story we’re watching gets smaller, the horizon gets smaller, the meaning gets smaller. We need this narrative in life, cinematic, with a large horizon, with great meanings.

* Mr. Michalis Zeiss is the director of the Trianon Cinema and the owner of the Palace Cinema.