“I would also like to join those who recently expressed their concern about the disappearance of historic cinemas in the center of Athens,” says the director. George Lanthimos in a video message posted on social media to the hotly debated issue of the day, namely what the future holds for downtown cinemas. Astor And ideal, and also for her Iris, Hall of the Kapodistrian University Club.

The message of the world-famous director is intended to strengthen the wave of support for the historical theaters of Athens, consisting not only of ordinary people and moviegoers, but also of other directors. OUR Fatih Akin And Kostas Gavras, in turn, they each sent their own message in the video shown during the press conference hosted by the people of Astor and Ideal on Tuesday, April 4th.

The President of the Republic also sent her message, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, writing, among other things: “We are losing the cinemas that introduced us to ‘the mysteries of cinema like the magic of poetry’, as Andreas Empiricos wrote, introducing us to great creators who distilled the lyrical essence of life into their images. We lose the mystique of the room, the charm of the collective experience. We are losing spaces that were not just cinema halls, but arks of culture. As they are one by one cut off from the body of the city, like other historical meeting places, old cafes or restaurants that were once the centers of Athenian intellectual life, the memory of the city is also gradually lost.

As Giorgos Lanthimos points out, “I take it for granted to understand the value [των αιθουσών] socially and culturally at the center of such a city and implore those in power and those with real power to do what is necessary.”

See the director’s message below: