Renos Haralambidis - Image Credit: Labros Roumeliotakis
Hellenic Film Society USA honors the Greek Director, Screenwriter, & Actor Renos Haralambidis as part of New York Greek Film Expo 2023. The acclaimed Greek Filmmaker Renos Haralambidis talks to Hellenic Daily News about his work ahead of a retrospective of his work in NY.
HDN Team
The New York Greek Film Expo kicked off last week at Village East Cinema in Manhattan, with a series of packed screenings. Directors and actors were on hand to engage in Q&As about their films. The Expo moves to the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, NJ on October 9 and 10, followed by more events, leading up to a retrospective of the works of Acclaimed Greek Director, Screenwriter, and Actor Renos Haralambidis, at the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Astoria, which will close out this year’s expo. Upon his arrival in New York, we had the opportunity to chat with Haralambidis, to discuss his work and the upcoming Retrospective.
- When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in film?
After I turned fifty years old and could see my past with greater clarity, I can say that since I was a child, I liked to tell stories, as my parents did. Cinema is the best way of storytelling for the modern person, and I just followed my instincts and the example set by my family.
- When did you make your first movie?
The first film that I acted in, wrote, directed, and produced was NO BUDGET STORY. I started filming in December 1995 and finished in August 1996. I was 25 years old. In fact, I was considered the youngest debut director of Greek cinema in the 20th century. I won the state award for new director and traveled to many festivals around the world.
NO BUDGET STORY Film - Image Courtesy of Renos Haralambidis
- What inspires you as a filmmaker?
Inspiration for me is the cracks in everyday life from where imagination invades.
- What kinds of stories do you like to tell? What are you trying to say in your work?
Usually, the stories start from my personal life and from the city where I live, Athens. I am not looking for stories that are unrecognizable to someone who lives in Greece, but at the same time I know that if I manage to reach the core of my story in a magical way it will touch the world audience.
The goal of my films is to seduce the viewer into a game of light philosophical thought, into a subtle glimpse of self-awareness. And all this through humor and romance. As if my films are trying to flirt with the viewer.
- The Hellenic Film Society will honor you and your work at the New York Greek Film Expo. Tell us about it.
A retrospective for a director is a rare opportunity to reflect on his work in the presence of an audience. And when that audience is New York, which is characterized by its cosmopolitan outlook that gave birth to independent American cinema, the Retrospective becomes a test of the resilience of old films to time as well as to a foreign-speaking, well-informed audience.
It is a great honor for me to be part of this overall presentation of my work at a time when I am finishing a new film, which is currently in editing. I see it as the beginning of future retrospectives for directors of my generation.
Through a retrospective, the public—Greek and international—acquires an overall picture of the work of a certain era and you can enter more deeply into the creator's universe. All this makes me feel extremely lucky to be living the experience of a retrospective in a film metropolis.
Films I shot in the 1990s and 2000s will be shown. They cover a period of apprenticeship and the transition to maturity.
- You’ll teach a master class this week. Tell us about it.
I believe that the most useful thing for a new cinematographer is to know how to handle himself in the odyssey that is the shooting of a film. I will use Cavafy's classic poem “Ithaca” as a reference point for any filmmaker venturing into the precarious oceans of cinema.
- What else is happening during the Retrospective?
I am very excited about the concert that Christos Rafailidis and I will give before the screening of my film, CHEAP SMOKES. He’s an internationally renowned musician and vibraphone master. We met at the Greek National Opera, where CHEAP SMOKES was staged as a musical, directed by Lyric Stage Director of Ballet Konstantinos Rigou with music by Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos.
CHEAP SMOKES movie - Image Courtesy of Renos Haralambidis
I also consider it a great honor to present a photo exhibition at the Greek Consulate in New York, where I present photos from the shooting of my film FOUR BLACK SUITS combined with lyrics from "Ithaca" by Cavafy. I try to connect the concept of the odyssey that is each film and the final goal that is Ithaca—the film, with the wisdom and poetry of the greatest Greek poet.
FOUR BLACK SUITS - Image Courtesy of Renos Haralambidis
- What’s next for you?
My new film, ATHENIAN MIDNIGHT RADIO, is in editing and will be in cinemas in 2024. I consider it to be my most mature film. I wait for the audience's gaze like a child waiting for Santa Claus.
About the Hellenic Film Society USA
The Hellenic Film Society USA (HFS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization rooted in the belief that Greek cinema should be part of the American cultural landscape. Based in Astoria, NY, the organization promotes feature films, documentaries, and film shorts made by Greek filmmakers and those of Greek descent, as well as films that promote the cultures of Greece and Cyprus.
In addition to presenting its annual film festival, HFS collaborates with the MoMI to present Always on Sunday, a series of monthly Greek film screenings.
New York Greek Film Expo 2023 and Retrospective Events
The annual New York Greek Film Expo, a film festival for all New Yorkers, runs through October 15. See the latest Greek films and meet some of the directors and actors. The Expo includes 14 screenings of 11 feature films, as well as film shorts. Films are in Greek with English subtitles.
A panel discussion on the state of Greek cinema moderated by Nicholas Alexiou, Professor of Sociology at Queens College, CUNY, will be held at the Greek Consulate in New York on Wednesday, October 11. Haralambidis’ photo exhibition will also be presented there.
The Renos Haralambidis Retrospective kicks off on Thursday, October 12, with a Launch Party at Hana House in Brooklyn (Willoughby Plaza), including a “Directors on Directors” conversation with Haralambidis, plus DJ entertainment.
On October 13, Haralambidis will teach a master class for film students at The Players Club in New York.
The four Haralambidis films will be shown at MoMI in Astoria. See 4 BLACK SUITS (2010) on Friday, October 13; NO BUDGET STORY (1997) and THE HEART OF THE BEAST (2005) on Saturday, October 14. And on Sunday, October 15, enjoy a live musical performance featuring Acclaimed Jazz Vibraphonist and Composer Christos Rafalides along with Haralambidis, prior to the screening of CHEAP SMOKES (2000).
Following the screenings will be interviews with Haralambidis by Acclaimed Film Historians Andrew Horton (University of Oklahoma) and Foster Hirsch (Brooklyn College), and David Schwartz, founder of Cinema Projects and former MoMI Chief Curator.
Watch trailers of all the Expo films as well as Retrospective films on YouTube. For film synopses, schedules, and tickets, visit https://hellenicfilmusa.org/.