Stelios Mainas

A Touch of Spice

"A Touch of Spice" is a story about Fanis, a young Greek boy growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor, teaches him that both food and life require a little salt to give them flavor. They both require... A Touch of Spice. Fanis grows up to become an excellent cook and uses his cooking skills to spice up the lives of those around him. 35 years later he leaves Athens and travels back to his birthplace of Istanbul to reunite with his grandfather and his first love. He travels back only to realize that he forgot to put a little bit of spice in his own life.

Γκίνες

Threatened by his debtors, rocked by a broken heart and driven by greed, a charming gambler arrives at a middle-of-nowhere tavern in search of a case of gold. Instead, he attracts the attentions of the grumpy tavern owner's unhappy wife, whose affection complicates his plan and perpetuates his spell of misfortune.

Balkanisateur

Two friends from a small Greek town travel to Bulgaria and Switzerland, hoping they can gain money from the difference in foreign exchange rates.

Welcome to 'All Saints

The trainee Orthopedic Doctor George Spyrou began his career in the fictional General Orthopedic Hospital "All Saints', somewhere on the outskirts of Athens. There you will discover that the hospital population, by physicians, administrators and nurses, to patients, they are all forced to confront dancing a grotesque dance routine. With humor and humanity within a social landscape so angry George Spyratos trying to balance between the warring parties these microcosms. The gradual evolution from inexperienced trainee to experienced editor will be done through the encounter with the absurd environment. Something that would transform from naive young man who initially stands speechless in front of modern Greek chaos, a mature man who will ultimately make a thoughtful account of choice, but persevere, continue to work on public health.

Hard Goodbyes: My Father

Elias is a 10 year old boy living in Athens with his family in 1969 and has an interest in Jules Verne's stories and in astronomy. His father, with whom Elias has a strong relationship, is a travelling salesman and his absence affects the whole family. On the eve of his departure for a long business trip he promises his son that he'll be back in time to watch the moon landing on TV together, but he is killed in a car accident. While Elias' mother and his elder brother deal with the loss in their own way, Elias refuses to accept his father's death. He creates an imaginary world, in which his father is alive. He shares fictitious stories with his friends, he sends letters to his grandmother on behalf of his father and he dreams of places like he did with him. Elias' mother and his godfather, who do everything to bring him back to reality, take him to a summer house. On the night of the moon landing Elias meets his father in his own way and comes to terms with his loss.

I Love Greece

Jean and Marina go to Athens for their summer vacation. There they are reunited with Marina's family, while preparing to spend a romantic getaway, Marina's family decides to accompany them. But nothing will go according to the plan.

Brazilero

Vasilis Arvanitakis after spending the E.U money for buying a poor Brazilian Football player, must face the two members of the E.U who will come to check how and where the money is spent...

IS, or: A Beautiful, Tiny, Reddish Hair, as Thin as Fiber

On the top of a human head, a common, humble little hair has only a lifetime to struggle against scissors and combs claiming her diversity.

Up, Down and Sideways

A prosperous widow with a gay son falls for a young gym instructor in Athens.

Where We Live

On a day when downtown Athens is experiencing yet another ordinary upheaval, young lawyer Antonis Spetsiotis is celebrating his birthday. However, his birthday will unfold in a completely unexpected way, taking him from the courts of Evelpidon to glamorous cafés and dark parking lots on the National Road, from his tidy bachelor pad in Lycabettus to farmhouses in Chalkoutsi and luxurious villas in Aliartos – and will end unpredictably at dawn in Athens.

7 Kinds of Wrath

Petros is a gay archaeologist who experiences the naked Greek paranoia in the center of Athens. Either by choice or coincidence, he comes into contact with people who are "different": An Arab immigrant, who comes to Greece, a land of "infidels", determined to conquer it by any means; A Greek-French cello player, who is burdened by the agony of her alcoholic mother; A young Albanian pianist, who carries the curse of his own personal genius and divinity; A Greek immigrant, who was repatriated but now has nowhere to call home; A bank director, who believes everything can be bought, even love; A patrolman, who creates his own version of socio-political reality. Petros' contact with these people is in fact a traumatic experience. For each encounter he has to pay a price. Sometimes the price is material, while other times it's emotional. At times it is both. Will the experience gained make up for the loss?

Wednesday 04:45

Stelios Dimitrakopoulos has 32 hours left before he loses everything. From the jazz bar he painstakingly keeps running for years, to his own family. The Romanian gangster who lent him money, now demands the debt to be paid. The middle-man and former friend, makes Stelios take care of illegal errands. His wife is seriously thinking of abandoning him, and a night club owner, not thinking about the consequences, finally starts to stand up for himself. Christmas is coming, the clock is ticking, and the tree in Stelios' house must be decorated.

1968

A.E.K., the well-known Greek basketball team founded in 1924 by refugees from Constantinople, after 44 years, beats SLAVIA of Prague and wins the European Cup.

Loafing and Camouflage

The film is the story of a group of soldiers, who, in the course of their compulsory military service in 1967 and 1968, before and during the military dictatorship in Greece, are assigned to the then recently founded Armed Forces Television. This TV station, founded for the civilian population, was run by the Cinematographic Unit of the army which until then had only produced propaganda films and newsreels and was responsible for entertaining the troops and other charity organizations with movie screenings. The personnel was composed mostly of soldiers, who already had experience in the film business in their civilian lives, as well as those who received their training in the army. The story may be only 95% true, but that is simply because the true story is even more absurd...

Fantasia

Set in the world of Greece's urban-folk music scene of the 90s, the film depicts the fatal relationship between a young singer and an elder songwriter and her mentor.

...Deserter

This film is about life at a country health resort seen through the eyes of Christos, a young man from Athens who has just been discharged from the army. Christos is there because he is enthralled by the rebellious Manolis, a three-time army deserter his same age. Now, conflicted Manolis grapples with overwhelming feelings and forbidden desires.

Giannis in the Cities

1949, towards the end of the Greek Civil War. Yannis, the son of a rebel, is torn from his village and deported to the Childcare Cities where his ideas and desires are manipulated. Nightmares and dark feelings for his father slowly inhabit his heart. Only when he reaches adulthood does he redefine his existence, so he decides to go and meet the man.