Land, Legacy & Loss: Greek Cinema and the Environment

RMIT's The Best Films You've Never Seen series presents 'Land, Legacy & Loss: Contemporary Greek Cinema and Environmental Crisis', a very special screening event exploring contemporary Greek cinema's engagement with environmental crisis and the tensions between tradition and progress.

Giorgis Grigorakis' neo-Western 'Digger' (2020) takes us deep into the forests of Northern Greece, where a solitary farmer named Nikitas is fighting an industrial mining corporation causing environmental destruction as it encroaches on his property. In the midst of this battle, Nikitas' estranged son returns after 20 years. 'Digger' was winner of the Berlinale's CICAE Art Cinema Award in 2020 and, in the same year, featured in the Melbourne International Film Festival program that shifted online. This screening will be an opportunity for film lovers and Hellenophiles to see this work on the big screen, where Giorgos Karvelas' stunning and immersive cinematography shines.  

Screening alongside Grigorakis' feature is Lia Tsaltis' 2018 short 'The Forest', which invites us to experience a dystopian future where nature no longer exists. In this surreal take on environmental crisis, tourists visit a theme park to witness the last remaining species of plant and bird life.  

Curated by RMIT's Alexia Kannas in collaboration with Athens-based curator and scholar Geli Mademli (Thessaloniki Film Festival; Syros Film Festival), this unique program explores how contemporary Greek cinema negotiates the tension between economic growth and environmental preservation, and engages with the pressures exerted by resource extraction, gentrification and tourism.  

Join us for this celebration of Greece's bold and visually arresting cinema, brought to you by RMIT Cinema Studies and RMIT Culture in partnership with Neos Kosmos. 

 

Digger

  • Language: Greek (English subtitles) Country: Greece /France
  • Year: 2020
  • Duration: 101 mins
  • Format: DCP 

The Forest

  • Language: Greek (English subtitles) Country: Greece 
  • Year: 2018
  • Duration: 18 mins
  • Format: DCP 

 

Image credit: Film Still from 'Digger', courtesy The Match Factory.

Share

Upcoming events

Skyrail Carnegie

Book Launch - Strategic Integrated Program Delivery: Learning from the Level Crossing Removal Project

Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 27 Mar 2025
Icon / Small / Location Created with Sketch. Melbourne City

Please join us to celebrate the publication of Emeritus Professor Derek Walker, Mark Betts and Professor Peter Love's new book, Strategic Integrated Program Delivery: Learning from the Level Crossing Removal Project.

the-correspondent-reference-image.jpg

The Correspondent: Special Preview Screening

Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 01 Apr 2025
Icon / Small / Location Created with Sketch. Capitol Theatre

Investigative journalist Peter Greste and award-winning actor Richard Roxburgh unite for a live in-conversation with RMIT's Lisa French following a special preview screening of The Correspondent.

brunswick-campus-1220x732.jpg

April School Holidays Campus Tours

Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 07 Apr 2025 - 11 Apr 2025
Icon / Small / Location Created with Sketch. Melbourne City, Brunswick, Bundoora

Are you a high school student studying in Australia who wants to find out more about RMIT? We have upcoming tours on all our campuses!

Load more
aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information