The screening on Thursday 10 September will be introduced by former Judge and human rights advocate, Betty Iliadou.
Synopsis:
Stella is an Athens night club singer who refuses to conform to the harsh moral standards of Greek society during the 1950s. She has a student lover (Alekos Alexandrakis) and is happy to spend her life singing, falling in love and breaking men’s hearts. She begins an affair with a local football champion, Mitsos (George Foundas), but finds that he refuses to grant her the freedom she has worked so hard to gain. When she decides to leave Mitsos, she finds that her transgression of feminine propriety leads to danger and violence.
Curator's note:
Stella (1955) - a retelling of Carmen - is widely regarded as one of the defining works of Greek cinema.It brought together three of the most exceptional Greek artists of the 20th century: director Michalis Cacoyannis, actress Melina Mercouri and composer Manos Hatzidakis. For Mercouri - an internationally renowned film star, singer, activist, and later politician - it marked her screen debut. For Cacoyannis, later celebrated for Zorba the Greek (1964), it was an early film in a career that would bring five Academy Award nominations and six Palme d’Or nominations at Cannes. And for Hatzidakis, it foreshadowed the score that would make him world-famous: Never on Sunday (1960). The film’s portrayal of female desire and defiance of misogynist convention was strikingly progressive for its time, even if still shaped by the limitations of the male gaze.
Betty Iliadou is a former Judge, author, and advocate for human rights and women’s empowerment. A graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a postgraduate degree in Criminal Law and Criminology, she served in the Greek Judiciary for more than three decades. Now based in London, she is actively engaged in writing, social initiatives, and community leadership. Her academic and professional development includes studies in child protection, human trafficking, data protection, and human rights through programmes affiliated with Harvard University, UCL, and Amnesty International. She is also the founder of the Greek Female Society and author of The Vagina Chronicles.
