Dimitris Stavrakas
Directing
Biography
Dimitris Stavrakas was born in Athens in 1938. In 1966 he made his first short film, "The Gas". In 1979 he shot "Betty", which was shown in cinemas together with Federico Fellini's "Orchestra Rehearsal". In 1983 he made his first feature film, "The Misunderstanding", with which he won the State Quality Award. In 1999, with his film, "The Canary Bicycle", he won the 2nd Prize for Best Film and the 1st Prize for Best Actor at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, as well as awards at festivals in Cairo, Isfahan, Iran, Houston, Texas and in Zlin, Czech Republic. In the same year he filmed "The Passage", in Turkey and Bangladesh.
Known For
A new teacher comes by transfer to an elementary school in Athens. He will distinguish a student which can't read, write or do arithmetic, and will help to discover some other talents he has, and will give him an incentive to try to learn.
To kanarini podilato
On the morning of the World Cup final, Karamanos, an employee of the Greek Telecommunications Organization (TOE), connects his commander's personal computer to a devilishly complex and explosive device. He threatens to blow up the floor and the satellite dishes above if he is not allowed to appear on the national network 10 minutes before the football match to denounce all the wrongs that plague the lives of Greek citizens and make them victims of a partisan and corrupt state.
Living Dangerously
Dimitris Lembessis gets out of prison, pays his friend Stratos a visit and kills him. With Ilias he organizes a big jewel heist. During the operation they discover that someone has ratted on them. In their attempt to escape, a police officer is killed and Ilias is mortally wounded...
Misunderstanding
A middle-aged womaniser takes in his distant cousin, who has fled from an arranged marriage, and she decides to use a potent love potion to seduce the unattainable object of her desire. Can a dash of exotic vitamins help her succeed?
Exotic Vitamins
Between fiction and documentary, this film shows a portrait of the persona of a transsexual that goes far beyond simplistic voyeurism. The film offers a respectful image of masculine sexuality, with a character ahead of its time, through the telling of Betty about his childhood, daily life, pleasure, self-esteem and social marginalization.
Betty
The story of a poor farmer from Bangladesh who migrate to Greece deported back, attempts to return back to Greece but luck is not on his side.
The Crossing
We are in Athens, in August, when the residents are away on vacation. An eccentric music teacher wanders and daydreams in the streets of the half-empty city. In the winds of Plaka, he meets Anna, a strange girl lost in her fantasies, who is always waiting for her beloved to return and take her away, as he promised her exactly one year ago when they met. The two heroes try to get closer to each other, with successive dialogues and monologues that border on the absurd.
Two Moons in August
In this episode of the documentary series *Paraskinio*, we watch a tribute to actor Nikos Kourkoulos. The episode includes an extensive excerpt from the rehearsals of the play *Invitation to the Castle* by Jean Anouilh, which was staged during the 1978–1979 season at the Kappa Theatre, starring Nikos Kourkoulos and Katia Dandoulaki. The camera follows Katia Dandoulaki and Nikos Kourkoulos on stage, as he performs two roles — twin brothers — in a characteristic scene from the play where one character seamlessly follows the other.