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7 - 9 December 2018: The Pursuit of Wholeness: Gregory Markopoulos

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The Pursuit of Wholeness pays tribute to seminal avant-garde filmmaker Gregory Markopoulos, with rare 16mm screenings of two of Markopoulos’ most acclaimed films and an exclusive preview of film critic Georgia Korossi’s documentary Devotion, a film that gives precious testimony of the 2016 edition of Temenos, the quadrennial event of screenings of Markopoulos’ monumental Eniaios. Curated by Eleonora Pesci this programme especially focuses on the ongoing, profound bond between the filmmaker’s works and his Greek heritage. It is part of a larger film season, The Pursuit of Wholeness, a National Film & Television School film programme exploring the influences of ancient Greek mythology and archetypes on cinematic quests for sexual and gender identity.

We're pleased to welcome Mark Webber – film curator and editor of Film As Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos – to introduce The Illiac Passion.


Programme 1: Twice a Man + Devotion

Gregory MarkopoulosTwice a Man re-invents the Greek myth of Hippolytus, killed after rejecting the advances of his stepmother Phaedra. The story is transposed, and deeply transformed, to 1960s New York. Georgia Korossi’s short documentary Devotion is an insightful and rare visual testimony of the latest edition of this event, which took place in early July 2016. A fascinating pilgrimage, as well as an act of delicate love for the enchanting and fragile work of one of the least known protagonists of avant-garde cinema. read more

Twice a Man, Gregory Markopoulos, 1963, 48 min, Colour, 16mm
Devotion
, Georgia Korossi, 2017-18, 13 min, Colour, Digital


Programme 2: The Illiac Passion

Held as the greatest achievement of Gregory Markopoulos’ American years, The Illiac Passion is a visionary re-writing of Aeschylus’ tragedy Prometheus Bound, but for his modern, erotic odyssey Markopoulos also drew inspiration from several other Greek myths that had always held him “in such jubilation”, like Orpheus and Eurydice and Icarus and Daedalus. read more

The Illiac Passion, Gregory Markopoulos, 1964-67, 90 min, Colour, 16mm