More than 60 guests made their way to the Cyprus Community Club in Stanmore to attend a screening of Mary Zournazi’s documentary, Dogs of Democracy on Wednesday night.
Dr Zournazi, a philosopher and Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), co-hosted the hour-long screening with UNSW Greek lecturer Dr Efrosini Deligianni and the Hellenic Society of UNSW (Hellsoc).
Dogs of Democracy, which also featured as part of the 2018 Greek Film Festival across the country, opens as an account of Athens’ stray dogs and the people that accompany them on the streets of the Greek capital before winding its way through to a unique perspective into the Greek Debt Crisis.
Themes of dignity, hope, and their antitheses feature under the backdrop of years of anti-austerity protests first in Athens, then moving location to the island of Lesvos where thousands of refugees from Syria and Afghanistan find themselves after fleeing from respective conflicts.
A number of interviews with residents – including former Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis – offer their viewpoints on the animals’ plight on the streets and how they reflect the broader misery of the Greek people in the Crisis era.
Hellsoc President, Panayiotis Kapodistrias spoke with Neos Kosmos after the hour-long screening and described how Dogs of Democracy offers a welcome perspective into life on the ground in contemporary Greece.
“It gives us an insight to that bigger picture,” said Kapodistrias.
“When we compare ourselves to how some of the young people are living in Athens and Greece, it’s very different.”
Kapodistrias continued by highlighting the importance of student organisations partnering with artists and academics to bring these issues to the fore in an Australian context.
“In terms of Hellsoc’s values, we look at uniting Greek Australians [to] remember our heritage, where we come from,” the Hellsoc President said.
“A film screening like this is a perfect example of uniting not just the youth, but also some of the older generations as well.”
Watch the trailer for ‘Dogs of Democracy’ below: