The spirit of Stelios Kazantzidis flowed through hundreds of Sydney’s Greek Australians, young and old, with the Australian premiere screening of ‘Stelios’ proving to be a major success.
The biographical picture on the legendary singer, directed by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, caused immense (positive) chaos with the special screening leading to numerous packed-out theatres at Palace Cinemas Moore Park.
The event was organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW (GOC NSW) as part of the Greek Festival of Sydney and took place on Wednesday evening with many members of the Hellenic community gathering.
Anticipation built with light refreshments and some live music of Kazantzidis’ songs from local artists before the guests were ushered into the theatres to watch the film.
GOC NSW President Harry Danalis, in his address before the screening, expressed immense excitement in organising the event to showcase the picture, especially given the legacy of Stelios Kazantzidis.
He noted that Kazantzidis, who was born in Athens and came from a poor family of Pontian descent, rose to become a legend in his own time and incredibly beloved for his music from practically the moment of publication.
“He has remained one of the favourites of all the Greek singers even today. You cannot go to any event where music is played where you will not hear a number of Stelios Kazantzidis songs,” he said.
“This film that you will see tonight is a very good film depicting the life and the music of one so important in the lives of many of us, not only in Greece but those who have left Greece, those for whom his songs reminded them of what they left behind.”
The President’s words seemingly rang very prophetic with the crowds from the various theatres applauding at the end of the film and lingering outside afterwards to discuss what they had seen.
A great sight was the diversity in age of the attendees with many young people also among the crowd in addition to the people middle aged and elderly.
Two young people, Paris Papadakis and Denis Antipas (both in their early twenties), spoke to Neos Kosmos after the screening to share their thoughts which were very glowing.
“I went in with low expectations. I did not know too much about him prior to this so I think it was actually a good clean slate for me and I really enjoyed it,” she said.
Denis admitted that, being a fan of Kazantzidis, he enjoyed the music very much but he still found the experience very eye-opening.
“I love his songs, I knew a few of them beforehand, but in terms of his personal life I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. It gave a good background on the music industry at the time, the financial stuff he went through. It was a very good watch,” he said.
Denis expressed his view that expectations may have been lower for some as it is a Greek film, though he felt assured after seeing it that it has wider appeal than just Greek audiences.
“No one expects it to be as good but if the movie was in English, you would have thought it was just as good a production as anything else,” he said.
Paris highlighted that the relationships depicted between the characters greatly impressed her.
“I really liked seeing the interpersonal dynamics between different people and especially the effect fame has when it comes into play, because it is very different when you see interpersonal relationships in other films generally,” she said.
“When there is this extent of fame it is very impactful, I think.”
Both felt the picture would be easy to enjoy for other young people such as themselves.
“I related to it initially because of Christos Mastoras (the actor that played Kazantzidis), who is a very popular singer nowadays, so that was a good draw in and connection that I found, but I think it would be great regardless. From a production basis, it was very good,” Paris said.
Denis added to this by saying:
“I feel there are heaps of ways to draw people in. If you have the slightest inkling towards Greek music, you will find some sort of connection to draw you into watching the movie and I reckon once you watch it you will love the film.”
The interest of the youth cannot be understated with the Sydney University Greek Society set to host their own screening of the film in conjunction with the Greek Festival of Sydney on Monday 28 April, 6.30pm, at Palace Cinemas Norton Street.
The screening further emphasises what was evident at the premiere: the film and, more broadly, the spirit of Stelios Kazantzidis continues to reach and touch all generations.
