| Reference Type |
Studies in Australasian Cinema
journal
|
| Title |
Twice born: Dionysos Films and the establishment of Greek film circuit in Australia |
| Author(s) | Deb Verhoeven |
| Volume |
1 |
| Issue |
3 |
| Town |
Melbourne |
| State |
VIC |
| Country |
Australia |
| Publication Date |
00-12-2007 |
| Citation Date |
|
| Page Number |
275-298 |
| Comments |
This article discusses the initiation and establishment of the Greek film circuit in Melbourne. The need for a transnational film circuit for a diasporic population lead to the innovation of exhibiting and distributing home grown films that would engage a captive and receptive audience, and proved to be a successful venture.
Verhoeven discusses the notion of expanding borders, and bringing cultures closer to the home grown audiences, as well as the concept of familiarity, with discourse and language for the diasporic audience the catalysts for the development of this circuit.
The screening of foreign films alongside home grown productions allows cinema to act as a multifaceted medium for enhancing culture and normalising ethnicity by expanding cultural education, and therefore the development of this Greek circuit inherently became a great deal more than just a circuit, it became a medium for the assimilation of cultures by combining publics with an interest in extended communication with the world.
The mass migration of Greeks between 1952 and 1974 saw an influx of some 220, 000 new residents, and Melbourne became the Hellenic central, and to service this community, private entities, small business owners, film distributers, and even families contributed to the establishment of some 30 dedicated foreign film cinemas in Melbourne.
After 1958 Greek films were screened in existing buildings leased for the purpose of screening films to this Greek audience. Venues included halls and community and municipal rooms able to facilitate the crowds. The Orient Cinema was one of these venues.
(Elia Lom) |
| Synopsis |
Extracted from Article written by D. Verhoeven:
From the late 1940s until the late 1970s Melbourne was home to a dynamic
Greek cinema circuit made up of some 30 different inner-city and suburban
venues operated by a handful of vertically integrated exhibition/distribution
businesses. Dionysos Films was amongst the first Greek film exhibition/distribution
companies to form in Australia and from 1949 until 1956 it operated with little
significant competition, establishing the parameters for a diasporic Greek film
circuit that stretched across regional and metropolitan Australia and into New
Zealand. This article measures the shadow cast by Dionysos Films (and its
charismatic proprietor Stathis Raftopoulos) over the history of Antipodean
Greek film experiences and the implications that this neglected aspect of
Australian and Greek film history has for our understanding of the national
cinemas in both countries. |
tags: Antipodean Film diaspora Dionysos Films Greek Cinema
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