The Hellenic Centre which promotes awareness of our Hellenic culture and history in the UK, via exhibitions, lectures, concerts etc, was successful in purchasing the rights from the distributor of the film Cloudy Sunday, which allowed for two screenings on Nov 19th, one at 2pm and one at 7pm.
The movie, based on the book written by G Skambardonis, is set in Salonica between 1942-1943. In a city under German occupation, George and Estrella fall in love. Nevertheless, the love between a Christian and a Jew is forbidden. The adventurous affair, with the lovers caught between an inhumane totalitarian regime and the madness of racism, finds refuge in the historic Ouzeri Tsitsanis.
There, the great Greek composer Vassilis Tsitsanis transcends his most creative years and composes his most famous songs, among which is the most influential, Cloudy Sunday.
The movie was incredibly touching, moving members of the audience to tears and warm applause at the finale.
The film director, Manousos Manousakis, completed his studies at the London Film School and has since enjoyed a long and successful career. He has been honoured with numerous film awards worldwide. His televised series have reached the highest viewing ratings in the history of Greek television and been honoured by audiences as the most beloved series several times.
Between the screenings at the Hellenic Centre, there was a live bouzouki concert with Tsitsanis’s music.
The film director, Manousos Manousakis, was in London specially for the event. The audience enjoyed a live session with the director who was happy to respond to questions. Especially touching accounts came from members of the audience who belonged to the Jewish community telling of relatives who escaped from concentration camps.
Guest of honour was the grand-daughter of the great Vassilis Tsitsanis, Mrs Zoe Tsitsanis-Tsavliris, accompanied by her husband George Tsavliris. She assured the audience that the events depicted in the film are founded on an accurate representation of what happened in real life, as told by the brother of her mother (Zoe Tsitsanis – wife of Vassilis Tsitsanis), who is the hero of the movie as the character George. The romance did take place but the ending has been changed, as the heroine was killed by the Nazis. The hero never forgot his first love and this led to the writing of the book.
Special guests at the event were Mrs Chrisanthy Lemos and Mr Panayiotis Lemos, Dr Evelyn Stefanaki and Miss Janaina Baxevanis.
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We are indebted to Dr. Evelyn Stefanaki for her immense contribution as well as to the Hellenic Centre.