| Abstract |
Since its first presentation to the greek audience in 1896, cinema has become an important part of the country’s modern culture. From the commercial success of Finos Films productions during the postwar decades, and the impact of films like Stella (1955), Never on Sunday (1960) and Zorba the Greek (1965), to the artistically acclaimed work of Theo Angelopoulos, up until the emergence of the “Greek Weird Wave” and the recognition of Yorgos Lanthimos as one of the most celebrated contemporary directors, Greek national cinema has proven that it can be a successful enterprise and professional field, influencing society in a multifaceted way and at the same time affecting the country’s international image.The academic research on Greek cinema has witnessed a significant growth since the turn of the millennium, usually exhibiting an interdisciplinary tendency related closely to history, society and art. However film education hasn’t been so far the subject of a notable inquiry. The main reason for that has to do with the particular conditions surrounding its formation and institutional framework. In contrast to the international developments and especially those in other European countries, where after World War II, the majority amongst them established official, state – run, film academies, Greece did not create such an educational institution until 2004. The absence of the public sector in the domain gave way to initiatives from entrepreneurs. Thus cinema, as well as audiovisual education in Greece, had been provided for many years by private film schools. Yet our knowledge of their history and contribution to Greek cinema has generally been kept vague. My dissertation attempts to present these institutions, expanding in a period of four decades, from the end of World War II until the beginning of the 1990’s. It determines their number and identity, when, how and by whom they were created, which and why did they stop, what was the legislation that regulated their status and overall, to what extend did their educational work affected the training of cinema professionals in Greece. At the same time, it compares the above with contemporary developments from the international context, notably in Europe.For the purposes of my inquiry I have conducted an extensive collection and retrospection of the related bibliography, as well as that of educational and archival material from various film related institutions throughout Europe. Moreover, I undertook a primary source research at numerous archives of film schools, ministries and other public services in Greece, in order to collect, examine and compare relevant data. In addition, I interviewed a number of educators, professionals and artists from the audiovisual sector. The conjunction of bibliographical references, archival material and oral testimonies has proved a beneficial methodological tool, and provided a solid body of useful information.Through my findings, I was able to highlight an important yet neglected aspect of Greek cinema in relation to developments in cultural education, institutional framework, and sociopolitical history, domestically and internationally.
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