On April 27, 1935, Theo Angelopoulos was born in Athens. Twelve years after the passing of the great filmmaker, the newly established "Research Network on the Cinema of Theo Angelopoulos" is organizing its first public event. The conference, titled Traces of Eternity: Theo Angelopoulos (program), will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at the "Leonidas Zervas" Amphitheater of the National Hellenic Research Foundation.
This meeting aims to bring together researchers studying Theo Angelopoulos' work with those who collaborated with him, as well as his friends and family, in a productive dialogue that will highlight new questions and perspectives. What traces does Theo Angelopoulos' artistic activity leave in space, memory, and cultural heritage? In what ways can it be managed? What aspects of his life and career are illuminated through his archive? What defines his cinematic language, and how does it relate to history? How do actors and collaborators describe their professional relationship with him? How do his classmates and friends remember him? These are some of the questions that will be explored during the conference, which focuses on the legacy of the internationally acclaimed filmmaker.
Two distinguished scholars who have studied Theo Angelopoulos’ artistic work and cinematic language in depth will deliver keynote speeches at the event. These are Vrasidas Karalis, Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies, Professor at the University of Sydney, and author of Theo Angelopoulos: Filmmaker and Philosopher (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023), and Sylvie Rollet, Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at the University of Poitiers in France and author of Voyage à Cythère. La poétique de la mémoire d’Angelopoulos (Éd. L’Harmattan, coll. Esthétiques, 2003). In addition to researchers’ presentations, the conference program includes roundtable discussions with the participation of actors, collaborators, journalists, critics, and personal friends of Theo Angelopoulos.
The "Research Network on the Cinema of Theo Angelopoulos" was established in 2022 and is a collaboration between the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Patras, the Department of Primary Education (and the Master’s Program Educational Sciences – Education with the Use of New Technologies) at the University of the Aegean, the Department of Primary Education (and the Master’s Program Educational Sciences: Issues in History, Historical Education, and Educational Policy) at the University of Western Macedonia, the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, and the non-profit organization ANAPARASTASI, managed by members of Theo Angelopoulos’ family.
The Network's objectives include the interdisciplinary study of various aspects of Theo Angelopoulos' artistic work, the national and international dissemination, communication, and educational utilization of new knowledge emerging from research, targeting the artistic community, students, the general public, and educators. Additionally, it aims to highlight the filmmaker’s work within its historical context.