Valentine's date

If Linklater were to place his mumblecore "Before" trilogy in Tritsis Park of Athens, the result would be something like the hand-crafted and tender film by Giorgos Athanasiou that made the indie hearts of the audience skip a beat at the 2022 Thessaloniki Festival and next season's summer cinemas. — On his last day in Athens before moving abroad, Konstantinos meets Sofia at the park. Under the pressure of time, the two not-so-close friends agree to play a game in order to communicate what they don’t know about each other yet. They spend the next few hours talking, drinking and smoking, revealing bits and pieces of themselves. Until the evening comes and it's time to part.

A lot of people swear to this day that this is the most beautiful film ever created and 4K restoration catapults this beauty to the moon. A hallmark of Wong Kar Wai's career, with shots, colours, music and slow motion coming together in a celebration of the senses. — Chow, editor-in-chief of a newspaper, moves with his wife to a new house. There he meets Li-zhen, the beautiful woman living next door, wife of a commercial agent, who is usually on business trips. Chow's wife is also often away from home. One day they will realize that their spouses are lovers and will find themselves in the footsteps of an erotic desire that neither of them admits is their own. — Best Actor (Tony Leung) | Cannes Film Festival | 2000 Best Foreign Language Film | César Awards | 2001 Best Actor (Tony Leung) | Hong Kong Film Awards | 2001 Best Actress (Maggie Cheung) | Hong Kong Film Awards | 2001 Best Film Editing | Hong Kong Film Awards | 2001

In a vast metropolis full of antitheses, love could be hiding where you least expect. This ingenious rom-com from Argentina lives and breathes where the others merely begin, justifying why it’s been worshipped by audiences. Winner of the Golden Athena at the Athens International Film Festival. — Mariana and Martin live on the same block in Buenos Aires. They pass by each other daily, shop at the same stores, swim at the same pool but have never met. Martin rarely leaves his apartment after his breakup, while Mariana works as an architect and feels incapable of any serious commitment, since coming out of a 4-year relationship. — Golden Athena | Athens International Film Festival | 2011

The most beautiful film Jarmusch made during the 10s, seeks poetry through the images of an everyday life without exhausting rhythms, rhapsodizing the repetitiveness, indolence and kindness of its heroes that are no other than the wonderful couple interpreted by Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani. — Paterson is a bus driver in the eponymous city of Paterson, New Jersey. Every day, he follows a routine: he performs his daily itinerary, observing the city and eavesdropping on the conversations around him. He writes verses in a notebook. He walks his dog. He stops at a bar and drinks only one beer. And then he goes home to his wife, Laura. Instead, Laura's world is constantly changing. She has new dreams almost daily. He applauds her newfound ambitions and she supports his talent for poetry. — Palm Dog Award | Cannes Film Festival | 2016 Official Selection | San Sebastián International Film Festival | 2016

Aki Kaurismäki, the great poet of minimalism and melancholy, returns with his twentieth feature film, creating another unforgettable anthem for all those forgotten by the society. This film rightfully received the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. — Two lonely people meet by chance one night in Helsinki and try to find the first, unique and absolute love of their lives. Their path to this goal is hindered by the man's alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other's name or address, and life's general tendency to put obstacles in the way of those seeking happiness. — Jury Prize | Cannes Film Festival | 2023 FIPRESCI Prize | San Sebastian Film Festival | 2023

A moody journey full of tension, love and hate in constant succession, portrayed in absolute aesthetic freedom and a frenzied camera lens, in yet another stylistic marvel by Wong Kar Wai that touches upon the unpredictability of life. — A gay couple goes to Argentina on vacation. At some point in their trip they break up. Not having the necessary money to return home, one of them starts working as a doorman at a bar while staying in a small room. One day his ex-partner, who spends his nights out with various people, visits him injured and bloody. While taking care of him, he loses his job but manages to get another one as a dish-washer at a Chinese restaurant. There he meets a young man from Taipei who is traveling the world. — Best Director | Cannes Film Festival | 1997 Audience Award | Arizona International Film Festival | 1998 Best Actor | Hong Kong Film Awards | 1998

This is where Roy Anderson's cinematic universe is born. In his 1970 debut, the surrealist auteur, influenced by the Czech New Wave, tells the love story of two teenagers and the reaction of the people around them. Multi-award-winning and a must-see for any fan of the director. — Two teenagers meet and reluctantly fall in love in a beautiful setting during an idyllic Swedish summer. Ignoring social confines, they innocently create their own environment in contrast to the distorted relationships, frustration and fatigue of adult life around them. — Interfilm Award | Berlin Film Festival | 1970 Journalists' Award | Berlin Film Festival | 1970

Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone, Dheepan) in collaboration with Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) redefine the romantic comedy in a fresh and erotic black and white portrait of youth in Paris, based on Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel. — Paris, 13th District today – an area also known as “Les Olympiades” because of its eight tallest towers are named after cities that have hosted the Olympic Games. Emilie meets Camille, who is attracted to Nora, who crosses the path of Amber. Three girls and a boy redefine what modern love is. — Soundtrack Award | Cannes Film Festival | 2021

Gaspar Noé, contemporary european cinema’s favourite provocateur, in the most lustful moment of his filmography, a sexual odyssey of memories, passion and nostalgia that -almost literally- involves the viewer in the erotic life of the protagonist couple. — January 1st, early in the morning. The phone rings and Murphy wakes up next to his young wife and 2 year old child. He listens to the voicemail where Electra’s mother anxiously asks whether he’s heard from her daughter that has been missing for a while. During an endless rainy day, Murphy is alone in his apartment, thinking of the most beautiful erotic relationship of his life, his two years with Electra. A fiery passion full of promises, playfulness, exaggeration and mistakes…

In the spirit of Linklater's Before trilogy and with DIY attitude, the Greek film of the year follows two people on a magically melancholic journey. Awards in Thessaloniki and a triumph at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards for the directorial debut of comic book creator Giorgos Goussis. — Elena is traveling with no destination and unexpectedly boards the ship to Kefalonia. Antonis, who is on the same ship, is heading to the island's cemetery to bury his aunt's ossuary. When his car breaks down, Elena offers to take him to a hotel and then again the next day to the cemetery, where they are told they can't keep the box for bureaucratic reasons. Having enjoyed each other's company, they decide to continue roaming around the island looking for a good place to bury the box. — Golden Alexander | Thessaloniki Film Festival | 2021 FIPRESCI Award | Thessaloniki Film Festival | 2021 Greek National Television Award | Thessaloniki Film Festival | 2021 Best Film | Hellenic Film Academy Awards | 2022 Best Actress (Elena Topalidou) | Hellenic Film Academy Awards | 2022

La Belle Époque meets “Westworld” and the spirit of Charlie Kaufman. When and where would you travel if you could? Would you spend a night in the palace as Marie Antoinette? Would you go for a drink with Ernest Hemingway? Daniel Auteuil travels to the past to relive the moment that changed his life. — The quiet life of 60-year-old Victor is turned upside down the day young Antoine offers him a unique, innovative form of entertainment. Thanks to a combination of theatrical tricks and historical reenactment, Antoine’s company offers its clients the opportunity to travel back to any time period they choose. Victor chooses to go back to Lyon in 1974 and relive the most unforgettable week of his life: when he met his one true love 40 years in the past… Can he still feel the same way? — Best Production Design | César Awards | 2020 Best Supporting Actress (Fanny Ardant) | César Awards | 2020 Best Original Screenplay | César Awards | 2020 Directors to Watch | Palm Springs International Film Festival | 2020