M U S I C

To poem Free Besieged, set to music by composer Yiannis Makopoulos, will be performed at the Athens Music Hall on March 22. The poem is written by Dionysios Solomos, who is best known for writing the Hymn to Liberty (Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían), of which the first two stanzas became the Greek national anthem; Solomos is considered to be the Greek national poet. The Free Besieged refers to the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832); it was inspired by the Third Siege of Messolonghi, between 1833 and 1844, and the heroic exodus of its inhabitants.

E X H I B I T I O N S

The retrospective exhibition Variations, by the Greek artist Michalis Katzourakis, is running at the Benaki Museum, until April 5. The exhibition focuses on the artist’s main interest: the trace of man’s interventions in the urban landscape and demonstrates his close ties with photography. Unlike most retrospectives with their strictly chronological order, the show is divided into thematic units on the basis of things that trigger the creation of the artist’s paintings and sculptures.

The exhibition Recorded Memories will run at the Museum of Photography in Thessaloniki on March 20 to May 18. The exhibition will feature works by 22 artists from 11 countries of Southeastern Europe focusing on the special bond between photography, film and video on the one hand and collective memory on the other. The artists’ works are presented in 6 sections, including "Political Landscapes and spaces", "Traces of crime", "Individual memory and collective history", "Re-directing". It is noted that Vangelis Vlahos, Kavecs and Panos Kokkinias will exhibit their work in the exhibition, representing Greece.
   

F E S T I V A L S

Organised by the French Institute of Greece, the Francophone Film Festival, in its 16th edition, is running in Athens from March 19 to 25 and in Thessaloniki from March 26 to April 1. This year’s event features 43 movies from three continents, ranging from award-winning feature films to documentaries. Among those expected in Athens this time is Karin Viard, the French actress starring in the event’s opener, Eric Lartigau’s "La famille Belier" (The Belier Family).