Greek Film Festival fans in Sydney will be treated to a screening of the life of legendary anti-apartheid hero George Bizos followed by a Q & A session with George Bizos' son, Alexi Bizos and director Jane Lipman.
George Bizos was a much loved and respected figure in South Africa and was known as the South African Greek lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela on treason charges for which he escaped the death penalty.
The documentary screening will take place on Sunday 22nd October at 4:00pm, at Palace Cinema, Norton Street, Leichhardt, Sydney. BOOK TICKETS HERE.
A teenage refugee from Greece (1927-2020) George Bizos becomes a relentless human-rights lawyer in the crucible of a violent racist regime in South Africa.
He represents freedom fighters including Mandela, in a political chess game, and a negotiated end to apartheid.
A champion of Constitutionalism in South Africa, George was key in its creation.
With populism on the rise George speaks truth to power, advocating legal rights for the poor, and holding perpetrators of violence and corruption to account, including recent reopened inquests of activists murdered in the apartheid era.
Key in writing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) law he represents families there.
The film juxtaposes the personal and political sides of George’s life showing the tapestry of his life and his motivation in his work.
It uses public and never-before seen archive, his family’s 8mm and still archive, interviewing notables, colleagues, and family, engaging the viewer to the end.
The documentary is presented in collaboration with the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association.
TRAILER:
As one of Australia's premiere national cultural events, the Greek Film Festival is back with the best of contemporary and classic Greek cinema.
Proudly presented by the «Bank of Sydney», the 28th Greek Film Festival returns to Leichhardt’s Palace Norton Street Cinema from 19 to 29 October 2023 and include 15 award-winning feature films, 8 documentaries and the established Student Film Festival, which celebrates its 11th year.
The 28th Greek Film Festival will open with Asimina Proedrou’s multi-award-winning debut feature film “Behind the Haystacks”. The film touches the very sensitive and topical issue of refugee immigration while outlining the modern Greek reality of living in a small boarder town where closed societies are called to handle everyday life struggles sometimes with distorted perspective.
Closing Night Film
An unexpectedly dynamic Cypriot film “IMAN” by Korinna Avraamidou and Kyriakos Tofaridis will conclude the 28th Greek Film Festival on 29th October. The film successfully depicts the complexity of modern Cypriot society, portraying with powerful performances the protagonists’ personal fights for survival within a Western-style country that is geographically so close to the turbulent Middle East.
