meta-cinema: premiere 17/05/22, 19:30 pm at Mikrokosmos, Ruins a documentary by Zoe Mavroudi

Constantly pursuing the dialogue between art and political endeavour, the Centre for Postcapitalist Civilisation (mέta) proceeds with a series of films regularly screened in the multi-space facility of Mikrokosmos, literally bringing in the centre of our attention a genre connected per se to this pursuit: cinema.

With the kind contribution of Greek and foreign creators, who, quite often, work in stifling conditions, mέta proposes to a wider public significant, recent film productions, which visualise but also critically problematise various aspects of the multi-faceted crisis surrounding us, as well as pinpoint emancipatory alternatives. For, quite often, optical language proves to be much more eloquent than numerous written pages, in the depiction of societal reality – at times, riveting.

RUINS
Chronicle of an HIV witch-hunt – ten years later.

Moral panic, demonisation of HIV-positiveness, sex work and substance dependence, coercive medical acts. All this in the service of an election show, the initiators of which still have the audacity to play a leading role in public life.
This is the “case of HIV-positive women” that erupted in May 2012, with tragic consequences for the women involved and with, ongoing to date, juridical implications at a European level.
Ten years later, the Center for Postcapitalist Civlisation (mέta) remembers this sad anniversary and raises questions about social attitudes, official policies and the communication strategies that accompany it, and is screening, as part of the meta-cinema series, the hourly documentary Ruins/ Ruins (2013) of Zoe Mavroudi, which is precisely the “chronicle of the shaming” of alleged HIV-positive women.

The film will be screened on Tuesday, May 17th at “Mikrokosmos” (106 Syggrou Avenue) with free entrance for the public and attendance time at 19.30.

Directed by Zoe Mavroudi
Camera Operator, Sound: Giannis Chinos
Editor: Antonio Rochira
Post-processing: Antonios Dimopoulos
Original Music: Fruto5
Composer: Diamanda Galás, “This is the Law of the Plague” (Plague Mass, live 1991)
Executive Producers: Theodora Oikonomides, Loukas Stamellos
Presented by Zoe Mavroudi, Theodora Oikonomides, OmniaTV, Unfollow magazine
(Running time: 53 minutes)

A short discussion with the director as well as interventions by the journalist Mariniki Alevizopoulou, Marios Atzemis from the HIV-Positive Association, the lawyer Kostas Farmakidis and a prostituted persons collective representative will follow.

mέta is a civil-non-profit research and cultural institution, related to the political party MeRA25, the European movement DiEM25, and Progressive International. It was established in 2020, aiming to explore eutopic alternatives to the postcapitalist era in which we are already living, through academic and cultural actions regarding the political, social, economic, ecological, cultural, and civilisational challenges of our times.

Cine Mikrokosmos (member of Europa Cinemas) was born in the fall of 2004, on Syngrou Avenue, opposite ex-Fix Industry, equipped with state – of the – art technology and with a unique architectural approach. Having hosted numerous festivals and tributes, without ever standing off from first-rate promotions, committed to cinephile choices, and particularly hospitable to independent Greek productions, Mikrokosmos has created its own audience and is chosen for its ideal show conditions, its careful selections, and, occasionally, for its autonomous bar, which operates in the foyer at affordable prices and cinematic ambiance.

Zoe Mavroudi is a filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright and actress. Her theatre work has been produced in the USA and in Europe. Her screenplays have won awards at international festivals and contests. She has written about human rights, politics and film for publications in Greece and the UK.