Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Presenters: Deb Verhoeven & Michelle Mantsio
Entry: Free

Abstract:

The story of Australia’s Greek cinemas is very much like the films they screened: filled with colourful characters, passionate plots, personal ardour, and dramatic turns.

From the late 1940s until the mid 1980s Australia was home to a dynamic Greek cinema circuit made up of some 120 different inner-city, suburban and regional venues operated by a handful of exhibition/distribution businesses.

This presentation will outline a brief history of the operation of these diasporic Greek cinema circuits with a particular focus on venues and businesses based in Melbourne. Several key questions arising from this history will be considered: In what way did these popular cinemas have a specific temporal as well as a spatial relationship to Australia’s Greek communities?

What role did the cinemas provide for Greek diasporic communities in constructing or relocating the ‘local’ within a global cultural ecumene? How might we account for the impact of Greek-Australian distribution and exhibition on the national cinemas of both countries?

Biographies:

Deb Verhoeven is Professor and Chair of Media and Communication at Deakin University. She is Deputy Director of the Centre for Memory, Imagination and Invention and was a Chief Investigator of Regional Markets and Local Audiences: Case Studies in Australian Cinema Consumption, 1928-1980 which inspired her interest in Greek diasporic cinemagoing in Australia.

Michelle Mantsio is the Co-ordinator of Visual Arts and an art lecturer at the Academy of Design Australia. She is a practicing artist who has participated in think tanks, art residencies, conferences and has exhibited nationally and internationally, with a recent exhibition at the Hellenic Museum. Michelle was Research Assistant for Regional Markets and Local Audiences: Case Studies in Australian Cinema Consumption, 1928-1980.

Sponsors

We would like to thank George Koletsis, Louis & Effie Sgardelis and Stella Dimadis for sponsoring tonight’s lecture. Such initiatives assist us in providing these lectures free to the public. If you would like to participate as a sponsor from as little as $100 please send us an email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We would also like to thank our corporate sponsor: