“And babe don’t you know it’s a pity / The days can’t be like the nights / In the summer in the city / In the summer in the city” Lovin’ Spoonful
By this time in the summer, I’m dreaming of diving into the Aegean, preferably on a Cycladic island. But there’s plenty to enjoy in the summer in the city, especially during the dry summer nights when you just want to stay outside.
In Athens outdoor concerts and theater play nearly every night. But surely one of the most endearing summer rituals embedded in Greek culture is the summer cinema.
In fact just mention it and you’ll get a teary eyed reaction as people fondly remember cinema of their youth set in gardens with the taste of Biral cola and the fragrant smell of jasmine.
You can catch this wistful tone of longing in the well known 1980’s song of Loukianos Kylaidonis: “Moon filled nights of honeysuckle and jasmine of the summer cinema that will never return.”
Until recently with the advent of cineplex theaters, there was no air conditioning in the theaters and so–called winter cinemas would all close sometime in May with a sign outside “Meeting in September” or “Kalo kalokairi!” (Have a good summer!)
In the 90’s or early 2000’s many summer cinemas were starting to close as developers had their eye on using this prime space for parking lots or as part of an apartment building frenzy. But often the public protested so vigorously that even new cinemas have been built, like the Cine Flisvos with the sea behind it.
The history of therina (summer) cinema goes back at least 100 years ago or so when kafenions or coffee houses projected films onto screens where you could watch a movie as you drank your coffee or sipped your ouzo. In the golden age of Greek cinema in the 50’s and 60’s (before TV entered the society), you wanted to be sure to get to the film early to hear Greek hits of the time of famous composers.
When the first showing starts at 9 pm, it’s usually not fully dark in the long days of June. Some years ago, when I was watching Charade (Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant). you really had to strain your eyes to see the snow when the film opens with Hepburn in her enormous sunglasses at a ski resort.
This was at the Cine Thiseion, a few blocks up from the Thiseion metro station. The oldest extant cinema in Athens, dating from 1935, it often shows classic films, less often first runs.
A few years ago it was voted the best movie theater in the world by a CNN poll, which the theater proudly displays. (I saw it recently listed as number 5 in a Time Out poll of the most beautiful outdoor cinemas in Europe.)
From the bustling pedestrian street, you get your ticket and part the beaded curtains, stepping into another world with a spacious garden, where pots of geranium and basil are all displayed in a line along the front of the theater.
Those in the know will try to sit on the right side, last few rows, facing the screen. Here you get a stunning view of the lit up Acropolis.
Interspersed with the chairs (pink plastic) are little tables. These go quickly — where you can rest your elbow, your ice cold beer or try vissinada (homemade cherry drink), one of Cine Thisseion’s specialties, along with avgotaraho (a kind of caviar from the Messolonghi area), sold at the snack bar before the film and during the intermission.
Other cinemas have food specialties as well, like the Athinaia, in the Kolonaki area that’s known for its homemade tiropitas (cheese pies).
A friend who grew up in the seaside town of Volos tells me there was an ouzerie in the back of the cinema with mezedes, appetizers for fish and for meat and of course ouzo.
The Thisseion is a lovely garden cinema but if you want a rooftop, you can’t get better than the Cine Paris in the Plaka. From the terrace you have a really knockout view of the Acropolis.
The Cine Paris has a colorful history. It was started in 1920 by a local hairdresser who had spent some time in Paris. During the late 60’s and 70’s it closed and became a popular music restaurant, Zygos, where Vicky Moscholiou sang. During the 80’s and 90’s, I remember at the end of August, Woody Allen films started their run. It was also closed recently for about four years and reopened last year under new management who have cleaned up the entrance. This is what it looks like now.
But in the past it was known for its rack upon rack of movie posters for sale. (What was done with all these posters, I wonder…)
Because of its location on Kydathineon St, in the heart of the Plaka, many tourists visit the cinema as well.
Most neighborhoods have their local summer cinemas, which adds to the pleasure of the summer cultural experience. When I first came to Greece, when the admission price was 30 drachmas (about 50 cents), I felt sound was a problem. Of course it doesn’t matter so much if it’s a film where you’re reading the subtitles. (Fortunately foreign films are not dubbed as they are in Italy, except for children’s films). I also noticed whole families positioning themselves on their balconies so they could watch the film from there.
In our community of Agia Paraskevi, we’re lucky to have a cinema right across the street (Cine Scholio — School Cinema) that opens in July after the schools close. It’s also named for Thanassis Veggos, a popular Greek actor. For a few years it shifted to another locale, where between the features, dogs would wander the aisles sniffing out the popcorn that viewers dropped. But this is its rightful home.
The program is usually a mix of films shown during the winter, with Greek as well as Italian, French, British, American, Spanish and occasionally others, also classics and films of the Agia Paraskevi film club, where the director is often on hand to discuss the film afterwards.
A couple of years ago Renos Haralambidis, popular Greek actor, was there to introduce his dark humor film “Cheap Cigarettes” for the premiere.
In the opening night, you can always feel a nice buzz of joy, and often reconnect with those in the neighborhood you haven’t seen for a while.
II. Athens Open Air Film Festival
What do The Third Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Mama Roma, The Hours and A Few Dollars More have in common?
They’re all part of this year’s Athens Open Air Film Festival, now in its 15th year.
Each year the Festival highlights iconic venues around the city for its films. A few that have been used range from the Roman Agora to the Numismatic museum garden, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Aeropagitou Street under the Acropolis and plateias and parks around the city.
In keeping with the old silent music tradition of hearing music before films, music is played that connects thematically with the film. It’s usually not live, but a couple of years ago when the festival started with “Cinema Paradiso” at the Kolonos Theater (near Plato’s Academy) there was an orchestra on hand, the El Sistema Youth Orchestra.
How wonderful to listen to children and young people playing. Modelled on the Venezuelan El Sistema, this is a very successful community project that provides free music education to children and young people in Greece (from age 5 to 26).) In their program they included Nino Rota’s evocative film score. What better orchestra to introduce this classic film of growing up where young Toto learns not only about film from Alfredo, but about life itself.
Going back to 2020, when it was uncertain about the festival happening… it finally opened with Pedro Aldomovar’s All about my Mother. From a van we could hear “Hernando’s Hideaway,” and songs of longing like “Como te voy a olvidar,” and “La Mer.” Singers of the past like Perry Como, Joe Dassin, Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone. What nostalgia!
The opening venue of that summer was the Technopolis, the old Athens gasworks, converted into a cultural center some years ago. It was a huge space chosen for its social distancing (remember that!) with the chairs set out very carefully, one, sometimes two together.
A totally different type of music was played before “Pink Floyd at Pompeii” this year. From an old record player set up on a table and a collection of vinyl LPs, we heard rock hits blaring from the past, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix.
The music from 50 years before was fun. Before the film started, it was announced that it would be played “at the volume that it deserves.” (!) I thought we would see more people our age in the audience, but except for a few grey haired ponytailers, we were definitely the oldest. The movie? Well, if it had been a Pink Floyd concert, that would have been great but it was a lot of pointless (?) individual experimenting with electronic music. Well, most of the audience seemed to like it. (See for yourself…)
Increasing the movie experience, we’re usually offered complimentary cans of Fischer beer, one of the sponsors, along with sweet paprika chips. Not bad at all.
Besides the music, the venues chosen can be really atmospheric. “Modern Times” was set against the background of the ruins in the Roman Agora, Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, played next to the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
By far the most atmospheric, as if you stepped right into the movie itself, was at the Theatro Vrahon (Stone Theater) for Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock.” It couldn’t have been a better backdrop along the craggy rocks.
Some of the venues, while lovely like the Pedestrian street Aeropagitou right under the Acropolis, have proved to be too small.
So this year it was moved past the Acropolis Museum, practically across from the Herodion Theater.
A lovely but too small venue was also the garden of the French Institute, often used for French films. In the garden, we experienced the joy of watching the musical, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in all its colorful splendor. In past years, in fact there has been a mini French film festival within the Greek festival.
This year we were treated to Melodie en sous sol (1963). The English title is not Melody in the Basement but Any Number Can Win and the Greek translation is more straightforward Robbery in the Casino. What a pleasure to watch two cinema giants like Jean Gabin in his older years and Alain Delon in his younger, as what else, two ex-cons trying to pull off a casino robbery in Cannes. The ending is brilliant.
This was held in the Anesis Cinema, a true urban oasis, sandwiched between apartment buildings.
The chairs are comfortable but there are even sofas in the back.
This year’s opening festival film, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation with Gene Hackman, 50 years ago and still prescient with its surveillance theme, was at the Zappeion, another huge space, but there were still not enough chairs for all the Festival fans and people sat around the giant pillars.
Each year the festival tries out new venues. One year was even a drive in, but I guess it didn’t work so well. This year they featured some books-made-into-movies at the Hellenic foundation for books and culture.
For the July full moon, they had all night movies at the Stavros Niarchos foundation, a wonderful cultural center from the last 20 years, now the home of the National Library and the Lyriki Skini, the Opera.
The films were shown on a giant screen on the Great Lawn. Arriving for the 2nd film, the 11 pm Woody Allen, Manhattan Murder Mystery, we found every spare inch of the lawn already spread with blankets and straw mats. Lots of young kids were running around (they must’ve had a good nap!). We finally found some space, but eventually gave up on trying to hear the dialogue or even read the subtitles.
Many others were there just enjoying the clear sky and the moon; in fact they were sitting behind the screen. It was just the idea of being open all night that attracted people, whether they cared about the film or not!
Not everyone can be happy with every venue… But anyway let the movie begin! Happy viewing to all!
III. The Herod Atticus Theater (Herodion)
Summer in the city must also include a visit to the Herodion theater, scheduled to close for at least three years after this summer for some much needed renovations. While cinema might be the most cherished outdoor summer experience, the Herodion is Athens’ beloved summer theater, part of the Athens – Epidaurus festival.
This Roman theater, one of the world’s oldest and finest, was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife Regilla. In its original form, it had a roof made of cedar wood. Holding 5,000 people, it was used for concerts and drama festivals, much like today. It had the usual fate of so many ancient monuments, lasting about a century until it was destroyed. In 1950 the audience stands and stage were rebuilt using Pentelic marble.
Artists ranging from Luciano Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, Sting and Maria Kallas, and many more, have performed here.
You need strong leg muscles to climb the steep marble steps up to the upper tier!
World Music Day June 21st, always features a classical concert by the Radio – TV or State symphony orchestra.
Outside the theater when it’s music (not drama), the benches and stone ledges are overflowing with listeners. The speakers outside are excellent (!) (Tickets especially for the lower tier have become a bit pricey…)
I love at the end the exodus out of the theater, down the steep marble steps (from the upper tier) and then the steps leading to cobblestoned Aeropagitou.
At the bottom the vendor selling corn on the cob who’s been dozing and waiting for the end of the concert snaps to attention and gets his cart ready. The nut seller organizes his small bags with pistachios, hazelnuts and pasatempo. The bouzouki street musician, the saxophonist and Spanish guitarist in front of the Acropolis museum, have also been waiting for the concert to end for them to play again.
The Parthenon is lit up on the hill in a whitish glow.
A steady stream of people march down Aeropagitou, many hurrying to the Acropolis metro, near where a few diners are still sitting at the tavernas nearby, but it’s mostly quiet (the tourists are elsewhere), Down the metro escalator, people clutch programs and also small booklets of the Athens festival program.
This is when I love Athens, the culture, the sense of history you have all around you, the neoclassical buildings on Aeropagitou, the ancient Roman theater we just came from, the Acropolis, it all comes together in a pleasant mix in the dry coolness of the night “in the summer in the city.”
Enjoy your summer, both in and out of the city!
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Sherri Moshman Paganos is a writer and former educator, inspired by her life in Athens, where she and her husband are happily retired and enjoying their travels in Greece and abroad. You can check out her writing — fiction, non-fiction, poetry and articles here.
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