Playing With Fire

Karim Asir, the Afghan Charlie Chaplin, in the midst of bombs and disasters, gives performances using laughter as his only weapon. When the Taliban takeover, Karim is threatened with death. After a series of adversities, he manages to arrive in Greece. We follow his life adventure, and through his story, we explore the issue of laughter – in Afghanistan and beyond.

Anna has lost her memory but she hasn’t forgotten how to cook. One night she shows up in a working-class neighborhood. There she meets Roula and gets a job as a cook and a place to stay at his shabby seaside tavern. In the kitchen, amidst the scents of spices and old forgotten recipes, Anna struggles to rebuild her past. Her simple but delicious food awakens memories for the regulars who in turn help her to reconnect with herself. The story takes an unexpected turn when Roula suddenly stumbles upon the Green Sea and discovers Anna’s true identity.

Panayotis gambles his way out of his village near Sparta. Anthony escapes his English stately home. They meet in nighttime London, during a bloody fight. Together, they discover a new way of life.

The journey of Qadir, an Afghan refugee, who fled to Greece because of the Taliban. He left behind his family, his siblings, his parents, his friends. He walked thousands of kilometers. He crossed four countries on foot until he reached Greece, where he lives today. When after nine years he returns to his homeland to find his family, he has mixed emotions, anxiety, joy and fear.

In Pakistan, a land of Islam, women are relying on education to preserve the traditions of their people, the animist Kalash minority of the Hindu Kush.

'Europe, the Dream' is a documentary about three adolescents who are/were living in Patras, Greece: Andreas, a young Greek, Ali Reza, a refugee from Afghanistan and Abdulla, a refugee from Syria; they are each dreaming of a great journey to Europe, and, with all their hopes and fears, they are struggling to make this happen as they see it as the only solution for their lives. They don't consider Greece as Europe! The two refugees have in fact managed to reach their destinations: Ali Reza in Sweden and Abdulla in Austria. Andreas is still in Greece. He wants to study and work but his family has day to day problems which have been heightened by the Greek financial crisis. Will these three young men be able to realize their dreams or these dreams will be thwarted by the difficulties and complexities that exist in today's Europe.

An artistic journey into memory, trauma, healing, and reconciliation. Visual artist Artemis Alcalay presents her works, narrates the story of her family, and unfolds how she - consciously or subconsciously - processed untold family stories, collective trauma, and the memory of the Holocaust.