Art House War Drama ‘Smyrna’ to Hit 700 U.S. Screens for One-Night Event on December 8

Peter Caranicas
·2 min read
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Distributor Fathom Events will showcase critically acclaimed Greek war drama “Smyrna” on 700 screens in the U.S. as a one-night-only event on December 8. The limited wide release will raise the profile of the highest-budgeted production in the history of Greek cinema.

The film depicts the 1922 catastrophe at the end of the Greco-Turkish war that destroyed much of the city of Smyrna on Turkey’s Aegean coast, resulting in a monumental refugee crisis. The disaster and the events leading up to it are filtered through the eyes and experiences of a family living in Smyrna.

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In anticipation of the one-time wide release, a special screening of the film will take place on November 29th at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City under the auspices of the Greek Permanent Mission to the United Nations. It will also be screened at the European Parliament in Brussels on January 11, 2023, as well as at other festivals and events around the world.

“Smyrna” was directed by Grigoris Karantinakis. The international cast includes Daphne Alexander, Mimi Denissi, Rupert Graves, Katerina Geronikolou, Burak Hakki, Susan Hampshire, Leonidas Kakouris, Jane Lapotaire, and Christos Stergioglou. It was produced by Dionyssis Samiotis, alongside executive producers Joseph Samaan and Mimi Denissi.

Written by Denissi in collaboration with two-time Tony Award nominee Martin Sherman, “Smyrna” has won six Hellenic Academy Awards, including for best cinematography.

The so-called Great Fire of Smyrna, which destroyed the Greek and Armenian quarters of the city in September 1922, was famously fictionalized by Jeffrey Eugenides in his 2002 Pulitzer-Prize winning bestseller “Middlesex.”

The Fathom Events special presentation of the film includes bonus behind-the-scenes footage of the making-of “Smyrna” along with talent interviews and a live-recorded performance of select songs from the original soundtrack.

Theatrical distributor Fathom is owned by AMC Entertainment, Cinemark Holdings and Cineworld Group subsidiary Regal. “Smyrna” is a film of Tanweer Productions, a leading producer of local Greek content. In the U.S., promotional partners include AHEPA, Antenna 1 Satellite (ANT1) and Papadopoulou. Film Bridge International is handling international sales.

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