Receptions - 31st Greek Film Festival

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https://greekfilmfestival.com.au/

Date Reviewed: 14/10/2026

Reviewed by Vivien Lynch

What is the price of principle when hunger takes hold - and how much dignity can we afford to lose just to survive? 

With his distinctive, human-centred approach to filmmaking, Greek director Filippos Tsitos returns with a sharp, bittersweet and deeply human tragicomedy that explores this uncomfortable question through the story of Dimos Perpataris, an uncompromising, unemployed journalist whose knowledge of ancient Greek sayings is matched only by his determination to uphold his principles. For Dimos, integrity is not merely an ideal but a way of life. Yet, as unemployment and hunger begin to close in, even his strongest convictions are put to the test. His unexpected encounter with the “Dexiosakides”, a carefree group who slip into events to enjoy a free meal, sets in motion a journey that challenges his understanding of morality, dignity and what it truly means to survive.

What makes this film particularly resonant is Tsitos’s recognition that human dignity is often tested not in grand, dramatic moments, but in the ordinary struggles of everyday life. Hunger, financial insecurity and the absence of basic necessities can gradually erode the comfort of moral certainty. It is easy to defend one's principles when life's essentials are taken for granted; considerably harder when the simple need to eat, feel secure and maintain a sense of self-worth becomes a daily struggle. Through Dimos, Tsitos invites us to consider the difficult space between what we believe and what circumstances demand of us.

Events are carefully orchestrated to create an atmosphere of abundance, celebration and belonging. Tables are laid, food is served, guests gather, and everything conveys a sense of occasion. Yet behind this polished appearance lie unspoken realities about access, privilege and exclusion. Who is invited to sit at the table?

The idea of people entering events simply to secure a meal might initially seem amusing, even absurd. But viewed through the eyes of someone familiar with event management, it becomes far more revealing. An event can be a celebration for one person and an opportunity for survival for another. The same room can hold vastly different realities, depending on where one stands. What some regard as an inconvenience or breach of etiquette may, to others with a knowing eye, represent a practical response to an immediate and very real need.

This is where Tsitos’s humour becomes especially powerful. The “Dexiosakides” expose the contradictions of a society in which appearances can matter more than compassion, and the rituals of hospitality can coexist with a reluctance to acknowledge those who are struggling. Their actions challenge the rules governing who belongs and who does not, while Dimos’s encounters with them force him to confront the limits of his moral framework. The absurdity lies not simply in their behaviour, but in a world where obtaining a basic meal can seem like a criminal offence.

For anyone who has experienced times when basic human needs have been compromised, Dimos’s predicament may strike a particularly personal chord. Hardship can leave little room for philosophical debate. When food, shelter, security or even the ability to get through another day becomes uncertain, priorities inevitably shift. The question is no longer simply whether a decision is right or wrong, but what a person is expected to sacrifice to keep going. Such circumstances do not necessarily erase one's values; rather, they reveal how difficult those values can be to preserve when survival itself is at stake.

Under Tsitos’s thoughtful direction, the film offers neither easy judgements nor tidy moral conclusions. Instead, it asks us to recognise the vulnerability beneath our public identities. The person who insists on principle may also be desperately hungry. The individual who bends the rules may not be without conscience. And the person who appears to be coping may be carrying an invisible burden. Tsitos finds tragicomedy in these contradictions, reminding us that life rarely divides people neatly into the virtuous and dishonest, the deserving and undeserving.

At the heart of this exploration is Antonis Kafetzopoulos, whose portrayal of Dimos anchors the film’s delicate balance between defiance, melancholy and vulnerability. His performance gives weight to the central dilemma: how does someone accustomed to living by a set of principles respond when those principles cannot provide even the most basic means of survival? Dimos’s struggle is not simply about whether he will compromise his beliefs, but whether he can still recognise himself if he does.

The supporting cast — Giorgos Souxes, Maria Katsandri, Christos Valavanidis, Katerina Synapidou, Christina Tsafou and Maria Kallimani — adds further human texture to the film. Together, the ensemble brings to life the personalities and social contradictions through which the story unfolds. In a world shaped by the fragile boundaries between respectability, opportunism and necessity, everyone has a place to defend, a role to perform and perhaps a private struggle others cannot see.

Drawing inspiration from the absurdities of everyday life and the book of the same name, Tsitos combines humour, melancholy and social observation to deliver a provocative commentary on a society under pressure. His human-centred filmmaking allows laughter and sadness to exist side by side. The comedy is never entirely comfortable, because the circumstances it portrays are not so far removed from reality.

Ultimately, Tsitos’s film is about far more than people sneaking into events for a free meal. It explores the invisible lines we draw between those who have enough and those who do not, and between the rules society expects us to follow and the realities that sometimes make them impossible to maintain. It asks whether dignity should be measured by one's ability to remain uncompromising, or by our willingness to understand what another person may be enduring.

For me, the film’s most compelling message lies in its invitation to look beyond appearances and respond to hardship with greater empathy. Having experienced times when life's basic necessities cannot simply be taken for granted, I am particularly drawn to the question at the heart of Tsitos’s work: what does it mean to preserve one's dignity when the world offers little room to do so?

Perhaps dignity is also about acknowledging our vulnerability, accepting that hardship can change us, and resisting the temptation to judge others without understanding their circumstances. Perhaps a society's true measure lies not in how elegantly it stages its celebrations, but in how compassionately it treats those who are hungry, excluded or struggling to make ends meet.

Thought-provoking, irreverent and quietly poignant, Filippos Tsitos’s film offers audiences at the Greek Film Festival in Melbourne, running until 25 October, an experience that reaches beyond comedy into the uncomfortable territory of conscience and survival. With Antonis Kafetzopoulos at its centre and a strong supporting ensemble, Tsitos invites us to laugh at life's absurdities while questioning the social and moral assumptions we so often take for granted.

Because when hunger knocks at the door, principles may be tested — but so, too, is our humanity. And the most important question may not be how far someone is willing to go for a meal, but how far we, as a society, are willing to go to ensure that no one has to surrender their dignity simply to survive.