July 2023
11, 12 TUE, WED 20:30 (40’)
Grandmothers I Milena Ugren Koulas Χ
Created in the framework of the Terpsichore programme 2023 - Deputy Ministry of Culture and in collaboration with the Rialto Theatre.
For the past few years, Milena and the dancers she collaborates with, are investigating how trauma affects us and the way traumatic experiences shape our communication and relation with others, as well as our perception of our surroundings. As a continuation of this research and choreographic work on trauma, in the new piece Grandmothers, Milena and the dancers explore the ability to recover from the trauma, ways to cope with it, adapt and modify ourselves well in the face of adversity. In Grandmothers, we try to discover what resilience is.
Milena Ugren Koulas is an artist who, in collaboration with her husband musician Georgios Koulas, has been working in the field of contemporary dance and choreography for the past 20 years. Their choreographies have been presented in Cyprus and in many European countries. For the past few years, in collaboration with the team Stylish Junkies, Milena has been choreographing, and organising workshops and classes for professional dancers. Also, for the last couple of years, she has been a guest teacher at Comma Master for choreography at Codarts and Fontys dance academies in Holland.
Choreographer: Milena Ugren Koulas
Dancers: Eleni O’Keefe, Julia Brendle, Elena Gavriel, Katerina Tylliridou, Magda Argyridou, Samantha Moysi, Julie Charalambidou, Anna Nikolaou
Music: George Koulas and Dafni Koulas
Tickets: € 8 / 6
14 FRI 21:00 (75’)
Music for Shepherds and Sultans – Michalis Kouloumis* Μ
Music from Cyprus and classical music of Constantinople / Contemporary Modal Music.
Michalis Kouloumis and Tristan Driessens embark on what is just the beginning of a closer partnership, with Catalan multi-instrumentalist Miriam Encinas joining them on frame drums and pithkiavlin. Their repertoire organically fluctuates from original compositions in classical Ottoman style to anonymous rural dances of Cyprus. With this choice of repertoire and especially with their way of interpreting it, Michalis Kouloumis, Tristan Driessens and Miriam Encinas bridge a gap between classical and folk music. Compositions such as Isfahan Saz Semaisi or Köyde Sabah somehow reflect how classical music has always been deeply inspired by folk music legacies. Originally rooted in daily life’s rituals, folk traditions draw their expressiveness from a cyclical journey of constant transmission and renewal, which defines their actual legitimacy through time and space.
Michalis Kouloumis - violin, voice
Tristan Driessens - oud
Miriam Encinas - percussion, dilruba, pithkiavlin
16 SUN 20:30 (70‘) @Heroe’s Square
Pancyprian Choral Encounter Ι Epilogi Cultural Movement
A Choral Encounter bringing together choirs and young music lovers from every part of Cyprus. Conductors, choristers, music teachers and children will have a unique opportunity to attend experiential workshops led by prominent conductors/musicians under the general thematic title: Polyphony and Improvisation through Tradition. A representative from the European Union of Choirs - Europa Cantat will give a talk about the opportunities offered by the organisation to the choral community.
Workshop – For adult choirs:
An improvisational approach of the polyphonic traditional song.
Workshop – For children’s choirs and students of conservatories and music schools:
Traditional song: movement, accompaniment, choral approach.
Led by: Natalia Lambadaki (Greece) and Marleen de Boo (Belgium)
The outcome of the workshops and the synergy between conductors, professors and choristers will be presented to the public upon completion of the classes on Sunday 16 July at Heroes Square.
Free entrance
18 TUE 21:00 (89’)
Raoul Taburin Ι Pierre Godeau (France, 2018)**
From the cartoonist of beloved Petit Nicolas, Jean-Jacques Sempé, the film Raoul Taburin tells a fascinating story of friendship and love, suitable for all the family! In an idyllic village in the French Alps, Raoul Taburin, the owner of the local bicycle shop has a well-hidden secret. A film about love, friendship, kindness, difficulties and obstacles, fears and insecurities – in other words, the “training wheels” of the bicycle riding life’s ups and downs. No matter how many times we fall, we must always find a way of getting back up.
Directed by: Pierre Godeau
Cast: Benoit Poelvoorde, Edouard Baer, Suzanne Clement
19 WED 21:00 (90’)
Monsieur Doumani *
Monsieur Doumani will present music from their four albums, as well as new unreleased pieces.
The multi-award-winning trio has been impressing audiences worldwide for the last ten years or so with music strongly rooted in the Eastern Mediterranean. Their music has been extensively presented on worldwide media, and they participated in the most celebrated festivals such as ESNS, Womex, Womad, Sziget, Trans Musicales, to name only a few. While their lineup may sound unusual for a three-piece (tzouras-small bouzouki, trombone, acoustic guitar), Monsieur Doumani are using electronics, effects and loop pedals to venture into a world that is refreshing and exciting. Their fourth album released by the acclaimed Glitterbeat Records pushes their trademark Mediterranean sonics into a deep psychedelic and avant-folk direction. A danceable fever storm of stringed instruments, multi-layered singing and trombone-driven low end.
During their 9-year career Monsieur Doumani have received numerous awards including the ‘Best Group’ Award in Songlines Music Awards 2019 and the ‘Critics Award’ in Andrea Parodi World Music Awards. They have also been awarded with the German Records Critics Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik) for their album Angathin (2018), which has also been awarded as 'Best album of the year 2018' in the Transglobal World Music Charts.
Antonis Antoniou - tzouras, vocals, electronics
Demetris Yiasemides - trombone, flute
Andys Skordis - guitar, loops, percussion, vocals
21 FRI 21:00 (121’)
Shoplifters Ι Kore-eda Hirokazu (Japan, 2018) 12+ **
A “whispering” little film with a huge heart, made by the acclaimed Japanese humanistic director, Kore-eda Hirokazu. Winner of Cannes Film Festival’s ‘Palme d’Or’ and Japan’s official entry for the Academy Awards’ ‘Best International Film’, Shoplifters gives an alternative view of the “stolen moments” in life and cinema.
After one of their shoplifting sessions, a father and his son come across a little girl shivering in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, the wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is financially struggling, they seem to be living happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.
Directed by: Kore-eda Hirokazu
Cast: Sakura Ando, Lily Franky, Mayu Matsuoka, Jyo Kairi
22 SAT 21:00 (75’)
Rumba Attack * Μ
Rumba Attack perform original instrumental material, as well as selected covers in their distinctive Flamenco-Rumba style, blended with sounds from Greek and Middle Eastern origins. After 10 years of countless performances, this year, Rumba Attack proudly present their debut album entitled Harmonics (2023), which consists of eleven tracks, nine of which are original compositions and the remaining two are covers of known Greek songs. Their energetic performance at Rialto will include instrumentals including Open Sea, Inspired and Fire, as well as traditional Greek vocal songs performed in their own unique style.
Constantinos Lyras - guitar
Memnon Arestis - guitar
Savvas Thoma - cajon, vocals
23 SUN 21:00 (110’)
My Wonderful Wanda (Switzerland, 2020) **
Thirty-five-year-old Polish Wanda looks after Joseph (70), a stroke-ridden patriarch, at his wealthy family villa by the lake. She is there for him around the clock, and also helps his wife Elsa (75). The youngest son, Gregi (28), likes her very much. The work is poorly paid but Wanda needs the money for her own family in Poland. Since everyone lives under one roof, Wanda gets an intimate view of their family life. So intimate that Wanda unexpectedly becomes pregnant. A bittersweet, cynical comedy, awarded at Tribecca Film Festival.
Directed by: Bettina Oberli
Cast: Agnieszka Grochowska, Marthe Keller, André Jung
24 MON 21:00 (80’)
Gaba Project Feat. Nicolas Tryphonos * Μ
In this new work, Gaba Project will present their own compositions, and share with the audience new soundscapes resulting from the combination of handpan, lyra and double bass. The compositions are based on melodic lines, which develop both in a rhythmic and improvisational way during the performance, always following a structure and, at the same time, leaving freedom for dialogue between the three musicians. Although the style (tempo, rhythm, scale-makam) of each composition is unique, creating space and time for improvisation during the performance is a key element. In addition to their own compositions, they will also present a small part of arrangements of musical traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean region (Armenia, Cyprus, Turkey, Bulgaria), in a completely fresh mood, even transforming their rhythm. The use of mixed rhythms, scales and makams together with strong changes in dynamics, are key elements characterising the band’s music.
Gaba Project combine for the first time globally the handpan and percussions with lyra. The handpan is a contemporary instrument with a “mystic” sound, whereas the lyra comes from the well-established Cretan musical tradition. The duet focuses on experimenting with new musical approaches (arrangement, composition, soundscapes), both with the instruments and with their own compositions. Improvisation is a core element of the duet that comes from the musicians’ varying musical knowledge and experiences, creating new perspectives.
Vasilis Vasiliou: handpan, percussion
Christina Polycarpou: lyra with sympathetic strings
Nicolas Tryphonos: double bass
25 TUE 21:00 158’)
Tár Ι Todd Field (USA, 2022) 12+ **
Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, a woman at the peak of her career. Having conquered every prize, distinction and position one possibly could, she is about to record live Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and, at the same time, release her autobiography. Dynamic and demanding, challenging and unrepentant, competitive and egocentric, Lydia Tár has the charm of a real genius who is well-aware of the magnitude and value of her talent. She has constructed herself, her life, success and views around music, living a well-protected life with her partner and young daughter in their majestically minimal house in Berlin and her exquisite office in the Philharmonic – if and when she is not travelling around the world with her devoted assistant who has her own ambitions.
Directed by: Todd Field
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, Mark Strong.
26 WED 21:00 (90’)
Origins - Odysseas Toumazou*
Guitarist and composer Odysseas Toumazou will be releasing his second personal album this summer, titled ORIGINS, consisting of original compositions driven by improvisation. Blending the traditional Cypriot music with elements of jazz, these compositions are transformed into an idiom that is both intense and authentic, having its own personal sound colour.
“These compositions have been pulled into creation by the calling of my identity and the sounds of my origins; timeline of existence that traces each living being to the moment of its creation; the roots of lineage run deep within each being tracing back to each moment in time.
This album identifies and commemorates everything that made me what I am today.
Identity is rooted in origins. To know who you are, you must know where you come from. To evolve, is to embrace and commemorate the passage of time and create new memories, mixing the knowledge of the old with the potential of the new.”
Marios Menelaou - doublebass
Vassilis Philippou - percussion, vocal
Odysseas Toumazou - compositions, guitar
28 FRI 21:00 (90’)
Lola and the Sea Ι Laurent Micheli (Belgium, 2019) 12+ **
Just when 18-year-old transgender Lola learns that she can finally have surgery, her mother, who is her only financial support, passes away. Abiding by her mother’s last wishes, Lola and her father, who are permanently in conflict and have not seen each other for two years, embark on a journey all the way to the Belgian coast. They soon realise that the outcome of the journey may not be the one they were expecting.
Director: Laurent Micheli
Cast: Mya Bollaers, Benoît Magimel, Els Deceukelier, Sami Outalbali
In collaboration with: Queer Wave and Rialto Gen.
30 SUN 21:00 (90’)
Whiskydenker | Pogo Swing Teadance *
Brass band and disco!? German poetry and hot jazz!? Circus orchestra and punk!? Impossible to find a pigeonhole for the band Whiskydenker. Some say they reconcile Meute and Bukahara with Hildegard Knef, others just call it pogo swing.
Maybe it doesn't matter, because fortunately the music of the Whiskydenker is always charming, cheerful and wonderfully danceable. Maybe it's exactly this dance on the razor's edge that brings rock'n'rollers, swing dancers, jazz nerds and party kids together at the Whiskydenkers' concerts. Maybe that's exactly the sound of the new 20’s.
Florian Wehse: vocals, trumpet
David Riaño Molina: banjo
Oliver Saar: tubax
Philipp Rittmannsperger: drums
*18th Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival @Heroes Square, Free Entrance
This 18th edition of Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival is dedicated to the memory of Angelina Nicolaidou, a close and beloved collaborator of the Rialto Theatre. An inspiring, prominent conductor, Angelina lit the path of many young people, generously performing and showcasing the work of talented composers.
** Rialto Summer Cinema @ SEK Parking Place, €8
All films will be screened in their original language with Greek and English subtitles.