Comments on: GARLIC AND WATERMELONS

By: lavrentia

lavrentia — Fri, 26 May 2006 02:50:07 +0000

I’m co-director of Garlic and Watermelons, and hope to screen the film in Athens soon. If anyone has any ideas for a venue, please let me know. Unfortunately, we’re based in the US now, so it’s a bit hard to organize something from here. But I will let you know as soon a screening is planned. Thanks for your interest!

By: deviousdiva

deviousdiva — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 12:25:28 +0000

Welcome Brad and thanks for the review of Garlic and Watermelons. I really do hope it will make it to Athens. Do you have any idea if it will?

By: brad

brad — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:46:58 +0000

I saw the premiere of Garlic and Watermelons at the Thessloniki Documentary Film Festival.
It was a pretty good film, and the portrayal of Prokopis, the Roma vendor, was well-rounded. There were a couple great scenes showing his family setting up for a day of selling goods (mostly tableware, candles and garlic)–it was such an ordeal, as they were harassed by the police, shoppers, and several cars.
There is also a long interview with the mayor of Marousi, where Prokipis’ family lived. He has the law on his side for not compensating the Roma, but he comes off as a not-especially slick-talking politician who doesn’t honor his word.

It’s only an hour-long documentary. At the festival, it was pared with a documentary on the Olympic Greek baseball team, which was a logical but disparate paring.
I hope you get a chance to see it.

By: brownfemipower

brownfemipower — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 05:28:17 +0000

Thank you so much for the warm welcome!! yeah, I have seen most “cool” films through netflix than actually seeing them in a theater. I wonder if that film will be out in dvd any time soon?

By: deviousdiva

deviousdiva — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:13:00 +0000

Apologies brownfemipower, I read your comments here and haven’t welcomed you to my blog. So welcome and thank you for your kind words on my post for blog against sexism day. There is quite a community building of feminist blogs and women of colour isn’t there? I love it.

I miss out on a lot of interesting films and theatre etc being here in Greece. I used to be pretty involved when I was in England. We do what we can though, from wherever we are, don’t we?

Look forward to seeing you around and I will be over to you too.

By: brownfemipower

brownfemipower — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 01:18:32 +0000

strangly, in a stage of pms, garlic and watermelons actually sounds pretty tasty!! the movie also looks very good, btw…miss out on so much in the middle of hickville U.S.A!!

By: Greek Helsinki Monitor

Greek Helsinki Monitor — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 07:42:12 +0000

One may find ample material on the film and the travails of these Roma who have faced state racism and indifferenece but also a travesty of justice and an Ombudsman indifference when they sought redress, at

http://cm.greekhelsinki.gr/uploads/2006_files/ghm773_on_documentary_marousi_roma_english.doc