Builders, Housewives and the Construction of Modern Athens, 2021

Who were those people from the countryside who came to Athens with their wives after the Civil War and ‘cemented’ the city? Who ‘demolished’ the neoclassical buildings and why did they fill the Attica Basin with apartment buildings?

How did they learn and develop their craft, where did they come from, what techniques and knowledge did they carry with them? How did they reinvent their tools to satisfy emerging needs? How did they communicate and negotiate with the ‘educated’ architects? What were their wives asking for? In other words, what was the story of their encounter with the ‘project of modernity’?

As long as these ‘co-authors’ remain invisible, the history of modern Athens is still incomplete, if not also deeply deceptive.

This documentary is based on the same-titled book by Ioanna Theocharopoulou, revised and published in 2022 by the Onassis Foundation.

Produced by Onassis Culture
Written and Directed by Tassos Langis and Yiannis Gaitanidis
Scientific Consultant: Panos Dragonas
Photography and Camera Operation: Tassos Langis and Yiannis Gaitanidis
Editor: Tassos Langis
Aerial Shots: Tassos Fytros – Flyingdog Greece
Sound Recording: Stefanos Efthymiou, Yiannis Gaitanidis
Sound Design and Mixing: Persefoni Miliou
Motion Graphics: Georgia Skartadou
Executive Producers: Shampoo Films / Eleni Asvesta / Harry Patramanis / Yannis Karachalios

Duration: 87 min
Country: Greece
Language: Greek
Genre: Documentary