Young Aphrodites

Young Aphrodites
Directed by	Nikos Koundouros
Produced by	Minos films
Written by	Kostas Sfikas Vassilis Vassilikos
Starring	Kleopatra Rota Eleni Prokopiou Takis Emmanouil Vaggelis Ioannidis Zannino Anestis Vlachos Kostas Papakonstantinou Vasilis Kailas
Music by	Giannis Markopoulos
Release date(s)	1963
Country	Greece
Language	Greek

Young Aphrodites (Greek: Μικρές Αφροδίτες, translit. Mikres Afrodites) is an award-winning drama film of 1963 directed by Nikos Koundouros based on a script of Vassilis Vassilikos.

Plot

In 200 BC, a nomadic group of shepherds, in search of new pastures, leave the mountains to settle close to a fishing village. The women of the village hide and the only ones to venture out are Arta, the fisherman's wife, and a twelve-year-old girl, Chloe.

Skymnos, a young shepherd, approaches Chloe who walks semi-naked around the rocks and the beach. Among the two children begins a tantalising game, which does not clearly end up with the couple having intercourse; as a sign of his affection, Skymnos catches a pelican for Chloe and mounts it on a gantry. On the other hand, although Arta initially rejects Tsakalos, she finally succumbs and the couple meets in a cave where Skymnos and Chloe can watch through a crack in the rock.

When the shepherds decide to leave, Skymnos refuses to follow them. Lykas, a mute teenage shepherd, finds Chloe and rapes her. When Skymnos witnesses this scene, he unties the dead pelican, throws its corpse into the sea and allows himself to be swept away.

Production notes

Many of the actors were actually sheepherders. The film is based on the fable of Daphnis and Chloe.

Awards

• Silver Bear for Best Director (Berlin Film Festival) - Nikos Koundouros^[1]
• International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize

References

1. ^ "Berlinale 1963: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1963/03_preistr_ger_1963/03_Preistraeger_1963.html. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 

External links

• Mikres Aphrodites at the Internet Movie Database