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On Xerxes' Throne
A dystopian workplace at the Perama shipyards, where a longstanding ban on physical contact has turned human interactions into otherworldly simulations. The suppression of touch among the workers has alienated their communication, transforming the boatyard into a charged landscape of alienation and repressed sensuality beyond stereotypical heteronormative desires.
Dates and times
Sunday, October 5th, 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Address
Port of Piraeus, Gate E8, Stage
In Greek with English subtitles
Evi Kalogiropoulou, On Xerxes’ Throne, 2022, 15’ (In Greek with English subtitles)
A dystopian workplace at the Perama shipyards, where a longstanding ban on physical contact has turned human interactions into otherworldly simulations. The suppression of touch among the workers has alienated their communication, transforming the boatyard into a charged landscape of alienation and repressed sensuality beyond stereotypical heteronormative desires.
Hinting at the existence of an omnipresent but invisible monitoring mechanism that runs the boatyard, the film follows the story of Giorgos – one of the older workers and manager at the yard – to profile human relationships and exchanges as shaped by everyday lives in which the visual subordinates the emotional.
According to historical recordings, in 480 BC the Persian King Xerxes watched the overwhelming defeat of his fleet from his throne, which was on one of the rocky peaks of Mount Egaleo, in today’s Perama.
Produced by Onassis Culture
Evi Kalogiropoulou
Evi Kalogiropoulou is a film director and visual artist based in Athens. She holds a Master’s degree in Moving Image from the Royal College of Art. Her work explores themes of inclusion and exclusion, cross-cultural identity, female figures within the framework of Ancient Greek mythology, and post-apocalyptic environments.
Her first short film, Motorway 65, was part of the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Her short film On Xerxes’ Throne received the Canal+ Award at the 61st Semaine de la Critique in Cannes. In 2023, she filmed My Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, for the Onassis Culture series of visual poems inspired by the work of C.P. Cavafy. The project, part of the Archive of Desire, was presented in New York to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the poet’s birth.
Her debut feature, GORGONÀ—recipient of the Eurimages Development Award, the Cinemart 2021 Award, and the ARTE Award at the Cinéfondation Atelier in Cannes 2021—premiered at the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC) in 2025 at the Venice Film Festival.
Courtesy of the artist
The artists
