An Evening with Tassos Boulmetis

At the Billy Wilder Theater

Across four feature films, celebrated Greek writer-director and UCLA alumnus Tassos Boulmetis (The Dream Factory, A Touch of Spice, Mythopathy and 1968) has explored the relationship between our inner worlds and the larger myths that shape us within a specifically Greek historical, cultural and political context. His semi-autobiographical second feature, A Touch of Spice, about an astronomy professor reflecting on his family’s fraught journey from Turkey to Greece and the culinary philosophy of his grandfather that saw him through, resonated so strongly with local audiences that it became the highest grossing film in Greek history at the time of its release. In his most recent film, 1968, a historic sporting event becomes the leaping-off point for a multifaceted reflection on Greek national identity. The UCLA Film & Television Archive and its presenting partners are honored to host Boulmetis in person at the Billy Wilder Theater for a screening and conversation while he’s a visiting professor this fall.  

Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Gefyra, a collaborative program between the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University and the UCLA SNF Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture