MUBI: An international haven for Greek cinema

The Guardian recently published a positive review of “Digger,” the directorial debut of Georgis Grigorakis and one of the best Greek feature films of the year. The British newspaper described it as a “handsomely shot drama [that] could be taking place in rust-belt America,” almost like a modern Western, and praised the performance of protagonist Vangelis Mourikis, “a skulking Leonard Cohen,” who weaves his way between his character’s silence and explosive outbursts. What is noteworthy, however, is that this is an international review of a Greek movie that has not yet been released in Greece. This is a fate shared by many films in what is widely considered a “good batch” of Greek cinema and filmmaking. The author of the British review saw “Digger” on MUBI, a platform that has developed into an alternative Netflix for arthouse cinema in the last year and is now present in more than 190 countries (approximately the same as the Silicon Valley giant).

A cursory glance at MUBI’s library brings us face to face with a staggering variety of cinema classics and contemporary films across all eras and from all around the world. It features newly released films, including “Digger” of course, as well as more eclectic offerings from a wide variety of countries, from Brazil to India. One of these is Greece, turning MUBI into a haven for Greek cinema.

Apart from “Digger” there are at least another 50 Greek movies on the platform, from Theo Angelopoulos and Nikos Koundouros to George Lanthimos and Panos H. Koutras. “Sweet Bunch,” by Nikos Nikolaidis, sits next to “A Touch of Spice,” by Tassos Boulmetis, Yannis Economides’ “Matchbox” and Giannis Dalianidis’ “Something is Burning” – four vastly different movies that together form a harmonious introductory panorama for Greek cinema for cinephiles around the globe.

A subscription to MUBI costs 10 euros a month or 71 euros annually, with an introductory offer of seven days for free.