Screening: Builders, Housewives and the Construction of Modern Athens

The city of Athens is so much more than the classical architecture that adorns it since there is a vibrant energy, buzz, and density that fills its streets and neighborhoods. Builders, Housewives and the Construction of Modern Athens unveils a new perspective of the city, examining the most distinctive Athenian building type – the polykatoikía – and the city's reconstruction by the anonymous lay builders and their housewives, who were the most unlikely “co-authors.” The documentary takes a deep dive into the lives of the provincials who came to Athens after the Civil War and shed light on how they developed their craft and communicated with the educated architects. Based on the book with the same title by Ioanna Theocharopoulou, the film proposes a fascinating account of the provincials’ role and encounter with the “project of modernity.”

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Co-sponsored by the Onassis Foundation