Τhe non-profit organization Dounias, in collaboration with EMΣΤ, is pleased to screen the Greek premiere of The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, by the acclaimed short documentary by Greek Palestinian filmmaker Theo Panagopoulos, on Sunday, 18 May at 20:00.
Presented under the title Archives in Bloom: Unearthing Ancestral Palestine, this curated evening brings together film, archival inquiry, and live performance to explore the role of visual archives in shaping narratives of identity, displacement, and belonging.
Programme
1. Performance Lecture by Theo Panagopoulos
Combining scholarly insight, personal narrative, and visual performance, Panagopoulos will offer a live exploration of his practice-based PhD research, which centres on decolonial methodologies and the reactivation of archival footage through film and performance.
2. Screening of initial work: A Land with a People: A Palestinian Counternarrative
A participatory film developed during the “Performing Diasporic Archival Counternarratives” workshop in Athens. It reclaims the seldom-seen 1935 archive “Tiberias 1935” from the National Library of Scotland, collaboratively reanimating Palestinian presence in historical landscapes from which they have been erased.
3. Screening of the most recent work: The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
An award-winning film essay that reframes colonial Scottish archives depicting Palestinian wildflowers. With tenderness and precision, Panagopoulos interrogates the role of the image in shaping historical narratives, exploring the entanglement of beauty, violence, and silence within representations of land and identity.
Through the reactivation of rare archival materials and personal testimony, this event offers a moving reflection on collective memory, diasporic identity, and the power of film as a decolonial practice.
About the Artist
Theo Panagopoulos is a Greek-Palestinian filmmaker, film curator, and PhD researcher based in Scotland. His work focuses on collective memory, archives, and displacement, with a strong emphasis on decolonial and participatory film practices. He is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at the University of the West of Scotland.
Accolades for The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Sundance Film Festival 2025: Awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam: Won Best Short Documentary.
London Short Film Festival & Edinburgh International Film Festival: Official selections.
BAFTA Nomination: Nominated for Best British Short Film.
About Dounias
Dounias is an independent non-profit organization, registered in Greece, dedicated to cultivating rich cultural experiences across various art forms, including film, visual arts, literature, music, and performance. Our mission is to create meaningful spaces for engagement that foster dialogue, understanding, and creativity, elements essential not only for connecting and strengthening communities but also for nurturing open and free societies.
