Ballad for a Pierced Heart

Yannis Economides returns with the much-anticipated gangster black comedy “Ballad for a Pierced Heart”. The storyline of the film, shot in the Greek town of Lamia, revolves around an attractive woman who decides to leave her husband, a businessman, for a nightclub owner and former pop singer. As if this was not enough, she takes a million euros with her, while abandoning the marital home. Her husband gets paranoid and vows revenge. Meantime, the underworld in the small provincial town is in turmoil over the illegitimate couple.

The creator of “Matchbox”, “Soul Kicking”, “Knifer” and “Stratos” presents a new film on the grotesqueness of human behaviour, with anger but also tenderness. The familiar “economidean” harsh language is still here, enriched with sharp humor, in order to expose some of the tragicomic truths of today’s Greek society.

Vassilis Bisbikis, Vicky Papadopoulou and Yannis Tsortekis play the leading parts in the “Ballad for a Pierced Heart”, together with Stathis Stamoulakatos and Vangelis Mourikis, two of Economides’ actor fixations. The film is a production of Faliro House and Argonauts SA, co-produced by Onassis Culture.

The Onassis Foundation supports Greek cinema, bolstering the strengths and talents of young filmmakers. Through filmmaking, it timelessly invests in powerful stories. It embraces the processes of creation, research and artistic development by offering fellowships to creative professionals in the fields of cinema and the visual arts. The linking of Athens with Los Angeles and New York – through the activities of Onassis USA – creates a site of experimentation, inspiration and encounter across physical borders. The Onassis Foundation looks to the future of cinema and becomes an active part of new artistic production.

The film’s official premiere took place at Onassis Stegi on Wednesday, February 27, 2020. The audience welcomed the film with great enthusiasm and loud applause, in a crowded Main Stage. Among the guests were actors and contributors, while even the palm tree of the film traveled from Lamia to Stegi to attend the premiere.