Onassis Channel | Love & Marriage

Online premiere 11.02.2024 at Onassis Channel on YouTube | 20:00

30.01.2024

Why do people get married today? In the new Society Uncensored “Love & Marriage” episode, married and unmarried people talk openly about stereotypes, concerns, as well as strong emotions around a ritual as old as human beings themselves, one that has evolved into the most resilient and vulnerable social institution.

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Why is the marriage of same-sex couples not yet allowed in Greece? How many weddings did you attend last summer? How many divorced friends do you count? Why are more and more people choosing to formalize their relationship through a cohabitation agreement? Why is the marriage of same-sex couples not yet allowed in Greece? Has the stereotype of the incorrigible bachelor faded into obscurity yet? Does marriage equal monogamy? Does marriage equal children? What is a successful marriage, after all? Does marriage signify the beginning of a new life or the end of an old one?

The questions pertinent to marriage are as bountiful as the grains of rice caught in the hair of the newlyweds. However, frankly, everything boils down to this: What makes marriage one of the most resilient social structures? Gen Z may cringe even at the mere thought of it, since they view marriage as a conservative and patriarchal relic from bygone eras; couples living in a non-marital partnership may have risen, and the couches of couples’ therapists may suffer; a significant portion of the population may be facing financial hardships; still, the marriage industry goes on unencumbered, with its ritual continuing to stir interest and sometimes excite thrills.

The latest panel in the "Society Uncensored" online discussion series features speakers including journalists and representatives from the arts, academia, the Church and the wedding industry. The discussion was filmed on 23 November 2023 in front of a live audience, while the episode features interviews and statistical data collected by Eurostat, ELSTAT and the General Secretariat for Equality and Human Rights. The discussion unveils a mystery brimming with numerous myths and scores of contradictions. For, in spite of its inherent conservatism, marriage can also become the matrix of socially groundbreaking change; the recognition of same-sex couples’ right to marriage now constitutes a bold social demand. Is marriage the precious constant within an emotionally turbulent universe? And where does love fit in? Wander in a castle where insiders wish to escape and outsiders are curious to visit.

Photo: Pavlos Fysakis

Speakers

Rev. Nikolaos Douligeris, Parish Priest of the Holy Church of St. Demetrios, Psyrri

Niko Efstathiou, Journalist and Writer

Stella Kasdagli, Writer and Co-founder of Women On Top

Eirini Papadaki, Assistant Professor, School of History and Archaeology, AUTh

Anna Sourbati, Founder, Head Planner & Coordinator of The Event Co.

Selana Vronti, Journalist and Filmmaker

Moderated by Maria Athanasiou, Journalist

Curated by: Lina Giannarou, Pasqua Vorgia, Dimitris Theodoropoulos

An Onassis Stegi production

Society Uncensored Series Conceived & Curated by

Dimitris Theodoropoulos, Pasqua Vorgia

The discussion was filmed in the presence of an audience on November 23, 2023 at the Upper Stage of the Onassis Stegi

Episode’s Script & Research: Lina Giannarou, Pasqua Vorgia

Curation, Production Management & Coordination: Pasqua Vorgia

Artistic Direction: Christos Sarris

Texts Editor: Olga Nikolaidou

Video Production Coordination: Smaragda Dogani

Video Line Production: Angeliki Avgeri

Motion Graphics Artistic Overview: Constantinos Chaidalis

Animation: Zina Papadopoulou, Ovalimage Animation & Design

Translation & Subtitling: Authorwave

Subtitles Editing: Vassilis Douvitsas

Original Music: Kostadis

Set Design: Loukas Bakas

Still Photographer: Pavlos Fysakis

Greek Sign Language Interpretation: Maria Vlami

Logo Alaska

Produced & Directed by Stavros Petropoulos

Production: Leonidas Konstantarakos

Line Production: Alaska Films

Director of Photography: Sotiris Tzatzakis

Editor: Katerina Rekka

Sound Recording & Mix, Voice Over Recording: Iasonas Theophanou

Production Management: Dimitris Kourtis, Giannis Iasonidis

Camera: Vangelis Lainas, Alexandros Stigas, Emma Brown

Camera & DIT: Ivan Ziovas

Voice Over: Olga Nikolaidou

Rental: Rent Photo Video

Production Coordination: Olympia Kaltsa

Interviews (in alphabetic order): Rebecca Camhi, Angeliki Delithanasi, Angeliki Evangelopoulou, Dimitris Glystras, Wael H. Habbal, Leo Kalovyrnas, Souzana Kengitsi, Marina Komninou, Panagiotis Ktenas, Maria Leonidopoulos, Eirini Papadaki, Theodoros Papakostas, Melpo Saini, Elissavet Sfyri, Vasilis Sotiropoulos

The episode features an excerpt of the film “Family Time” (2020) by Dimitris Glystras, Silas Michalakis, and Eirini Papadaki.

The “Society Uncensored” series of digital discussions, initiated by the Onassis Stegi in 2020 as a vital need to discuss without censorship everything that concerns us in the ‘here and now’, on a local and global level. With more than 700,000 views on the Onassis Channel on YouTube, the discussions have provoked comments and reactions, raise awareness and sensitize, while opening a productive dialogue in the physical and digital spaces.

The focal point of the episodes is the round table, where people meet to discuss openly and unequivocally on current and critical issues of the era and Greek society, while the discussions are further complemented with audiovisual material, interviews, and statistical data collected from the ONASSIS STEGI team in collaboration with international bodies.

Free of censorship, representatives from active organizations, members of the academic and artistic community, of the fields of activism and civil society, of journalism, research, legal representation and governance, take a stand on critical and current social and political issues of the time and place.

Society Uncensored” is series of deep and sincere discussions that highlight significant aspects of our social life, in an open and accessible to all digital platform of exchange and productive dialogue with social and educational purposes. It was launched in order to let a plethora of ‘voices’ be heard, with the aim of diffusing different opinions, reflecting and raising awareness on overarching social issues, as they emerge through the current state of affairs, the public debates in social and traditional media, but our everyday life as well.