Athens from Beneath: The Documentary of the Newly Poor (2016)

'Athens from Beneath' by Takis Bardakos, a once celebrated now homeless filmmaker tells the story of Greece's new poor, the unemployed facing an up-hill battle during Greece's unprecedented financial crisis. The film follows the stories of several Greeks, exposing the social inequality and injustice. For the sudden and unwelcome changes that the crisis has brought them, their world has literally been lost from beneath their feet. Greece and its rich heritage are experiencing conditions in post-war history that no European thought they would face again. Homelessness, soup kitchens, staggering unemployment rates (30%), poverty, and the rise of the extreme right have turned the once dream of prosperity into a socio-economic nightmare. The documentary is intimate yet powerful; artistic yet unsightly for those who expect clear blue skies, sandy beaches, and ouzo. But however hard it might be to see, the topic is timely and necessary, allowing for social and cultural awareness and dialogue. Unless films like this are produced, humanity risks losing awareness and more importantly, whatever compassion or sensitivity still exists in the rapidly unraveling European Union. The winter will set in, the conditions will worsen and the immigrants keep coming, also in dire straits. This documentary sheds light on a progressing problem few want to acknowledge and that won't go away any time soon.