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    [EFF16P4] Prelude 4: Mourning Rock (Agelastos Petra)

    Cite as: Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew (2023): [EFF16P4] Prelude 4: Mourning Rock (Agelastos Petra). Birkbeck College, University of London. doi: https://doi.org/10.18743/DATA.00000249

    Description

    11 March 2016, 18:00, Birkbeck Cinema

    Film: Mourning Rock [Agelastos Petra], Filippos Koutsaftis, Greece, 2000, digital, 87 minutes, Greek with English subtitles

    “The film was shot over the course of ten years. It documents the destruction of the archaeological sites, the political goings-on, the rescue excavations, and the people of Eleusis who still remember those parts of history. The only constant ‘hero’ of this film is a homeless man who has been retrieving antiquities for the archaeological service from dump sites and construction landfills- where they were dumped by building companies so that the archaeological service couldn’t interfere with the building process. Agelastos Petra (the ‘mourning rock’ of the film’s title) was where Demeter first came to mourn the loss of her daughter Persephone. The symbolism behind this loss has acquired a new meaning with the destruction of Eleusis; that of a destroyed and lost past.” (Museums of Greece) [Link: https://greek-museums.tumblr.com/post/101235599476]

    This screening was followed by a discussion with Gabriel Koureas (Birkbeck, History of Art), Eleni Liarou (Birkbeck, Film, Media and Cultural Studies) and Maria Aristodemou (Birkbeck, Law). The event was introduced by Janet McCabe and Silke Arnold-de Simine (Birkbeck Interdisciplinary Research in Media and Culture), as part of their “Ruins” research project. [Link: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/birmac/about/]

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    Collection Method

    The Essay Film Festival ran between 2015 and 2023, and presented a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes.

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    Metadata

    Dataset Title:

    [EFF16P4] Prelude 4: Mourning Rock (Agelastos Petra)
    Creators:

    Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew
    Dataset Contributors:

    ContributionNameEmailORCID
    CollaboratorMcCabe, Janetj.mccabe@bbk.ac.ukORCID logohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2916-9876
    CollaboratorYapp, Emmaeyapp01@student.bbk.ac.ukUNSPECIFIED
    Subjects:

    Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
    Data collection method:

    The Essay Film Festival ran between 2015 and 2023, and presented a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes.
    Collection period:

    FromTo
    11 March 201611 March 2016
    Statement on legal, ethical, and access issues:

    All film stills were provided by participating artists.
    Depositing User: Emma Yapp
    Date Deposited: 28 Jul 2026 12:34
    Last Modified: 28 Jul 2026 12:35
    Publisher: Birkbeck College, University of London

    Export / Share Citation

    Cite as: Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew (2023): [EFF16P4] Prelude 4: Mourning Rock (Agelastos Petra). Birkbeck College, University of London. doi: https://doi.org/10.18743/DATA.00000249

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