Bright
by Benjamin Moe



Bright is a portrait of a Nigerian immigrant living in Thessaloniki. It follows a man named Bright who sells bracelets on the street and is an examination of the life of the African migrant in contemporary Greece.

Benjamin Moe is a writer and developer living in New York. He is the cofounder of the interdisciplinary literary magazine, Table Talk and is developing an online platform for collaborative text annotation.

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New Beginnings
by Brandon Borjon



Historically, the duality of destruction and rebirth has played a vital role in shaping the identity of Thessaloniki. This film explores how and where this concept manifests itself in the city today.

Brandon Borjon is a freshman history major at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

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Beauty in the Breakdown
by Kevyn Tompkins de Garcia



Kevyn Tompkins de Garcia is a junior at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

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Kopana
by Destiny Franklin, Gabi Mayers, Ourania Yancopoulos



What started off as a project about nightlife for youth in Thessaloniki quickly evolved into something slightly more interesting: life during the day. While conducting interviews, the girls discovered that an interesting phenomenon occurs almost every week day during school hours. School-aged children and university students can be seen hanging out instead of stuck in classrooms like we expected. Watch as the girls delve into the culture of 'kopana' and what it means to the individuals interviewed!

Destiny Franklin is a freshman in Columbia College from Washington, DC who plans on majoring in African-American Studies. She is currently learning Modern Greek and plans to somehow include Greece/Greek into her life during and beyond Columbia.

Gabi Mayers is a member of the Class of 2017 and hails from Washington D.C.. She plans to major in Film Studies and Media and concentrate in Business management.

Ourania Yancopoulos is a sophomore at Columbia University majoring in Medicine, Literature and Society, studying both Hellenic studies and pre-medicine.

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Οι Φιλενάδες της Θεσσαλονίκης / The Girlfriends of Thessaloniki
by Elena Nicolaou



In my short film "Oi Filenades tis Thessalonikis," or "The Girlfriends of Thessaloniki," I tried to capture the intimacy women of all ages displayed when walking with their friends. By walking arm in arm on leisurely strolls towards cafes or on brisk walks during lunch, friends showed their mutual love and support for one another in an open and public way. This pose both connected the two friends in ways an onlooker could not know, but also displayed their love for one another to the public in the universal language of friendship. 

Elena Nicolaou is a sophomore at Columbia College, majoring in English and concentrating in Modern Greek studies.

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Serenity in Salonica *or* Ο Αέρας
by Stefani Priskos



Above the bustling port of Thessaloniki exists another part of the city--the Ano Poli, literally "upper city". Although just as much a part of the city as its waterside counterpart, in the Ano Poli exists a certain ancient serenity that can hardly be caught on film. This short documentary seeks to expose this serenity through a force of nature that exists both below and above--the wind.

Stefani Priskos (BC '16) is a sophomore at Columbia University majoring in European Studies with a concentration in Linguistics.

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Periphery
by Angel Shin



The Romani and immigrants of Thessaloniki exist as outsiders, selling odds and ends along the pier or the perimeter of Aristotelous Square. "Periphery" explores the material contributions of these marginalized minority communities and the connection—or disconnect—between their goods and the material culture of Thessaloniki locals.

Angel Shin is a sophomore at Columbia College majoring in English and concentrating in Race & Ethnicity Studies.

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They
by Lan Yao



The short is an incomplete confession of Jalal, an Afghani political refugee, or an illegal immigrant in Thessaloniki. Greece has been a convenient port of Europe with a huge inflow of illegal immigrants from Africa, Middle East and Asia. The come for economy opportunity, for political asylum, for an imagined Europe with equal social welfare, justice and safety, but end up being confused and lonely. Jalal is an Afghani, whose friend is another Afghani immigrant I met on the street buying sim card from a Bengali immigrant. Jalal worked for NATO. Learning too much military information, he ran away from army, afraid of being assassinated by both sides. He has lived in Thessaloniki for 4 years, speaks poor Greek and introduces jobs to other illegal immigrants from Middle East as a living.  

Lan Yao is from China. She is a 2nd-year MPA candidate at the School of International and Public Affairs.

List of students

Benjamin Moe
Brandon Borjon
Kevyn Tompkins de Garcia
Ahmet Goksun
Destiny Jah'on Franklin
Gabi Mayers
Elena Nicolaou
Stefani Priskos
Angel Shin
Lan Yao
Ourania Yancopoulos