''Young Aphrodites'' (, translit. Mikres Afrodites) is a drama film of

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

directed by

Nikos Koundouros Nikos Koundouros ( ; 15 December 1926 – 22 February 2017) was a Greek film director. Biography Koundouros was born in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in 1926. He studied painting and sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts. During the war he was a ...

based on a script of Vassilis Vassilikos.

Plot

In 200 BC, a nomadic group of shepherds, in search of new pastures, leaves the mountains to settle close to a fishing village. The women of the village hide and the only ones to venture out are Arta, a fisherman's wife, and a twelve-year-old girl, Chloe. Skymnos, a young shepherd, approaches Chloe who walks semi-naked around the rocks and the beach. Among the two children begins a tantalising game; as a sign of his affection, Skymnos catches a pelican for Chloe and mounts it on a gantry. Meanwhile, Arta initially rejects the older shepherd Tsakalos, but finally succumbs and the couple meet in a cave where Skymnos and Chloe watch them make love through a crack in the rock. When the shepherds decide to leave, Arta leaves with them, accompanying Tsakalos, but Skymnos refuses to go. Lykas, a mute teenage shepherd, finds Chloe and rapes her. At first Chloe struggles, but then apparently gives in to the sensations her first sexual experience is exposing her to. When Skymnos witnesses this scene, he unties the dead pelican, throws its corpse into the sea and allows himself to be swept away.

Production notes

Many of the actors were actually shepherds. The film is based on the

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

of ''

Daphnis and Chloe ''Daphnis and Chloe'' (, ''Daphnis kai Chloē'') is a Greek pastoral novel written during the Roman Empire, the only known work of second-century Hellenistic romance writer Longus. Setting and style It is set on the Greek isle of Lesbos, whe ...

''.

Awards

Silver Bear for Best Director The Silver Bear for Best Director () is an award presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival since 1956. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition ...

(

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

) - Nikos Koundouros * International Federation of Film Critics (

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

) Prize * Thessaloniki Film Festival Award for Best Film and Best Director - Nikos Koundouros

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0057307, Mikres Aphrodites 1960s Greek-language films 1963 films 1963 drama films Greek black-and-white films Films directed by Nikos Koundouros Greek drama films 1960s Greek films Works based on Daphnis and Chloe Films scored by Yannis Markopoulos Greek-language drama films