A historic Greek film from 1930, thought for many decades to have been lost but which was recently found in France, has now been restored. A screening of the early “talkie” will premiere at the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera (SNFCC) in February.

The black and white film “The Apaches of Athens,” which was discovered in the archives of the Cinémathèque Française, will return to the big screen with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), as a result of the collaboration between the Greek Film Archive Foundation and the Greek National Opera.

The film, by the brothers Gaziadis, based on Nikos Hadjiapostolou and Giannis Prineas’ legendary operetta of the same title, was the first-ever attempt to create a film with “sound and speech” in Greece.

(Poster for “The Apaches of Athens”)

Starring some legendary figures of the Greek music scene, including Petros Kyriakos, Mary Sayanou, Petros Epitropakis and Giannis Prineas, it was an extremely important link in the history of early Greek cinema. And it was thought to have been completely lost until just recently.

Read more: greek reporter