Menelas

Hi, I am Menelas founder and curator for the exhibition series Civil Disobedience. I am gonna use this space to introduce myself and showcase other exciting projects.

Me at 36 and it’s my favourite photo of me

I was born in Greece in 1974. At the age of 10 my parents bought me a KODAK instamatic camera and I took it very seriously… At 16 I borrowed my dad’s ‘good’ PENTAX camera for a trip to France… I never returned it.  I tried to stay an analogue faithful but surrendered to digital around 2003.

In 2012 I started making films. A friend of mine said I make art-installation films and I like that description. I haven’t formally studied directing but I love holding a camera. I am a sucker for Dogme style but I’ll add my name to the credits as director.

Since 2010 I have worked on creating gay media on YouTube channel gitv. In 2011, I started the exhibition series Civil Disobedience. In 2012, I created and co-founded the Queer Theatre Awards for Athens, Greece. In 2020 I  created the Satyrs and Maenads: the Athens Porn Film Festival.

Homo Made Films

The Good Kid -11″ (2012)-Outview Film Festival  watch on vimeo

The Naked  Truth -33″ (2012)- Outview Film Festival -unavailable online

Post-Orgasmic 12″-(2013)- watch on vimeo

The Raspberry Reich GR -9″ (2015)-link upon request

 Scattered Thoughts of a Young Sex Worker -14″ (2016)-watch on vimeo

  • Outview Film Festival,  Athens, May 2016
  • Thessaloniki International LGBT-Q Film Festival, September 2016

Symposium: an athenian rawmance-24″ (2017)-link upon request-Click for trailer

  • HE2017, Last Projects Gallery, Los Angeles. April 2017
  • Berlin Porn Film Festival, Germany. October 2017
  • Asterisco Film Festival, November 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Winter Wonder World – Queer edition- Cinema Queer- Sweden, December 2017
  • Porn Film Festival Viena, 2nd of March 2018, Vienna
  •  Outview Film Festival, 22nd April 2018, Athens, Greece
  • Pornceptual Party, 8 December 2018, Berlin, Germany

Welcome to Athens-7″ (2018)-Click for trailer

The Melita Show The Movie– 11″ (2019) click for trailer /teaser trailer

Lovers/Husbands-10″(2021) Click for trailer

Auto/Visual-9″ (2023)

  • Vienna Porn Film Festival,  Austria, April 13th, 2023
  • Hacker Porn Film Festival, Rome, April 29th, 2023
  • Satyrs and Maenads: the Athens Porn Film Festival, June 3rd, 2023
  • Post-Porn Film Festival Warsaw, June 14-19th, 2023
  • Baader Porn Film Festival, September, 2023
  • Porn Film Festival Barcelona, October, 2023

Other Filmography

Unos Cuantos Piquetitos (2015) – watch on vimeo

  • CHOUFTOUHONNA, Festival International d’Art Féministe de Tunis

Becoming Ithaca-6″ (2021)-with Dimitris  Pagonis

Videography

Film Curation

Jury Duty

  • Vienna Porn Film Festival 2019-International Short Jury
  • Porn Film Festival Barcelona 2023- Best International Short Film

Photography

  • Dec 1995 “A little photography exhibition” P.Psihico Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece.
  • Feb 1996 “ The summer is here”, Insomnia café, Glasgow. UK
  • Oct 1998 “Portrait of a lady” GFT-Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, UK.
  • Oct 1999 “Inside the tube” (photography and poetry exhibition-major contributor and co-curator) Gillmorehill Centre, University of Glasgow, UK
  • Oct-Nov 2000 “ Dialogues between Flesh and Stone” Tron Theatre Foyer, photography and poetry, (major contributor and co-curator), Glasgow, UK.
  • June 2001 “White Nudes” LGBT Centre, Glasgow, UK.
  • March 2003 “Boys in the City” Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), Glasgow, UK.
  • July 2004 “Boys in the City: Highlights” The Arches, Glasgow, UK.
  • November 2005 “Shirley’s Temple”, Tron Theatre, Glasgow, UK.
  • November 2006 “Iliac/Ilium”, Brunswick Hotel, Glasgow, UK.
  • February-March 2010 “Μαρτης #01074”, Greek Taverna, Το Βραστό, Χαλάνδρι, Athens
  • June 2011 “Civil Disobedience: youth revolt” (founder, contributor and  co-curator) Booze Cooperativa, Athens
  • May-June 2012 “Civil Disobedience: Gender Identity” (co-curator and contributor) Vault Theatre Plus, Athens.
  • May-June 2013 “Civil Disobedience: Nuclear Family” (co-curator and contributor) Vault Theatre Plus, Athens.
  • Jan 2015 “Civil Disobedience: Version of Violence” (co-curator and contributor) Vault Theatre Plus, Athens.
  • May 2015 “The Raspberry Reich GR”, Greek Film Archives, as  part of the Outview Film Festival.
  • Nov 2016 “Civil Disobedience: Poetry and Porn” (curator and contributor), Heroes Cafe Bar, Athens, Greece.
  • April 2017 “HE2017”, Group exhibition, Last Projects Gallery, Los Angeles
  • August 2017 “Ikarian People”, Carte Postale Cafe, Ikaria, Greece.
  • November 2017 “Civil Disobedience: Neon vs. Nature” (curator and contributor), ΡΟΜΑΝΤΣΟ, Athens, Greece.
  • March-April 2018 “Kwir: an Exhibition of Queer Identity “ (Group Exhibition) at The Bureau – Centre for the Arts and The Chapel Galleries  , Blackburn, UK.
  • November 2018 “Civil Disobedience: Creation vs. Evolution” (curator and contributor), ΡΟΜΑΝΤΣΟ, Athens, Greece.
  • February 2019, “Homosurrealism Paris“, Les Souffleurs, France
  • June 2019,  “What is Eros?”, Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival, MOMus Experimental, Greece
  • November 2019, “2 years Kangela Retrospective”, MEME Gallery, Athens, Greece
  • January 2020, “Civil Disobedience: residente o visitante”, (curator and contributor), ΡΟΜΑΝΤΣΟ, Athens, Greece.

Publications

  • Something to Say: A Scottish LGBT Anthology 2000 Poems and photos. (photos pages: 21, 31)
  • Into The New 2003 Brochure for Contemporary Theatre Practice Show of RSAMD (photo for Stenope, p13)
  • Pride Scotia (event brochure) 2004, (photos pages: 8,10)
  • Hidden City, 2006. ISBN: 0-9547040-2-9. (front page image and p2,4,22, 28)
  • Ελευθερία Αρβανιτάκη, Πρόσωπο με Πρόσωπο (Live στο Stage) CD/DVD 2010, Selection of  photos used in the booklet.

Online

Interviews

SOCIAL MEDIA

VIMEO |FACEBOOK |INSTAGRAM

OTHER STUFF

BLURB   ||  Apparel