International: The historic cafe of Florina where Angelopoulos’ films were shot

The “International» is the cafe in Florina where the director Theodore Angelopoulos he has used it in more than five of his films and today it is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city.

The Archaeological Museum, the Monastic neighborhood on the river Sakuleva and the Great Alexander Street, which in addition to the “International” also includes most of the neoclassical buildings of the city, gather all the seasons of the year the eyes and the searching gaze of the visitors. For those who were not indifferent to the films of the Greek director, the walk to M. Alexandrou where the long night monoplanes from “The View of Odysseus” were filmed with the famous cafe, is an experiential experience. One feels the skillful entanglement of historical memory with the evolution of the city, with cinematic memory telling fictional stories where the city is once again the protagonist.

End of November and Florina is hazy, frozen, with the fog blurring the horizon. People walk hurriedly on the sidewalks, others hold umbrellas, not for the rain but for the sudden snow that begins to whiten the streets and the roofs of the houses. In “International”, two or three old men sitting at separate tables have their eyes fixed on the large windows, observing the snowflakes that are constantly changing in size.

THE George Veliamisfor many years the owner of the cafe, undertakes to fill the wood stove, since the day seems to be freezing. Although retired for many years, there is not a day that does not pass by the “International” who left his mark on the internationalization of Florina and in which he spent 35 years of his life.

“My daughter with her husband and grandchildren have taken over the operation of the cafe, I retired,” says Giorgos Veliamis, “but there isn’t a day that I don’t pass by to say good morning to my friends.” George is a child of the civil war, he was born in 1948 in the midst of the storm of events that hit Florina in the most traumatic way and their consequences left a strong mark on the following years. “I was a small child and I remember we often went to the train station where whole villages would come down to greet the families leaving for Germany, America, Canada and less Australia. Crying, hugs, last kisses and this scene was constantly repeated where every week a different village had its honor. This is how Prespa and all the mountainous villages of Florina were emptied,” he comments. Of course, the then young Giorgos, who was watching the separation scenes from the station platform, could not have imagined that one day he himself would be in the train carriage looking at the sign of the Florina station disappearing into the horizon.

“I left for him Canadamy brother who had previously left her had already emigrated Germany and I went to meet him. I stayed for 10 years, my daughter was born there, but shortly before 1980 I returned to Florina where I worked as an oil painter” he says. However, things did not go so well and a little later he decides to completely change his orientation. “We decided to take over this coffee house which until then had only been frequented by refugees who came to the city after 1923. We turned it into a place where customers could taste the variety of Florina’s spirits as well as the rich variety of products that people they even cultivated in their yards,” he notes. In this venture of the Veliamis family, the experience of the jobs done by its members in Canada helped. Giorgos says with satisfaction that if the city is today famous for the dozens of places that offer spirits to accompany local dishes, this is “partly due to ‘Diethnes’ whose example was followed by many”.

The building complex that houses the “Diethnes” operated from the interwar era until shortly after 1950 as a hotel. It is located in a prominent position, with the view both east and west gazing at the most picturesque and architecturally rich part of the city, where there are most neoclassical buildings, which unfortunately today, one after the other, are in danger of collapse. The interior of the cafe is a large high-ceilinged room with elements in its interior that refer to the aesthetics of the interwar period.

The natural decor, the color, the aesthetics of the buildings as well as the period atmosphere of the cafe inspired the director Thodoros Angelopoulos who shot not one but seven films in Florina, such as “Trip to Kythira“, “Landscape in the fog“, “Apiarist“, “Meteor gaze of the stork“, “The View of Odysseus“, “Eternity and a day“, “the Weeping Meadow” while “International” became his trademark Marcello Mastroiannithe Jean Moreauhim Harvey Keitelhim Manos Katrakis and many others.

“Thodoros Angelopoulos and I met during the filming of the movie “Journey to Kythira” which took place outside the cafe area. During a break in the filming he came for the customary coffee and then he said to me: “I will come back to your cafe to make the next films” says Mr. Veliamis actually put it into practice.

He himself remembers and narrates unknown details from the filming period. On the side street next to “Diethnes” there was a caravan permanently parked where, during the breaks of filming, the Manos Katrakis and an ambulance nearby to provide him with first aid, since he needed to receive oxygen quite often to be able to cope with the shooting.

“With his presence Theodore Angelopoulos our store evolved, a lot changed in this area because it was heard all over Greece. Even today, many people come to see the place where his films were shot, to feel the era of filming” says Mr. Veliamis. When asked what his impressions of the actors were, for example Marcello Mastroianni who participated in two films shot in Florina, he answers: “I remember him most in ‘Meteor step of the stork’.” His caravan was 30 meters from the cafe where he retired to rest. Distant and silent we didn’t have much – much. But the one we had a good time with was Harvey Keitel. Amazing guy. He liked cognac and because I spoke English, he asked me about my life in Canada, how the people seemed to me there and if I had a good time.” Giorgos remembers that one New Year in the middle of filming, Theodoros Angelopoulos cut the king cake in his cafe with all the crew and actors present, saying that “International” has become his second home. “Let me tell you, this was something that moved me more than anything,” he adds.

Of course, not everything was easy during the shooting period, which may have lasted 15-20 days. Giorgos remembers that the customers of the store complained and sometimes got angry about losing their place, their daily life and their habits but, as he says, “after a while everything was in the past and everyone returned to the normality we know”.

Many political and artistic personalities who took part in the events passed through “Diethnes”. Prespeia. The G. Veliamis remembers him fondly Thanos Mikroutsikos and him Dimitris Kremastinos, the former as quite demonstrative and the latter as taciturn and very polite. He does not even fail to talk about the recent presence at the “International” of the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou during her last official visit to Florina.

“I had been informed the day before about the visit. The President came in the morning with her entourage to have the morning coffee. After the first chats, I asked her what she thinks should be done with the dozens of neoclassical buildings in our neighborhood that are in danger of falling down. He told me that there is not so much money in the state to be able to save all these buildings, which of course are not only in Florina”, he notes. Giorgos Veliamis confides that the President liked the place so much that, outside of the schedule, she returned again at noon to taste the flavors and delicacies of Florina with her colleagues. “Leaving after thanking us saying that he had heard great things about the place, he asked ‘to keep the tradition and the identity of the shop’ and revealed to us that he knows Florina since he used to serve as a judge in the city’s Court of First Instance,” he adds.

Giorgos Veliamis is currently 76 years old, has two children and five grandchildren and his dream is to find a way to reform the neoclassical neighborhood of M. Alexandrou and to preserve the facades of the buildings so that Florina can acquire the historical center it deserves.