Tucson Weekly: Cheap Thrills (September 25

Cheap Thrills GREEK TO ME: Time to lick your lips, pull out the ouzo and yank on your dancing shoes, as that annual Mediterranean ruckus called the Greek Festival gets underway.
This four-day Grandaddy of Arizona ethnic celebrations just keeps getting better. On hand will be endless Greek chow, music, beer, wines and pastries. And topping this year's agenda is that exultant lamb wonder known as the gyro. But that's just the beginning. There will also be homeland pastitsio, souvlaki, Athenian chicken, saganaki--and hopefully a Greek dictionary.
Regardless, "Everyone who attends our festival gets the opportunity to visit Greece right here in Tucson, without incurring the expense of actually going there," says extravaganza organizer Nicolas Adamakis.
Proceeds benefit the philanthropic programs of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. Those programs include UA scholarships, support for needy families, and ongoing donations to the Tucson Community Food Bank and Salvation Army.
Event runs from Thursday, September 25, through Sunday, September 28, in the St. Demetrios Hellenic Center, 1145 E. Fort Lowell Road. Hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, 3 p.m. to midnight Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $2, free for children under age 12. Admission is free for seniors on Sunday. For information, call 888-0505.
FILMS FROM AFAR: Two cultures collide this week when a pair of local groups celebrate their homelands through film.
On Thursday, September 25, the UA Department of German Studies presents a screening of the Max Opüls classic, Lieberlei. Against a backdrop of turn-of-the-century Vienna, this film explores a hopscotch of love affairs and dangerous liaisons, culminating in a bitter duel. Free screening is 7:30 p.m. in the UA Modern Languages Building auditorium, located north of the main mall. For information, call 621-7385.
Thursday through Sunday, September 25 through 28, the Arizona Media Arts Center and Nicaragua, Arte y Cultura present a pair of Latin masterpieces at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.
Pixote, by Brazilian director Hector Babenco, is considered one of the most remarkable--and least sentimental--movies ever made about childhood. The kids in question are homeless Brazilian youths, exploited by criminals, treated savagely in "reform" schools, and then released into the underworld of Rio de Janeiro.
Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday.
Memories of Underdevelopment, by Cuban filmmaaker Tomas Gutierrez Alea, is the first film from post-revolutionary Cuba ever released in the United States. Set in the early '60s, this black-and-white drama centers on a Europeanized Cuban intellectual who's either too idealistic or too lazy to leave for Miami. At the same time, he's also too decadent to fit into Castro's new social order.
Show times are 8:30 p.m. Friday, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are $4 for evening screenings, $3 for matinees. For details, call 622-2262.

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