''Little England'' ( el, Μικρά Αγγλία, italic=yes, translit=Mikra Anglia) is a 2013 Greek

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

–

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

film directed by

Pantelis Voulgaris Pantelis Voulgaris ( el, Παντελής Βούλγαρης; born 23 October 1940) is a Greek film director and screenwriter. His first feature film ''To proxenio tis Annas'' in 1972 won the first prize in Thessaloniki International Film Festiv ...

. The film is based on the novel of the same name by

Ioanna Karystiani Ioanna Karystiani (Greek. Ιωάννα Καρυστιάνη; (born 8 September 1952 in Chania, Crete) is a Greek screenwriter and winner of the Greek National Book Award. Biography Ioanna Karystiani was born in 1952 in Chania in Crete in a famil ...

, Voulgaris' wife, and stars Pinelopi Tsilika, Sofia Kokkali, Aneza Papadopoulou and Andreas Konstantinou. The plot revolves around two sisters, Orsa and Moscha from the island of

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fr ...

, dubbed ''Little England'' because of its affluence, who are both in love with Spyros; it starts in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

and ends in the 1950s. The film achieved commercial success in Greece, as it was the second-highest-grossing film of 2013 and the first amongst the Greek films. ''Little England'' also met critical success domestically and abroad. It was nominated for thirteen

Hellenic Film Academy Awards Hellenic is a synonym for Greek. It means either: *of or pertaining to the Hellenic Republic (modern Greece) or Greek people (Hellenes, el, Έλληνες) and culture *of or pertaining to ancient Greece, ancient Greek people, culture and civili ...

and won six, including the award for Best Film. Internationally, it dominated at the 2014 Shanghai International Film Festival, winning three Golden Goblet Awards for

Best Feature Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

and

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

, and it is also nominated for a

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. ''Little England'' was submitted by Greece for the

at the

87th Academy Awards The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...

, but it was not nominated.

Plot

The action takes place on the island of

, where Orsa, 20 years old, and her younger sister, Moscha, live. Orsa is deeply in love with Spyros Matabes, a lieutenant, but she has never revealed her secret to anybody. On the other hand, Moscha dreams of leaving Andros and escaping women's fate of marrying sailors, who are usually away from their families. Their mother, Mina, who is married to a captain, considers love to be a trouble and, overriding their emotions, wants her daughters to make wealthy marriages. As a result, Orsa marries captain Nikos Vatokouzis, and Moscha to Spyros Matabes, a captain now with whom her sister is in love. The two women live in the family's duplex home and the forbidden love will harm their lives.

Cast

* Pinelopi Tsilika as Orsa Saltaferou *

Sofia Kokkali Sofia Kokkali (Greek: Σοφία Κόκκαλη; Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the sev ...

as Moscha Saltaferou * Aneza Papadopoulou as Mina Saltaferou * Andreas Konstantinou as Spyros Maltabes * Maximos Moumouris as Nikos Vatokouzis * Vasilis Vasilakis as Savvas Saltaferos * Christos Kalavrouzos as uncle Aimilios

Release

The film was released in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

on 5 December 2013. It was also screened twice as closing film at the 36th

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

on 17 and 18 November 2014.

Reception

Box office

''Little England'' was a major hit in Greece, where it grossed $3,078,029, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2013 in the country behind only '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug''. The film grossed $537,314 in its opening weekend and topped the box office, while it stayed in top four in the following six weekends.

Critical response

Boyd van Hoeij of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' describes the film as "A woman's picture in the best sense of the word" and a "handsomely mounted and impeccably acted film."

Accolades

''Little England'' dominated at the 2014

, where it received thirteen nominations and finally won six awards, including that for Best Film. The film met great success at the 2014 Shanghai International Film Festival, where it was also announced as the

and won two more Golden Goblet Awards. The film was selected as the Greek entry for the