The Apaches of Athens: Restoring a Lost Film, a Case Study

In 2020 the Greek Film Archive, in collaboration with the Cinemathique Francaise, the L'Immagine Ritrovata film restoration laboratory and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation restored the lost film The Apaches of Athens (1930) directed by Dimitris Gaziadis, based on a 1921 operetta of the same name and known as "the first Greek sound film." This thesis provides a comprehensive history of the Gaziadis family and their pioneering production company, DAG Film Co. as well as an overview of the 2020 restoration of The Apaches of Athens accompanied by a detailed print condition report and numerous images from different stages of the restoration process. This thesis argues that this internationally collaborative restoration project is of particular significance to Greece given the film's importance as part of a still evolving Greek film canon.