NIVO and GIFFT

Emorphia Margaritis
Nikos Vourliotis, the established Hip Hop artist, T.V personality and actor famously known as NiVO will be co-hosting the Greek International Film Festival Tour of Canada along with Dora Konomi, the award-winning radio personality of the show ‘Doralicious’ for Agape radio.
Aside from giving Greek Canadians the pleasure of hosting GIFFT, he has also cameoed in Tommy King’s ‘Sgt Fruit Fly’. He highlighted the importance of the film’s theme and his reasoning for wanting to be part of it: ‘the result of bullying, intentional or not, creates a painful scar to that member of our society, and we can’t grow in a healthy society if even one of our members is suffering’.
To better grasp who NiVO is and his involvement in projects that relay important societal messages, one must know more about his career. NiVO has been the frontman of the very successful rap group Goin’ Through that was formed in 1994. Goin’ Through brought hip-hop into mainstream Greek culture in the late 90’s. Their aesthetic paired with their courage to address societal issues within their music forever solidified them a place within Greek rap history.
One of the many ways they celebrated the group's 30-year anniversary was by revisiting the 2007 fan favorite song ‘Kokkini Karta’, and collaborating with the artist, Isorropistis, to revive and rejuvenate the song as ‘Red Card’ in the 2023 film ‘Sgt Fruit Fly’.
NiVO elaborates on the feelings that come with performing older songs; ‘They hold value not only for us the creators but also for both older and younger generations’. He continued by expressing that older songs act as time capsules. They can inspire younger audiences by allowing them to travel back in time into a different world, which can ignite the transformation and the rebirth of a song.
NiVO, also an experienced actor, expresses his views on cinema and its impact by saying, it's a magnetic field of emotions that can relay so much, from culture, to history, to language, to socio-political messages. It has the power to move people and get them curious to explore which ties into GIFFT’s goals in creating a channel of communication between international and domestic Greeks through the art of cinema.
He then shares his thoughts about GIFFT and its organizers, ‘I keep finding out more and more about this beautifully unique festival that happens once a year and it has furthered my admiration toward the Greeks of Canada for their zeal to create events that build a deeper connection to their country, their culture, and their people’.
Being NiVO’s first visit to Canada, he aims to show his enthusiasm and support by working closely with the production team to create a special performance solely for the Greek International Film Festival Tour of Canada that as he stated, ‘will be the cherry on top’ to this event.
To find out more about the festival and NiVO’s involvement in it, visit: www.gifft.ca. To find out more about NiVO the artist visit: iamnivo.com

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