It's LAGFF Time!!! 4th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival June 10 - 13, 2010

Four Black Suits

In a few days time the curtain will be rising on the 4th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) with a film line-up which is guaranteed to explore and entertain.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting Greek cinema, bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood and highlighting Greek contributions to the American film industry. Naturally, it has a number of prominent and award-winning Greek American Hollywood notables on it's advisory board, including Jim Gianopulos, Olympia Dukakis, Alexander Payne, Nia Vardalos, Kary Antholis, Sid Ganis and Phedon Papamichael.

About the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival
 

Apart from showcasing  new films by Greek filmakers, the Festival also offers screenings of film masterworks, seminars on important contemporary film issues, and tributes to significant filmmakers and performers of Greek origin. Orpheus Awards are given to the most outstanding new films in the dramatic, documentary and short film categories.

The 2010 line-up of films for its 4th annual Festival, which runs June 10 - 13 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood includes 7 feature films, 4 documentaries and 5 shorts, including 1 world premiere, 12 US premieres and 3 LA premieres during the 3-day Festival.

“As LA Greek Film Festival celebrates its fourth year, we are proud to be the driving force behind the Greek film culture in Hollywood. We enjoy the opportunity to showcase amazing Greek cinema, content, filmmakers and talent to the entertainment industry and the Southern California communities,”  said Angeliki Giannakopoulos, Festival Co-Founder. 

“This is a prolific time for Greek film and has allowed for many filmmakers to create projects that raise questions about identity whether that is individual, cultural or national. Within the current crisis there is great opportunity, and we are extremely excited to see the fresh talent emerging out of Greek artists today,” said Ersi Danou, Festival Co-Founder.

Opening night of the Festival is the US premiere of director Vardis Marinakis’s BLACK FIELD (Mavro Livadi), starring Sofia Georgovassili. 

This will be followed by the LA Premiere of multi-festival winner DOGTOOTH (Kynodontas) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Christos Stergioglou, Michelle Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni and Hirstos Passalis.

DOGTOOTH will also be receiving a special prize for an achievement in filmmaking at this year's Orpheus Awards on Sunday, June 13. 

The Festival comes to a close Sunday, June 13 with a Gala event and US premiere of PLATO'S ACADEMY (Akadimia Platonos), directed by Filipos Tsitos and starring Antonis Kafetzopoulos and Anastasis Kozdine.

The LAGFF Closing Night will once again be hosted by "Deal or No Deal's" Patricia Kara.  

The night promises to be a gala event that you won't want to miss. Academy Award-winner Alexander Payne (SIDEWAYS) will present the Career Achievement award to filmmaker Phedon Papamichael. 

 

Papamichael has been the cinematographer on an impressive list of entertainment media ranging from the TV mini-series "Wild Palms" to the cinematic features PHENOMENON, PATCH ADAMS, THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL, MOONLIGHT MILE, SIDEWAYS, THE WEATHER MAN, WALK THE LINE, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, 3:10 TO YUMA, the upcoming KNIGHT AND DAY with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz and is currently in production on THE DESCENDANTS with George Clooney.

LAGFF's closing night Orpheus Awards' ceremony and Gala will be accompanied by sumptuous Mediterranean food served by La Fogata, Metaxa bar serving traditional Greek cocktails and exquisite Grecian wines.

The 4th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) runs from June 10 - 13 at Egyptian Theatre,located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, CA 90028. 

Volunteers Wanted!!!

If you are interested in volunteering, LAGFF is looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of preparation and on site organization leading up to and during this year's festival in Hollywood.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to experience first hand how a film festival comes together and to interact with a dynamic group.

Join LAGFF and learn what it takes to organize a film festival!

For a full programme schedule see below. For more information and tickets, including how to purchase Screening Passes and Gold Passes (VIP Access to all Events and Films), please  Click Here

FULL SCHEDULE PROGRAMME:

FEATURES

ARCADIA LOST

 
 USA/Greece, 2009, 90 min, LA Premiere
Director: Phedon Papamichael
Producer: Kelly Thomas
Executive Producers: Scott Chambers, Dan Giustina
With a coming of age theme of metaphysical undertones, the film follows the spiritual journey of two teenagers in the aftermath of a devastating car accident in the hidden terrain of Greece. Papamichael picks unseen before images of Greece that reveal the youths’ gradual psychological awakening.

BLACK FIELD (Mavro Livadi)
Greece, 2009, 104 min, US Premiere
Director: Vardis Marinakis
Producers: Highway Productions, Greek Film Centre, ERT, Nova, Lamisalia, 2/35, Yorgos Lykiardopoulos
Set in 1650, this is the love story of Anthi, a young nun, and an Ottoman Janissary warrior. Yet the story is only just beginning after they escape Anthi’s convent, for the nun has a secret: ‘she’ is in fact a ‘he’.  Thought-provoking and visually stunning, this film transcends gender and delves into matters of identity, loss, and restoration.

THE BUILDING MANAGER (O Diaheiristis)
Greece, 2009, 92 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Periklis Hoursoglou
Pavlos is a master at helping other people; his wife and children, his mother, and now the tenants of the residential block he has inherited. He tends to everyone’s needs except one: himself. All that changes when he meets Gianna, a beautiful woman half his age, and for a brief time Pavlos feels something he hasn’t felt in years: satisfied.

FIPRESCI'S prize, 50th Thessaloniki International Film Festival

DOGTOOTH (Kynodontas)
Greece, 2009, 94 min, LA Premiere
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Producer: Iraklis Mavroides
Intense and unyielding, this darkly comic fable spins around issues of control and power. Three siblings are confined to a sprawling estate where their parents have created a world with its own twisted rules and vocabulary. But when the eldest daughter questions the absolute authority of her father, she sets into motion a series of events that could rend their fragile world.

Winner, Un Certain Regard, Festival de Cannes, 2009

EVRIDIKI’S CASE (I Periptosi Evridiki)
Greece, 2009, 74 min, US premiere,
Director: Freddy Vianellis
Producer: MODIANO
Working through four cinematic themes at once, this engaging and unconventional film charts the life of Evridiki, who, after years of drug addiction and suffering, is now fighting to control her life. Interspersed with her chronicle of events is the development of a stage play, which provides a rich counterpoint to a personal account of the terrible lows of addiction.

FOUR BLACK SUITS (Tessera Mavra Koustoumia)
Greece, 2010, 90 min, US Premiere
Director: Renos Haralambidis
Producer: Angelo Venetis, Iraklis Mavroides, Takis Nikolakopoulos, Aris Dayios
Two down and out undertakers, an actor, and a convict get together in a desperate – and hilarious - attempt to change their trajectory of failure. The scheme: fulfill a rich dead man’s last wish to be transferred from Athens to his village in his coffin… on foot. But when the promised reward begins to appear as elusive as their final destination, things get complicated.

PLATO’S ACADEMY (Akadimia Platonos)
Germany/Greece, 2009, 103 min, US Premiere
Director: Filipos Tsitos
Producer: BAD MOVIES
Stavros’s days are spent caring for his senile mother, idling at his small Athenian shop, and harassing passing Albanians. But when he finds out that he has a missing brother who is Albanian, his Greek pride crumbles. Filled with comic moments, this poignant portrait of racial tension examines Greek attitudes to the immigrant influx in what used to be a homogeneous society.

Leopard for Best Actor, Ecumenical Jury Prize, Youth Jury Prize
Locarno International Film Festival 2009
Best Feature Award, Tirana International Film Festival 2009
Silver Taiga Award, Spirit of Fire, International Debut Film Festival 2010

DOCUMENTARIES

COLOSSI OF LOVE
Greece, 2010, 59 min, US Premiere
Director: Nikkos Mistriotis
Producer: XYZ Productions
Unique to Greece of the 70s and 80s, the story of the ‘Kamaki’ men whose mission was to court and conquer female tourists, is funny and revealing at once. One marvels at the precise and benevolent code of the ‘Kamaki’ culture and, at the same time, is reminded of a society with strict and unyielding ethics that exists no longer.

PLUNDER FROM A BLEEDING LAND (Leilatontas mia Matomeni Hora)
Greece, 2009, 83 min, World Premiere
Director: Takis Papayiannidis
Producer: Republic of Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, GREEK FILM CENTER, ERT
Thirty-five years after the Turkish invasion in 1974, a Greek archaeologist visits Cyprus and is faced with the cultural ravages and looting in the island’s occupied territory. For the first time in these years, there is a joint effort by Greek and Turkish scientists to restore the disasters and preserve the rich heritage of Cyprus.

SUGARTOWN: THE DAY AFTER (Sugartown, I Epomeni Mera)
Germany/Greece, 2009, 68 min, US Premiere
Director: Kimon Tsakiris
Producer: Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averov
The Mayor of Zacharo or Sugartown is a man on a mission. A self-proclaimed hero, he is set on developing the town after devastating wildfires burned his constituency to the ground in 2007. Will his plans to maximize the burned land’s profitability and his indifference to the rule of law destroy what is left – a delicate ecosystem and a population bereft of homes and possessions?

WORDS OF RESISTANCE (Logos Kai Antistasi)
Greece, 2010, 78 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Timon Koulmasis
An intelligent look at the Greek men and women who were forced into self-exile at the time of dictatorship (1967-1974), and who took it upon themselves to publicly express their ideas of justice through a daily radio program broadcast by the German Deutsche Welle. The filmmaker questions the power of politically engaged speech and redefines its necessity today.

SHORTS

THE BOY AND THE TREE  (Ena Dentro Mia Fora)
Greece, 2009, 29 min, LA Premiere
Director: Panagiotis Rappas
Producer: TIME LAPSE PICTURES, Hellas
A tender fairy tale centered on the friendship between a withering tree on the sidewalk and a homeless little boy.

Best Animation Film, 5TH Animfest Athens, 2009
2nd Best Production for Children, European Broadcasters Union, 2009

CATS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD (Gata Ex Ouranou)
Greece, 2009, 21 min, US Premiere
Director: Dimitra Nikolopoulou
Producer: Haris Padouvas
Katerina never says no to anyone or anything. The unexpected arrival of a cat with her litter of kittens in her life becomes an eye-opener and forces her to rethink her priorities.

2nd Prize, Drama International Short Film Festival, 2009

THE CHARMER OF GRAMMOS (O Planeftis tou Grammou)
Greece, 2009 27 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Vangelis Efthymiou
Follow an aging, part hunter, part philosopher charmer as he searches for honey, one bee at a time, and explore the impact humans have on some of the most important players in our environment – the honeybees.

2nd Prize, 11th International Documentary Film Festival Thessaloniki

MESECINA
Greece, 2009, 30 min, US Premiere
Director: Sofia Exarchou
Producer: GUANACO, ERT
A very ill boy escapes his gloomy life at the hospital into the bustling streets of Athens, and gets a sweet taste of love.

1st Prize, Greek Association of Film Critics (PEKK Award), Greek Film Center Award, 2009

N’ ME FOR MYSELF (Ke Ego Gia Mena)
Greece, 2009, 20 min, US Premiere
Director: Georgis Grigorakis
Producer: Costas Lambropoulos
This energetically charged story reminds us that true love comes in all shapes and forms.

1st Prize, Drama International Short Film Festival, 2009

IT's LAGFF Time!!! 3rd Los Angeles Greek Film Festival - 25 to 28 June 2009

Another annual event of great interest to those of us in the Global Greek World is soon to begin...

The 3rd Los Angeles Greek Film Festival has announced its third annual run scheduled for June 25-28, 2009 at the legendary Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, minutes away from the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex and the Renaissance Hotel.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting Greek cinema, bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood and highlighting Greek contributions to the American film industry. Naturally, it has a number of prominent and award-winning Greek American Hollywood notables on it's advisory board, including Jim Gianopulos, Olympia Dukakis, Alexander Payne, Nia Vardalos, Kary Antholis, Sid Ganis and Phedon Papamichael.


About the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival

The third annual LAGFF showcases new films from Greek filmmakers worldwide to promote and nurture Greek Cinema while bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood. The Festival also offers screenings of film masterworks, seminars on important contemporary film issues, and tributes to significant filmmakers and performers of Greek origin.

Orpheus Awards are given to the most outstanding new films in the dramatic, documentary and short film categories.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival is greatly supported by Greece’s General Secretary of Information Panos Leivadas, who continues the ongoing effort to promote Greece at its best with the "Wonderful Greece" campaign. Festival sponsors include the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), the Greek Film Centre, Boo Productions, Top Cut and more;

The Consul General of Greece, Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras and Press Counselor, Helen Vrynioti have stood by the festival team since its inception.

Additional key supporters of the Festival are the American Hellenic Council, the Hellenic University Club of Loyola Marymount University, and other individual members of the Los Angeles Greek Community.

2009 marks the 3rd year of the Festival, which takes place at The Egyptian Theatre from June 25 through June 28, and will feature 7 feature films, 7 documentaries and 8 shorts, with 15 films enjoying their U.S. premieres.

The four-day festival highlights include:

• Opening Night Ceremonies
• a tribute to director Penelope Spheeris with a special screening of her 1984 feature SUBURBIA and 1998 short NO USE WALKIN’ WHEN YOU CAN STROLL
• "Beyond Borders: Greece on the International Film Stage", a special panel discussion sponsored by Greece's Ministry of Tourism Development with slated panelists Nia Vardalos (MY LIFE IN RUINS) and Phedon Papamichael (ARCADIA LOST) who recently shot films in Greece
• a newly established one-on-one Industry/filmmaker program
• Closing Night Ceremonies with the Orpheus Awards honoring the filmmakers and films for Best Dramatic Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Special Jury Award, and Audience Choice.

SMALL CRIME will screen as the LAGFF Opening Night Gala presentation on Thursday, June 25, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Directed by Christos Georgiou and starring Aris Servetalis and Viki Papadopoulou, the charming comedy is about a frustrated young policeman who has just been assigned duty on a beautiful but ragged Greek island in the Aegean.

There he discovers murder, mystery and love...

GUINNESS will screen as the LAGFF Closing Night Gala presentation on Sunday, June 28 at the Egyptian Theatre. Alexis Kardaras directs Yorgos Pyrpassopoulos, Marcella Giannatou, Stelios Mainas, and Antonis Kafetzopoulos, in this amusing action adventure about a young luckless gambler who tries to escape the “lethal spell” of an unhappy wife and ends up running off with a case of her husband’s gold.

“The primary focus of the LA Greek Film Festival is to discover talented Greek filmmakers and to share their movies with cinema lovers that would not have an opportunity to see these films otherwise,” said Ersi Danou, Festival Co-Founder and Director of Programming. “We are proud of this year’s line-up, which not only represents the evolution of our Festival, but of Greek cinema as well."

“As the LA Greek Film Festival celebrates its third year, we now know there is an audience in Los Angeles who is not only receptive, but eager to see films made in Greece and/or by Greek Filmmakers.

"For four days the Festival is akin to a ‘platia’ (village square)", comments Ambassador Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras, Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles. “In addition to the screenings, this year we are proud to announce a special panel discussion, sponsored by Greece's Ministry of Tourism Development, on the benefits of making movies in Greece.”

"With the recent success of MAMMA MIA! and the soon-to-be-released MY LIFE IN RUINS starring Nia Vardalos, the Greek culture is making its way to the mainstream through the art of filmmaking," said Angeliki Giannakopoulos, Festival Co-Founder and Director. "We are gradually experiencing a bridging of the gap between Greece and Hollywood, and we are very excited about this!"

Volunteers Wanted!!!

If you are interested in volunteering, LAGFF is looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of preparation and on site organization leading up to and during this year's festival, June 25-28 in Hollywood.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to experience first hand how a film festival comes together and to interact with a dynamic group.

Join LAGFF and learn what it takes to organize a film festival!


Ticket Sales

Tickets are on sale since May 15. For more information click here

Previous Festivals

The 2008 LAGFF kicked off with a first-time screening of a newly restored print of ZORBA THE GREEK directed by Michael Cacoyannis, courtesy of 20th Century Fox. Other highlights included panel discussions moderated by Peter Bogdonavich, a screening of the feature film ALTER EGO, starring Greece's well-known pop star and prized Eurovision finalist Sakis Rouvas in his debut performance as an actor, a Tribute Night Gala honouring Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes and the US premiere of the Closing Night film LITTLE GREEK GODFATHER which is based on a short story written by Nicholas Papandreou, son of Andreas Papandreou, Greece's former Prime Minister, and directed by Olga Malea.

"It was a natural fit to have the restored version of ZORBA THE GREEK make its debut at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival " commented Jim Gianopulos, Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment and Advisory Board Member of the LAGFF. " We are enormously proud of this classic film, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards® and won three, and the meticulously restored print brilliantly displays its award-winning cinematography."

ZORBA THE GREEK, originally released in 1964, is based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. Anthony Quinn starred as Alexis Zorbas, an open-hearted peasant whose character single-handedly became a symbol of the Mediterranean passion. His encounter with a young and pent-up English writer (Alan Bates) leads to unforgettable lessons in love of life. The film was shot on the island of Crete, and the musical theme, “Sirtaki”, by Mikis Theodorakis became identified with traditional Greek music and dance even though it was composed specifically for the film. ZORBA THE GREEK won three Academy Awards: Lila Kedrova won for Best Supporting Actress, Vassilis Fotopoulos won for Art Direction (Black-and-White) and Walter Lassally won for Cinematography. Anthony Quinn received a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Michael Cacoyannis received three nominations for Best Picture, Director and Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium).

For a report on the 2008 2nd LAGFF, click here

Watch and listen to Greek Consul General Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras talk about Greek Culture and the accomplishments of the 2nd Annual Greek Film Festival in Los Angeles - Click here