A Must See for all Greeks! The Promise of Tomorrow - Screening Tonight at the Rhode Island Film Festival

The Promise of Tomorrow, Part Two of the Greek Heritage Society's award winning series, The Greeks of Southern California — Through the Century, is the universal story of the Greek American experience as seen through the eyes of those who settled in Southern California.

The Documentary highlights the first and second generation of Greek Americans and the changing face of our community. Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis hosts and narrates the documentary, with additional narration by John Kapelos, as it explores the way in which the Greek American community has become an integral part of American history while maintaining a strong and unique Greek identity.

Related Article: The Promise of Tomorrow

Greek America's Best and Brightest - Welcome to the Inaugural GABBY Awards!!!

The stunning Chicago Skyline (source: Gabby Awards)

What promises to be a spectacular event of immense interest to the Global Greek Community, and especially to the Greek American Community, will be taking place next month in Chicago - the first ever Gabby Awards!

From all accounts, and as publisher of the Greek America Magazine, Gregory Pappas himself says, "The Gabby Awards in Chicago will be the biggest gathering of Greek American talent and success-ever! HBO President, Eurovision Finalist , Greek Heart-throb, and Legendary Lobbyists have recently been added to the Gabby cast of stars." We presume he is talking about Kary Antholis, Kalomoira, Alexis Georgoulis and of course the father and sons team of Andrew, Mike and Tom Manatos, in that order, who have recently confirmed attendance at this star-studded event according to the Gabby website!



Melina Kanakaredes John Varvatos Olympia Dukakis Nia Vardalos


Honorary Co-Chairs are CSI actress Melina Kanakaredes and designer John Varvatos, who last year opened Greece's Fashion Week.

Academy Award winning actress Olympia Dukakis will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award and My Life in Ruins star Nia Vardalos will present the "Performing Arts" Gabby Award.

The show's MC will be Chicago’s own Emmy Award winning television journalist Anna Davlantes.

Corporate leaders like Jim Gianopulos (Fox Films) and Dennis Malamatinas (Marfin Investment Group) will also be on hand to serve as award presenters.

Two of the nation's top celebrity chefs, who are also nominees in the "Arts & Culture" category will be attending the event: Iron Chef Cat Cora and Michael Psilakis of Manhattan's Kefi Restaurant.

Several other nominees and prominent Greek Americans have also confirmed their attendance at the Inaugural Gabby Awards to be held in Chicago, at the Merle Reskin Theatre, on June 19th, 2009.

The Gabby Awards were founded to celebrate excellence amongst Greek Americans and to reward those who embody it, bringing together people from all over America who have excelled in their field and who have one very significant factor in common - their Greek Heritage.

Created and hosted by Greek America Magazine, the nation’s most widely-circulated periodical for Greek Americans, the "Gabbys" are the brainchild of it's founder Gregory C Pappas, the word itself referring to Greek America’s Best and Brightest Stars.

The Gabby Awards' eight categories are Entertainment & Performing Arts, Arts & Culture, Athletics, Education/Academia, Philanthropy/Public Service, Business/Entrepreneurism, Politics/Government and Promotion of Hellenism.

There are 5 to 6 nominees in each category, and these include such Global Greek notables as Rita Wison, George Stephanopoulos, Ted Leonsis, Chris Tomaras, Father Nicholas Triantafillou, Pete Sampras, Peter Peterson, John Catsimatidis, Arianna Huffington, Harry Mark Petrakis, Alexi Giannoulias, Jennifer Aniston, and organisations such as the Onassis Foundation and the American Hellenic Institute.

The winners will receive a unique statuette designed for the occasion by well-known Greek jewelry designer Konstantino. The Awards Ceremony will be followed by an After Party to be held at the Chicago Hilton and Towers , and promises to be an unforgettable evening of celebration, food and dancing to the music of Glykeria and Kostas Karafotis.

It is interesting to note that the Gabby Academy which has identified and nominated the individuals who have excelled, includes many prominent Greek Americans from all over America who are involved professionally in the Greek American community, either as writers, journalists, and directors of various organizations. Others are opinion-makers, public relations professionals and people involved in various communications-related fields as well as other leaders in business, arts and culture, academia and other fields. Apart from Gregory Pappas, these include people like Nick Larigakis, Andrew Kaffes, John Metaxas, Paul Glastris, Yiannis Valsamas and Alexia Haidos.

We don't know if it was overlooked or left out deliberately, but we think that it would be great if at least one more category could be added, that of Science/Medicine, as there are many prominent Greek Americans who have excelled in this particular category. Hopefully next year!

We congratulate the creators of the Gabby Awards for taking high-profile initiatives like this and wish them every possible success!

To watch the promo video click here

To read more about the nominees click here.

For a full list of nominees and to cast your vote click here .

To read more about the Gabbys click here

To buy tickets to the Gabbys and the After Show click here

Note: Greek America Magazine is America's most widely circulated periodical for Greek Americans. With a national readership of over a quarter of a million readers, Greek America is the nation’s periodical for all things Greek.

Its affiliate Greek America Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization founded by Greek America Magazine’s publisher Gregory Pappas serves as a medium for a host of nationwide cultural events focusing on the promotion, preservation and perpetuation of the Greek history, heritage and culture in America.

All contributions to The Gabby Awards are tax deductible as allowed by the Internal Revenue Service code for contributions to charities.

All proceeds from the Gabby Awards will go to the special endowment fund established by the Greek America Foundation called The Hellenic Legacy Fund, which will offer scholarships to students for study abroad programs in Greece.

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