Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF.org) is rolling out the red carpet to celebrate its tenth anniversary June 1 – 5, 2016 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The lively festival will showcase more films, Q&A’s and festivities than ever before including a collaboration with Athens International Culinary Film Festival (AICFF) and a Gastronomical Sidebar complete with cuisine themed entertainment and top chef cooking demonstration with tasting.
This year’s offerings boast films from Australia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, UK, Greece, Sweden, Turkey and the U.S. representing 15 narratives, 9 documentaries, and 31 short films. LAGFF will introduce four World premieres, 25 North American premieres, and 13 Los Angeles premieres to the Hollywood audience. 42 films will vie for LAGFF’s coveted “Audience Choice” Orpheus Award. Remarking on this special anniversary, co-founder Ersi Danou noted, “For a decade now, we have brought new Greek Cinema to Los Angeles. Greece has seen the burgeoning of a new generation of filmmakers who are willing to step out of the box and approach their audience in bold ways. LAGFF is a chance for Los Angelinos to experience Greek cinema, and our filmmakers benefit from the bridging effect between Greece, the Balkans, and Hollywood.”
Some festival highlights include the Opening Night North American premiere of Tassos Boulmetis’ bittersweet comedy “Mythopathy “(Notias) on Wednesday, June 1. The story is set during the 1970s military junta in Greece and follows a young boy, Stavros, as he copes with the ever changing social and political climate by reinventing established Greek myths and creating his own versions. This is the third feature from the award-winning “Touch of Spice” director. “Mythopathy” stars Hellenic Academy awardwinners Themis Panou (“Miss Violence”), Maria Kallimani (“Sto Spiti”) and introduces Giannis Niaros in his first feature starring role among others. Tasos Boulmetis, a former UCLA assistant professor and film school Alum, will be in attendance.
Sunday’s Closing Night film will be Christopher Papakaliatis’ “Worlds Apart” in its debut outside of Greece. The film stars Academy Award® winner J.K. Simmons. “Worlds Apart” is the highest grossing Greek film since 2009, notably surpassing box office numbers in Greece for the long-awaited 2015 blockbusters “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Spectre”. “Worlds Apart” fosters three separate narratives each following a love story between a foreigner and a Greek. Each story represents a different generation falling in love during a time of socioeconomic turmoil that dominates Southern Europe as a whole, only to connect with a single story in the end. Christopher Papakaliatis and J.K. Simmons will be present for their film’s North American premiere.
More info can be found here.
