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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES GREEK FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES OPENING & CLOSING FILMS FESTIVAL ALSO ANNOUNCES FULL FESTIVAL LINEUPLOS ANGELES, CA, May 29, 2007 -
Los Angeles Greek Film Festival announces Udayan Prasad's OPA! as the festival's Opening Night Gala presentation and Kimon Tsakiris' SUGARTOWN: THE BRIDEGROOMS as its Closing Night Gala presentation. The festival, taking place at The Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills from June 14th through June 17th will feature 24 feature films and shorts as part of its highly anticipated debut with 19 films enjoying their U.S. premieres. The four-day festival will feature Opening Night Ceremonies, special panels and Closing Night Ceremonies (with the E! Network's Daily 10 show's Debbie Matenopoulos serving as hostess) where the LAGFF will hand out the festival's first Orpheus Awards to filmmakers and films for Best Dramatic Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Direction, and Audience Choice. An additional highlight of the Closing Night Ceremonies will be the honoring of Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis and veteran Hollywood Foreign Press Association journalist Yani Begakis with the first Lifetime Achievement and Honorary Orpheus Awards respectively (with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne on hand to present to Dukakis). Other confirmed attendees include Melina Kanakaredes, Elias Koteas, French-Greek journalist and European television personality Nikos Aliagas, Michael Constantine, HBO's Kary Antholis, Mission Impossible III Executive Producer Stratton Leopold, and FOX Filmed Entertainment Chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos among others.OPA! will screen as the LAGFF Opening Night Gala presentation on Thursday, June 14, 2007 at The Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Directed by Udayan Prasad and starring Matthew Modine, Agni Tsagaridou and Richard Griffiths, the comedy is about an American archaeologist who travels to a small Greek island to complete his father's quest for the cup of St. John. However, the charms of a single mother on the island tempts him to pursue another, entirely more romantic quest. The screening will mark the film's U.S. Premiere. SUGARTOWN: THE BRIDEGROOMS will screen as the LAGFF Closing Night Gala presentation on Sunday, June 17, 2007 at the Writers' Guild Theatre. Kimon Tsakiris directs the documentary about the men from the Greek village of Sugartown who are led by the town's mayor to seek brides from the Russian town of Klin.The screening will also be the film's U.S. premiere.Regarding the announcement of the festival's debut schedule, Co-Festival Director Angeliki Giannakopoulos says, "It's exciting to be able to share these wonderful films with not only the Greek film community, but with everyone in Los Angeles as well." Her partner, Ersi Danou continues adding, "We have an exciting variety of works that show how diverse Greek filmmakers are."The LAGFF will showcase 12 features in competition (including 8 narrative and 4 documentaries) and 9 shorts (including 8 narrative and 1 documentary) in competition. In addition, the LAGFF will offer special screenings for a total of 4 films. Those films are as follows:
Feature length films:
THE GUARDIAN'S SON (2006) Features competition, 98 min, LA premiereAn engaging dramatic comedy about the illusions and secrets of four young people who meet in the mountainous Greek village of Trikala. The film explores the fragile relationship of the young Greek urban generation with the fading past, rich in old wisdom and tradition, of their ancestors. Directed by Dimitris Koutsiabasakos.
TOM WHITE (2004) Features competition, 107 min, US PremiereWinner of 8 awards including 4 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards; IF Award Best Actor; Film of the Year CFO. The LAGFF brings Tom White to the US for the first time, a dynamic and energetic dramaabout an architect who experiences a meltdown, abandons his family and journeys through the underworld of lonely souls. Directed by Greek descent Australian filmmaker Alkinos Tsilimidos.
SWEET MEMORY (2006) Features competition, 100 min, US Premiere Irina returns to Greece after 20 years of absence in Russia, in order to find her stepbrother. Meeting her brother's friends, a chance encounter with an American saxophone player and a series of dramatic events spark an internal journey of understanding and reconciliation. Sweet Memory presents a compelling work of cinema art by writer-director Kyriakos Katzourakis, superbly acted by Greek actress Katia Gerou.
THE HEART OF THE BEAST (2005) Features competition, 81 min, LA premiereJobless and lonely, Stefanos decides that his studies in Philosophy do not promise the rewards he seeks from life. Instead he opts to team up with his high school friend and rob a bank. Through a variety of comedic situations, The Heart of the Beast guides its hero toward maturity. Written and directed by Renos Haralambidis.
PINK (2006) Features competition, 93 min, US premiereA heartbreaking account of the tender friendship between 'Vassilis,' a young Greek man, and 'Snezana,' an 11-year-old girl, who is a daughter of Ukrainian immigrants. Reminiscent of Wong Kar-Wai's cinematic poetry, Alexander Voulgaris masterfully and creatively interweaves personal experiences to make a reflective and moving whole.
AKAMAS (2006) Features competition, 120 min, US premiereIn this drama with a universal theme and a message of unity, 'Omeris,' a Turkish Cypriot boy, grows up with Greek Cypriots in an age of innocence. He has been taught that human beings have no differences between them, whether they call themselves Greek or Turk, Muslim or Christian. But when he falls in love with a Greek Cypriot girl, he awakes to a harsh reality. Destiny ordains that he fight so that he can stay with his beloved, at a moment when the people around him are moving in exactly the opposite direction: towards division. Directed by Panikos Chrysanthou.
OPA! (2005) Features competition, 95 min, US premiereA romantic comedy set in beautiful Patmos. The story is about 'Eric,' an American archeologist who comes to the island in search for the cup of St. John who lived there in the first century A.D. Instead he begins to fall for the Greek restaurant owner 'Katerina' who knows little about archaeology but everything about life! Directed by Udayan Prasad; written by Christina Concetta and Raman Singh.
BRIDES (2004) Features competition, 128 min, US premiere1922. Greek populations are forced out of Asia Minor by the Turkish army; this story takes place in a ship full of predestined brides leaving their homeland and heading for America. When 'Norman,' an American photographer, decides to photograph them, he gets to know 'Niki,' who works sewing during the voyage. As the ship continues its journey to America, they fall in love. Director Pantelis Voulgaris is highly respected in Greece for a long career of making films with dramatic and sociopolitical content.
WHO'S ON FIRST (2006) Documentaries competition, 61 min, US premiere
When Athens became host to the 2004 Olympic games, Greece was thrust into the task of creating a national baseball team that would compete in the Olympics. One problem, Greece had no team, players or stadiums in which to play. Realizing they could not compete on an Olympic level, Greek-American pros were called upon to help create a winning team. The few passionate local Greek athletes were left on the sidelines once winning became a possibility. Finally, what started out as a quirky Olympic novelty, turned into a transatlantic Greek tragedy. Directed by Valerie Kontakos.
A SONG FOR ARGYRIS (2006) Documentaries competition, 105 min, US premiereJune 10, 1944. Distomo: A small farming village at a stone's throw from the sea, on the road leading from Athens to Delphi. This is where little Argyris, who was not even four years old, survived a brutal massacre committed by the occupying German forces. The film explores such themes as historical guilt and the quest for peace. Greek-Swiss co-production. Directed by Stefan Haupt.
SUGARTOWN (2006) Documentaries competition, 81 min, US premiereWinner of Thessaloniki Documentary Festival-Audience Award, Thessaloniki Film Festival-Greek State Award for Best Documentary, Cyprus International Film Festival-Special Award for Best New Director. In the Greek village of Sugartown (Zacharo), men have a serious problem: Women are fleeing the area in search of work or marriage in the big cities, leaving them behind. Motivated by political gain, the town's cunning mayor promises the men to find them wives. He contacts the mayor of the Russian town of Klin, who gathers 100 young women looking for foreign and well-to-do husbands. Against all odds and local traditions which frown upon mixed marriages, the men of Sugartown set out on a journey to find their future brides. Directed by Kimon Tsakiris.
MARSEILLES, A GREEK PROFILE (2004) Documentaries competition, 87 min, US PremiereWinner of Ecocinema (Rhodes)-Best Greek Film, Thessaloniki Film festival-Greek State Award for Best Documentary, Prix Europa 2004 (Berlin) A French woman of Greek descent, living in Marseilles, decides to visit Kalymnos, her father's island. The film explores identity questions of those who have two homelands. Directed by Marco Gastine.
Short films
THE TRIKALA PHOTOGRAPHER (2005) Shorts competition, 12 min, US premiereGreece 1923. Although he is "wanted", the legendary bandit leaves the mountains and decides to be photographed. Directed by Vassilis Kosmopoulos.
THE THIEF (2005) Shorts competition, 17 min, LA premiereWinner of multiple international awards, this film tells the story of four-year-old Alexandros' summer adventures in his grandmother's village, where inadvertently he becomes a thief. Directed by Irina Boiko.
MINES (2006) Shorts competition, 15 min, US premiereA tragic confrontation between Greek border police and a family of illegal immigrants. Directed by Christos Nikoleris.
TIME OUT (2006) Shorts competition, 11 min, US premiereIn a bank, the hours pass dreadfully slow until a clerk begins to sing. Directed by Zafeiris Haitidis.
THE LONG HAUL OF A.I. BEZZERIDES (2006) Shorts competition, 52 minPortrait of the late A.I. Bezzerides (Buzz), Hollywood writer of Armenian and Greek descent who wrote Hollywood classics such as Kiss me Deadly and Thieves' Highway. Directed by Fay Lellios.
SHRINK (2005) Shorts competition, 21 min, US premiereComedy about a young Athenian who desperately looks for parking space. Two African shop owners solve his problem. Directed by Spyros Papanastasiou.
HOUSE OF THE OLIVE TREES (2007) Shorts competition, 30 minNational Finalist of Student Academy Awards 2007, this is a beautiful story about Anna's world as she falls for Markos who pulls her out of her self-induced loneliness. Directed by Thouly Dosios.
PAPERBOAT (2006) Shorts competition, 18 minWinner of DGA Awards-Best Female Director, LA International Shorts Film Festival-Best Female Director, and more. A Greek student in America, Melanie, goes home for vacation but there faces unexpected feelings of doubt and nostalgia. Directed by Daphne Lambrinou.
AIRPORT FOR SALE (2006) Shorts competition, 15 min, US premiereSix children meet inside the abandoned Airport terminal of Nicosia, Cyprus, inside the United Nations controlled buffer zone. The children come from the two opposite sides of the divided island. Directed by Simon Farmakas.
MY GERMAN VOCABULARY (2007) Shorts competition, 2,5 min, US premiereA two-minute experimental piece by established LA artist of Greek descent, Annetta Kapon.
Special screenings out of competition
MOURNING ROCK (2000) Retrospective, 87 min, US premiereTen years in the making, this masterful and poetic documentary that Greeks loved focuses on the ancient sacred site of Eleusis near Athens, capturing an unique moments in an era of rapid change. A gem of Greek Cinema. Directed by Philippos Koutsaftis.
MY CHILD: MOTHERS OF WAR (2006) Documentary out of competition, 58 minWinner of the Directors Choice Award at Cinequest 2006 and Best Documentary Award at the LA Femme Film Festival 2006, the documentary focuses on the mothers of American soldiers serving in Iraq. Some of them support their child's patriotic service and sacrifice, others condemn the war and are angry at those responsible for sending their loved ones across the world to fight. Directed by Angeliki Giannakopoulos.
NIOBE (2006) Feature out of competition, 103 min, US premiereThe drama details the turmoil between Greece and Turkey during the 1920s and explores its catastrophic effects on the Greek aristocracy. Directed by Kostas Koutsomitis.
LAGFF SPONSORS
About Greek Secretariat General of Information
Continuing the office's ongoing effort to promote Greece at its best, the "Wonderful Greece" campaign was launched by the Greek Secretariat General of Information, the governmental department in charge of the country's communications strategy abroad. Spearheaded by General Secretary of Information Panos Leivadas, the campaign reflects the brand new way in which Greece is perceived by the world public opinion, following its accomplishments of international caliber on a plethora of fronts.
About Metaxa
The Greek spirit, Metaxa was invented by Spyros Metaxas in 1888 in Attica, the province of Athens. Since then, the product has earned worldwide recognition for its quality, color and taste. It is produced from Savatiano, Sultanina and Black Corinth, twice distilled, married with aged muscat wine from Samos and Lemnos, blended with a secret botanical mix and then aged in hand made limousine oak casks.
About the Greek Film Centre
The Greek Film Centre is a corporation that belongs to the broader public sector, is supervised by the Greek Ministry of Culture and subsidized by the state. The organization's goals are the protection, support and development of the art of film in Greece and the promotion, dissemination and promotion of Greek film productions both domestically and internationally. To achieve its goals the Greek Film Centre is developing the following activities: It finances film productions and ensures advantageous conditions in which Greek filmmakers can finish their work, it promotes and supports film distribution both domestically and internationally in commercial and parallel circuits, it organizes retrospectives and film weeks abroad, it participates in festivals, organizes seminars aimed at providing professional training, announces and awards scholarships for studies in Greece and abroad and it conducts studies and research as well as issues publications on the history and future of Greek Cinema.
About Antenna
ANTENNA Group has been established as the world's largest Greek media group, reaching Greek-speaking audiences in all continents. In recent years, the Group has successfully implemented new projects in the broader area of communication. With the creation of ANT1 SATELLITE and ANT1 PACIFIC, the voice and images of Greece as well as the pulse of Greek society's everyday life are transmitted to Europe, Australia and the Americas via a large satellite network covering the communicational needs of all Greeks living abroad. The Group plans to expand into other growing markets, where its extensive content, know-how and expertise can be effectively used. In addition, ANTENNA Group intends to broaden its presence in other media sectors. Its recent agreement to provide Echostar with 20 ethnic channels in the USA, and its partnerships with RAI and ART in Australia are all significant steps in this direction.
About Imperial Media Ltd.
Imperial Media is a production company based in London and Greece. Its goals are to produce quality motion pictures and television programming targeting the international marketplace, collaborating with established as well as new talent. Imperial Media is becoming a vertically integrated media and entertainment company that covers all aspects of this business sector. Finance, production and distribution are the main fields of the company's activities.The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival is greatly supported by the Consul General of Greece Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras and Press Counselor Helen Vrynioti. Additional support is received by the American Hellenic Council, the Hellenic University Club of Loyola Marymount University and other individual members of the Los Angeles Greek Community.
Contact: John Wildman Director of Press & Public Relations(323) 600-3165 jswildman@hotmail.com
Angeliki Giannakopoulos Festival Director (818) 728-0720 angie@lagreekfilmfestival.org |
