A GREEN STORY officially kicked off the 2012 Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. The film is a biographical tale based on the life of Van Vlahakis, a Greek immigrant who traveled to the US with just a few dollars and ended up creating one of the most successful green products to hit the market through his company, Earth Friendly Products.

Walking the red carpet in celebration of the world premiere of A GREEN STORY was Van Vlahakis and the man who portrays him, Ed O'Ross; Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks and the actress who portrays her, Shannon Elizabeth; and the creative team including Producer/Writer/Director Nika Agiashvili.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10 AM  

INDUSTRY PANEL: REPRESENTATION IN HOLLYWOOD 

$20 online / $24 at the door. To reserve tickets, click here.    

APARTMENT IN ATHENS (Appartamento ad Atene) [TRAILER]
Italy, 2011, 95 min, LA Premiere
Director/Producer: Ruggero Dipaola. Writers: Heidrun Schleef, Ruggero Dipaola, Luca De Benedittis. Cast: Laura Morante, Richard Sammel, Gerasimos Skiadaresis   

 

Set against a backdrop of the German occupation of Greece in 1943, this drama introduces us to an Athenian family, whose life undergoes a profound change when their apartment is commandeered by an exacting German officer with an inscrutable attitude.

 

Community Collaborators: ITALIANS IN FILM      

 

Winner of the top four awards at the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival.  

 

Preceded by short film:

FACE DOWN (Pistoma)
Greece, 2011, 19 min, LA Premiere
Director/Writer/Producer: Yiorgos Fourtounis
Cast :Giorgos Symeonidis, Eleni Vergeti

In a dog-eat-dog world, there is no place for affection.

    

 

 

WASTED YOUTH
Greece, 2011, 94 min, US Premiere
Co-Directors: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Jan Vogel
Writers: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Jan Vogel. Producers: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, George Karnavas. Cast: Harris Markou, Ieronimos Kaletsanos, Arthouros Kiviliov

Summer heat blasts Athens. A teenage skateboarder sets out for an aimless day with his friends. A middle-aged policeman struggles to make ends meet. A simple twist of fate disrupts the course of their actions.

Presented by WEST COAST INVESTORS    

 

Preceded by short film:

JUST A PERFECT DAY
Greece, 2011, 6 min, US Premiere
Director: Evris Papanikolas
Writers: Evris Papanikolas, Nikos Nikolopoulos. Producers: Angelo Venetis, Takis Nikolakopoulos
Cast: Kora Karvouni, Chrisa Kornazidi

 

 

On this serene day, the world goes awry.

 

 

5:15 pm

SUPER DEMETRIOS [TRAILER]
Greece, 2011, 109 min, US Premiere
Director: Georgios Papaioannou
Writers: Alexandros Stogiannis, Spiros Papanaoum, Dimitris Papavasiliou, Georgios Papaioannou, Argiris Pouggouras, Babis Papapostolou, Dimitris Vainas. Producers: Georgios Papaioannou, Dimitris Papavasiliou. Cast: Dimitris Vainas, Paris Papadopoulos, Olga Sfetsa   

 

Posing as a journalist for the Golden Jerusalem magazine, Thessaloniki's very own superhero - Super Demetrios - is the only person that can save the city from its worst nightmare: Captain F.ROM.

 

Preceded by short film:

ABARIZA
Greece, 2011, 18 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Elena Dimitrakopoulou
Writer: Effi Gavrilou
Cast: Kostas Voutsas, Nicol Kokkinou

An elderly couple plan their grand escape from a senior home.

 

 

8:30 pm

UNFAIR WORLD
Greece, 2010, 94 min, LA Premiere
Director: Filippos Tsitos
Writers: Filippos Tsitos, Dora Masklavanou
Producer: Alexandra Boussiou
Cast: Andonis Kafetzoplouos, Theodora Tzimou, Christos Stergioglou

 

It all begins with a disenchanted policeman's decision to follow his own sense of justice. A series of unlikely events, fluctuating from tragedy to comedy, culminate in an equally surprising outcome.

 

Winner of four major 2012 Hellenic Film Academy Awards, including Best Fiction Feature, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, and is this year's official Greek Oscar entry.

 

Preceded by short film:

F-K *
USA, 2010, 8 min
Director: R.E. Rodgers
Producer: Taso Mouhteros
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Christopher Meloni, Bob Balaban, Mariska Hargitay, Bobby Cannavale

These people will do anything to find 'the location'.

 

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Egyptian Theatre screenings, Saturday, June 2

5:30 pm  

THREE DAYS OF HAPPINESS (Tris Meres Eftihias) [TRAILER]
Greece, 2011, 80 min, US Premiere
Director/Writer/Producer: Dimitri Athanitis. Cast: Nikolitsa Drizi, Alexandra Aidini, Katerina Fotiadi   

 

A Russian immigrant who sells her body hoping to collect money to leave Greece, a university student who struggles to overcome personal tragedy, and a woman doubting her decision to get married, crisscross paths while pursuing happiness.

 

Preceded by short film:

INTERSECTION *
USA, 2011, World Premiere
Director: Yeesum Lo
Writer/Producer: Dorothea Paschalidou. Cast: Justin Stafford, Kyle Goleman

 

A father and son walk different paths, but life brings them back together.

 

RIDERS OF PYLOS (Oi Ippeis tis Pylou)
Greece, 2011, 92 min, US Premiere
Director/Writer: Nikos Kalogeropoulos. Producers: Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Marina Konstantakopoulos
Cast: Nikos Kalogeropoulos, Ioulia Kalogridi, Ilias Logothetis

 

A middle-aged, poverty stricken actor flees Athens to escape his creditors and travels to the heart of historic Messinia, finding refuge in Polypylon, a decrepit castle. While exploring the wild countryside, he meets Democracy, and becomes desperate to win her heart.

 

Preceded by short film:

SACRED WHISPERS *
US/Greece, 2010, 20 minutes

World Premiere
Director/Writer: Constantinos Isaias. Producers: Constantinos Isaias, Justin Johanson, Alexia Vassiliou. Cast: David Hardie, Alexia Vassiliou

 

 

Suppressed by his religious mother, a young man strives for salvation from his demons in a racist 1940s society.

 

This free, two-part tribute includes a panel discussion with friends and collaborators of Theo Angelopoulos, including Stratos Tzortzoglou, Alexis Varouxakis, Katerina Zacharia who will moderate. Film clips will be included in a presentation of the famed filmmaker's unique visual and musical style, his concept of time, and story-telling world.

A well-known Greek actor, Stratos Tzortzoglou trained at Karolos Koun's Art Theater School and has had an extensive career in cinema and television in Greece and internationally. He has collaborated with renowned Greek film directors Theo Angelopoulos, Michael Cacoyannis, Pantelis Voulgaris and Nikos Panagiotopoulos, and has co-starred with such film icons as Irene Papas, Catherine Deneuve, Lena Endre, and Harvey Keitel.

 
 
 
Alexis Varouxakis recently produced DARK HEARTS (2012), staring Sonja Kinski, Kyle Schmid, Lucas Till, Rachel Blanchard and Goran Visnjic. He also produced OPA (2009), starring Matthew Modine and Richard Griffiths, and set up the financial structure of the Greek-Spanish co-production EL GRECO (2007). His next project is SO WHAT, a film set in the jazz world of 1950's New Orleans. Theo Angelopoulos was Varouxakis's mentor during the beginning of his film-producing career.

 
 
Katerina Zacharia (Moderator) is a professor of classics at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. Her main interests and publications are on Greek drama, ethnicity, and cinema; classical reception; visual culture; tourism and heritage studies. Zacharia is an experienced organizer of theatrical performances and workshops, artistic events, and film retrospectives, and is a consultant on matters of Letters and the Arts for the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens, Greece. 

 

 

This event is free and open to the public, but tickets must be reserved in advance. To reserve your ticket, click here.

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3:30 pm

FORTUNATE SON * [TRAILER]
Canada, 2011, 77 min, Documentary

US Premiere
Director: Tony Asimakopoulos
Producers: Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin, Bob Moore 

 

Overcoming drug addiction and being motivated by the search for happiness with his fiancee, the only son of Greek-Canadian immigrants faces his complicated relationship with his overbearing mother and ailing father, and the patterns of dysfunction they share.

 

Preceded by short film:

SUN DON'T SHINE FOR US *
USA, 2012, 18 min, LA Premiere
Co-Directors: Pete Stamatelatos, Scott Ackerlund. Writer: Pete Stamatelatos. Producers: Pete Stamatelatos, Scott Ackerlund, Joey Allen. Cast: Anna Giannotis, Pete Stamatelatos, George Christopoulos

 

A Greek immigrant mother's hopes and dreams for her family collapse when her son enters the world of drug addiction.

 

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5:30 pm - SAYOME reception
6:30 pm - CLOSING NIGHT FILM

SAYOME [TRAILER]
Greece, 2010, 80 min, Documentary, LA Premiere
Director: Nikos Dayandas
Producers: Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof   

 

After 35 years of living in Crete, happily married to a Greek sailor and raising her two sons, Sayome hears news of her mother's death and returns to her homeland, Japan, to reunite with her estranged family.

 

Presented by PABST BREWING COMPANY AND THE METROPOULOS FAMILY. 

 

 

Preceded by short film:

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Greece, 2011, 16 min, US Premiere (Animated)
Director: Panagiotis Rappas
Producers: Panagiotis Rappas, Dimitris Papadimitriou

 

 

In a mountain forest of Japan, an elderly woodcutter stumbles upon the fountain of youth.

 

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 ORPHEUS AWARDS - 8:30 PM 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presented at the home of Consul General of Greece Elizabeth Fotiadou, the dinner reception includes a special performance by singer/songwriter VASSY.  

 

Gold Pass holders only