The 6th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival is set to take place May 31 to June 3, 2012, in Los Angeles.  LAGFF showcases new films from Greek filmmakers worldwide. The foremost goal of the festival is to promote Greek Cinema and cultural exchange while bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood. Orpheus Awards are given to the most outstanding new films in the dramatic, documentary and short film categories.  For more information, visit www.lagff.org.

Phedon Papamichael on the red carpet

The 5th annual Los Angeles Greek Film festival came to an end with a world premiere of “Burning Heads” (To Gala), directed by Giorgos Siougas on Sunday, June 12 at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, CA. The event was followed by the star studded Orpheus Awards Ceremony. The filmmakers whom most from oversees, had the chance to present their work to Greek and non-Greek film goers in the heart of the entertainment capital, Hollywood.

The event’s attendees included celebrities such as Billy Zane, Alexis Georgoulis, Molly Ringwald, Phedon Papamichael and others.

The audience choice for best feature film was awarded to Nick Gaitajis’ “Without Borders”.

“Knifer” by Yannis Economides won the best feature film Orpheus Award.

“RF” by Stavros Liokalos won in the short film category.

Best documentary Orpheus Award went to “The Game Must Go On”.

Music Composer Mikis Theodorakis was honored with a Lifetime Achievement.

The festival’s main sponsors were the John S. Latsis Public Foundation and Earth Friendly Products.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) opened with the documentary “Pelican’s Watch” on June 9th at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in West Hollywood. Among the attendees there were prominent Greek-Americans of the entertainment industry. Watch the video below and get a taste of the red carpet.

Still from the opening night's film "Pelican's Watch"

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) opened with “Pelican’s Watch” on June 9th at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.

The opening night gala showcased Lea Binzer’s film “Pelican’s Watch”, a Dionysian documentary on Greek elders’ efforts to preserve traditional wine-making. The film is about a small community of elders on the island of Santorini charged with the unique duty to preserve the traditions of vine-growing and wine-making in the face of changing times that threaten their ancient and world renowned art. The screening was followed by a reception featuring some of the top Greek wines.

The event was attended by prominent Greek-Americans of the Hollywood community and guests from Greece.

The festival comes to a close Sunday, June 12 at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills with a Gala event and a world premiere of “Burning Heads” (To Gala), directed by Giorgos Siougas.

The 5th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival has announced their five-member jury who will be selecting the Orpheus Award winners out of the twenty films that will be screening in competition this year. The jury awards include Best Film, Best Documentary and Best Short Film and will be awarded on Sunday, June 12 at the closing night gala at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. In addition, the festival has announced the seven panelists who will participate in the Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood panel which will take place at the Laemmle Sunset 5 on Saturday, June 11th at 10:30 am.

The jury consists of Alex Ago, Director of Programming and Special Projects at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Robert Koehler, Film Critic, Johnny E. Jensen, ASC (“An American Story”) Aniko Imre, Associate Professor of Critical Studies at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and director Lev L. Spiro (“Everybody Hates Chris”).
This year’s panel, presented in association with ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America) – Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood panel will be moderated by Variety Deputy Editor Peter Caranicas. The panelists will include Indie producer/consultant Klara Beverly, marketing maven Scott Edwards (AV Squad), filmmaker and author Heidi Van Lier (“Chi Girl,” The Indie Film Rule Book),Greek distributor/producer Dionyssis Samiotis (Odeon), Lionsgate Executive VP Distribution David Spitz and ICM agent Peter Trinh . This panel will address questions on the future potential of foreign films in the broader international market, including issues such as international representation and the use of alternative distribution and marketing resources.

The 5th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) runs from June 9-12 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, located at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles. Closing night will take place at the Writers Guild Theater at 135 S. Doheny in Beverly Hills.

JURY
Alessandro Ago is the Director of Programming and Special Projects at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts, where he hosts film screenings and Q&As, film festivals, guest speaker engagements and special events. Ago curates Outside the Box [Office], a screening series dedicated to bringing the best contemporary international, documentary and independent cinema to USC. He recently produced festivals celebrating the work of John Wayne and Roger Corman, as well as world cinema showcases focusing on Japan, Italy, Bollywood and the Middle East.

Anikó Imre is an Associate Professor of Critical Studies at University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. Her main interests are global media and cultural studies. Her published and forthcoming books include Identity Games: Globalization and the Transformation of Media Cultures in the New Europe; East European Cinemas; Transnational Feminism in Film and Media; The Blackwell Companion to East European Cinemas and Popular Television in Eastern and Southern Europe. She co-edits the Palgrave book series Global Cinemas.

Johnny E. Jensen, ASC, is a director of photography who has worked in the motion picture industry for over forty years. In 1991, he did the cinematography for RAMBLING ROSE, which received Oscar nominations for Laura Dern and Diane Ladd and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best cinematography. He was nominated for Emmy and ASC awards for AN AMERICAN STORY and INTO THE BADLANDS (1991). GRUMPY OLD MEN (1993), LOST IN YONKERS (1993), ROSEWOOD (1997) and THE GAMES OF THEIR LIVES (2005) are among his other works. Jensen has also worked as a director of films for television, such as the award-winning THE DITCHDIGGER’S DAUGHTERS (1997). He presently works in both features and television.

Robert Koehler is a film critic and festival programmer. He served as an instructor and programmer for UCLA Extension’s Sneak Preview program from 2003-2007. In 2003, he developed the innovative film program, “The Films That Got Away,” an ongoing series presenting significant recent work that has previously not screened in Los Angeles. In 2009, Koehler was appointed director of programming at AFI Fest Los Angeles. He is a founding member in the festival consultancy firm, Festworks. Koehler was a theater critic for the LA Weekly and Los Angeles Times during the 1980s and 1990s. He has been a contributor to Variety since 1994. As a published film critic, he has written for numerous publications including Variety, Cahiers du Cinema and Die Tagezeitung. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. He has served on festival juries in Cannes, Berlin, Vancouver, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Palm Springs, Bermuda and Miami.

In the last decade, Lev L. Spiro has directed multiple one-hour drama and half-hour comedy pilots and episodes for both network and cable television. Episodic television work includes numerous episodes of the acclaimed series Weeds, Arrested Development, Ugly Betty, Everybody Hates Chris, The O.C., Gilmore Girls, and many more. Original television pilots include Do Over and the drama Summerland for the WB network, and most recently Jane By Design for ABC Family. In 2008, Spiro directed the action/comedy feature MINUTEMEN, which was nominated by the Director’s Guild for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. The following year he directed the film WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE: THE MOVIE, which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.

INDUSTRY PANEL
PRESENTED BY ELMA Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood
The age of global interconnectedness is shaping the ways films are made, distributed and exhibited in the US and abroad, while the dividing lines between foreign films, independent productions and Hollywood studio films are beginning to blur. For the first time in the history of American cinema, Hollywood studios have set up international offices to facilitate local productions filmed in the local language. Similarly, foreign films may be facing a newly kindled interest in the US. While still marginal players in the US distribution and exhibition domains, foreign films may have a growing effect on both studio and independent domestic filmmaking. This panel addresses questions on the future potential of foreign films in the broader international market.

Peter Caranicas (Moderator) is Deputy Editor of Variety, with responsibility of the paper’s weekly edition as well as its features department, which publishes over 200 special sections annually. He also writes Variety’s Inside Production column, which appears every Tuesday, and Variety’s Inside Production online newsletter. Previously Caranicas was editor of Below the Line, Shoot, Film&Video and other industry publications. He is a frequent guest at industry panels and has freelanced for such outlets as TVNewsCheck, World Screen, and the New York Times Encyclopedia of Television.

Klara Beverly is an independent producer, industry consultant at the European Cultural Fund since 2002, and the owner of Atlantis Entertainment based in the Czech Republic, specializing in releasing European and art house films. Beverly co-produced ROOM IN ROME (2010) by Julio Medem (Spain) and LA VIDA DE LOS PECES by Matias Bize (Chile).

Advertising executive Scott Edwards has over 13 years of experience in the motion picture marketing industry. Currently, he is Senior Producer at AV Squad in Sherman Oaks. Recent work includes trailers for CAPTAIN AMERICA, APOLLO 18, THE KING’S SPEECH, among others, as well as TV campaigns for FAST FIVE, HANNA, SCREAM 4, and THOR. Prior to his work with AV Squad, he served as Vice President of Creative Advertising at New Line Cinema.

Heidi Van Lier has made three independent feature films and is currently editing her fourth. She is the author of The Indie Film Rule Book (available on amazon.com), a strategic guide to truly independent filmmaking. She currently writes for FilmThreat.com and travels the country on jury duty and panels for film festivals. She is part of the programming team for the Slamdance Film Festival where she won the Grand Jury Prize for her first film, CHI GIRL (1999).

Dionisis Samiotis’ filmography as a producer includes over 25 feature films, most of them critically acclaimed and in the top 10 in the Greek box office including LAGFF’s Closing Night presentation BURNING HEADS (2011), A TOUCH OF SPICE (Politiki Kouzina) (2003), BEWARE OF GREEKS (2000) FROM THE EDGE OF THE (1998), BALKANISATEUR (1997). He has also served as associate producer in Costa Gavras’ film EDEN IS WEST (2008) and co-producer in a number of international co-productions.

David Spitz is the Executive Vice President of Theatrical Distribution at Lionsgate Films, the leading independent film entertainment studio. A 20-year industry veteran, Spitz began his career as a film buyer for Mann Theatres. Drawing on his background in exhibition, he now oversees the formulation and implementation of distribution strategy for all Lionsgate features. He was closely involved in the release of such diverse critical and box office hits as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, FAHRENHEIT 9/11, 3:10 TO YUMA, and the Academy Award-winning CRASH. More recently, he has also supervised the distribution of the SAW and Tyler Perry franchises.

Peter Trinh started his career in the entertainment business working at The Burstein Company, an artist management company, and then moved to TV production at G4 TV, the channel devoted to video games. From there, Trinh was accepted into the agent trainee program at International Creative Management (ICM). Today, Trinh works in ICM’s International and Independent Film division helping to arrange distribution deals for independent films.
Tickets

For more information, including how to purchase Panel tickets, Screening Passes and Elite Passes, please visit http://lagff.org

ABOUT LAGFF
The 5th annual Los Angeles Film Festival 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. www.lagreekfilmfestival.org

ABOUT ELMA
ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America) is a Santa Monica based nonprofit organization dedicated to showcasing European movies. ELMA’s mission is to create new avenues for better cultural understanding between the people of Europe and the USA by
celebrating alternative cinema. www.elma.org

Still from "Pelican's Watch"

Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) has announced the 2011 line-up of films for its 5th annual Festival, which runs June 9-12 at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.

In recent years, the Greek American diaspora has made leaps and bounds in the fields of art and science, playing an active role in the advancement of modern Greek culture in the USA and around the world.

LAGFF is witnessing a new wave of Greek Cinema emerging from an irreverent generation of young filmmakers who insist on breaking ties with past trends and seeing things in their own unique way. The results are impressive and include recognition in global film circles and the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that nominated Yorgos Lanthimos’ DOGTOOTH in the foreign language film category.

This year, seven feature films, five documentaries and nine shorts, including three world premieres, ten US premieres and eight LA premieres will be presented during the 4-day Festival. The Festival has also added an industry panel “Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood” to the schedule this year.
“This year’s films represent all facets of Greek life – humor, music, wine, erotica, and family… with a twist! Los Angeles audiences will not be disappointed,” says Ersi Danou, LAGFF co-founder. “The growing Greek film community is rapidly proving itself a formidable source of truly groundbreaking cinema and I am proud to help bring these incredible works to the Los Angeles screen.” states Owen Ward, Director of Programming.
Opening night gala will showcase Lea Binzer’s documentary PELICAN’S WATCH about a small community of elders on the island of Santorini charged with the unique duty to preserve the traditions of vine-growing and winemaking in the face of changing times that threaten their ancient and world renowned art. The screening will be followed by a reception featuring some of the top Greek wines.
Santorini winemakers and the filmmakers are expected to attend. On Friday June 10, LAGFF presents the US premiere of Roy Sher’s MY SWEET CANARY, a documentary that recounts the story of Roza Eskenazy, the Diva of Rebetiko or “Greek Blues,” whose music shaped the soundtrack of Greece and Asia Minor for almost a century.
The legendary music composer Mikis Theodorakis will be presented with a Honorary Orpheus Award during the awards ceremony on Sunday, June 12, at the Writers Guild Theatre.

The award acknowledges the man’s iconic status as a leading figure in a nation’s struggle for freedom and peace as well as his
body of work in the world of music and contribution to world cinema with scores for milestone films such as Z, SERPICO, STATE OF SIEGE, and ZORBA THE GREEK. Accepting the Orpheus on his behalf will be Asteris Koutoulas, a longtime collaborator as well as the director of the featured documentary MIKIS THEODORAKIS, COMPOSER, which will be shown on Saturday, June 11.
The Festival comes to a close Sunday, June 12 at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills with a Gala event and world premiere of BURNING HEADS (To Gala), directed by Giorgos Siougas. This poignant story, based on the Greek play To Gala by Katsikonouris is a hardcore look at immigration and resulting family dynamics in Greece today.
Immediately preceding the feature LAGFF will host its closing night Orpheus Awards ceremony, hosted by comedian Angelo Tsarouchas. The evening ends with sumptuous Mediterranean food reception. The reception, to be sponsored by world-renowned Greek-owned Earth Friendly Products, will be green-themed in support of green action in Greece and around the world.
Co-founder Angeliki Giannakopoulos adds, “We are also pleased to expand the festival beyond the Greek borders to address the changes that are happening within the independent film distribution arena as a whole. We have added the “Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood‟ panel with experts who are able to address new avenues outside the traditional route.” While still marginal players in the US distribution and exhibition domains, foreign films have a growing effect on both studio and independent domestic filmmaking, shown by an increasing number of international co-productions and Hollywood studio remakes.

The 5th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) runs from June 9-12 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, located at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles. Closing night will take place at the Writers Guild Theater at 135 S. Doheny in Beverly Hills.
Tickets can be purchased online via the LAGFF website at LAGFF.org beginning Tuesday, May 10, 2011.
Elite Pass Members are $300 online and $350 at the door (includes VIP preferred seating to all films, opening and closing night tickets, and access to all events – industry, panel and seminar). General film tickets are $12 each. For more information, including how to purchase Screening Passes, Event information and Elite Passes, please visit http://lagff.org
LAGFF 2011 Program Page 3

LAGFF Full Schedule:

Opening Night Film:

PELICAN’S WATCH (I Vardia tou Pelekanou)
Greece, 2011, 67 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Lea Binzer
[TRAILER]

A small community of elders on the island of Santorini is charged with the unique duty to preserve the traditions of vine-growing and winemaking in the face of changing times that threaten their ancient and world-renowned art.

13th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival: Honrary Mention by ERT 3 (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation)

Closing Night Film

BURNING HEADS (To Gala)
Greece, 2011, 99 min, World Premiere
Director: George Siougas
Producers: Christos Konstadakopoulos, Manos Krezias, Kostas Labropoulos, Dionisis Samiotis

When Russian immigrant Adonis introduces his bride-to-be to his mother and schizophrenic brother, deep-rooted rifts within their family explode as Adonis seeks to ease his guilt and his mother tries to restore the bond their family once knew in their long-lost homeland.

Fiction features

A WOMAN’S WAY (Strella)
Greece, 2009, 113 min, LA Premiere
Director/Producer: Panos Koutras

When Yorgos is released from prison and seeks his estranged son, he meets and falls in love with the matriarchal transsexual Strella, discovering that the two have much more in common than expected and that she might even offer the key to his lost happiness.

BILOBA
Greece, 2009, 97 min, LA Premiere
Director: Sofia Papchristou
Producer: Sofia Papachristou, Stavros Meleas

Engineer Peter sets off to build a power generator fueled by toxic waste on an uncharted island, but unexpectedly finds magic amongst the backward islanders and is faced with a difficult choice.

Thessaloniki Film Festival 2009: Audience Award

THE DEATH I DREAMED OF (O Thanatos pou Oneireythika)
Greece, 2010, 94 min, LA Premiere
Director/Producer: Panagiotis Kravvas

Based on a true story, this horror tale follows a group of teenagers as they encounter a mysterious stranger who at first gathers them in a celebration of the occult but eventually unleashes a very real display of death and destruction.

HARISMA
Greece, 2010, 83 min, LA Premiere
Director: Christina Ioakeimidi
Producer: Alexandra Boussiou

When unsophisticated bus driver Haris thrusts himself into the seemingly controlled life of young teacher Ismini, both have to abandon their safety nets in order to find true love in this light-hearted comedy.

KNIFER (Macherovgaltis)
Greece, 2010, 108 min, US Premiere
Director: Yannis Economides
Producer: Panos Papahadzis

In this artful B&W account of a decaying middle class, Nikos moves in with his brutish uncle to guard his dogs, but soon finds out that he must pull himself together in order to set things right.

WITHOUT BORDERS (Horis Sinora)
Greece, 2010, 97 min, US Premiere
Director: Nick Gaitatjis
Producers: John Apostolou, Sandra Staggs

With the help of his eccentric cousin, Thanasis embarks on a journey across continents in search of his six-year-old adopted daughter, redefining the meaning of familial love along the way.

Documentaries

THE GAME MUST GO ON (Ta Paidia Den Paizei)
Greece, 2010, 80 min, LA Premiere
Director: Angeli Andrikopoulou, Argyris Tsepelikas
Producer: Rea Apostolides
[TRAILER]

Tired of being hassled by their neighbors for playing soccer in the streets, an ambitious group of children set out to build a playing field of their own by daring what most adults would not: Cutting through the red tape and going up against the machine of local politics.

MIKIS THEODORAKIS, COMPOSER (Mikis Theodorakis, Komponist)
Germany, 2010, 53 min, US Premiere
Directors: Asteris Kutulas, Klaus Salge
Producer: Klaus Salge

This in-depth portrait of Mikis Theodorakis explores the roots of the life and work of Greece’s legendary composer whose music became identified with the struggles of a nation torn by war and strife in the 20th Century.

MY SWEET CANARY
Israel/France/Greece, 2011, 89 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Roy Sher
[TRAILER]

The story of Roza Eskenazy, the Diva of Rebetiko or “Greek Blues,” whose music shaped the soundtrack of Greece and Asia Minor for almost a century is unveiled through the journey of three modern musicians who retrace her steps and perform her songs.

WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY *
USA, 2010, 80 min
Directors: Will Hess, Terry Dougas, Nikki Frakes
Producers: Paris Latsis, Will Hess, Nikki Frakes, Terry Dougas

Get up close and personal with Stan Lee, the artist behind world-famous Marvel comics and comic book favorites like Spiderman and The Fantastic Four in this star-studded documentary that explores how one of today’s great creative minds came to be.

Short films

1.2 MILLION CHILDREN (1.2 Ekatommyria Paidia)
Greece, 2010, 3 min, US Premiere (Animated)
Director: Effie Pappa
Producers: Effie Pappa, Stelios Polychronakis

This animated short brings light to the tragic issue of children being bought and sold across international borders.

6th Animfest 2010: 2nd Animation Award
EBGE Hellenic Graphic Design & Animation Awards: Special Merit Award

13 ½
Greece, 2010, 21 min, US Premiere
Director: Haris Vafeiadis
Producer: Yiannis Exintaris

The road to adulthood is fraught with peril for this young teenage girl who comes to understand the value of her lost innocence.

Greek Federation of Film Societies Drama Film Festival: 2nd Fiction, Best Female Performance, Best Film)

ALTER *
Greece, 2011, 9 min, World Premiere
Director: Petros Antoniadis
Producers: Maria Vlachaki, George Antoniadis

An unconventional artist finds that he must embrace all parts of his psyche in order to reach fulfillment.

COMMENTARY *
USA/Canada, 2010, 8 min, World Premiere
Director: Jonathan Crow
Producer: John Kapelos, Ira Miller

What starts as a simple behind-the-scenes commentary recording session between a film producer and director becomes a hilarious conflict of personal relationships.

MARIOS AND THE RAVEN
Greece, 2010, 22 min, US Premiere
Director/Producer: Yiannis Bougioukas

On his 53rd birthday, Marios seems to have everything he ever wished for- until a bird dropping from the blue reveals his happiness to be far more fragile than it seemed.

16th International Short Film Festival in Drama 2010: Best South and Eastern Europe Film Award
33rd National Short Film Festival in Drama 2010: Best Actor (Errikos Litsis)

PYRAMIDS OF ATHENS (Pyramides tis Athinas)
Greece, 2010, 15 min
Director/Producer: Yolanda Markopoulou

A young Egyptian immigrant in Athens observes suspicious activity in the abandoned building where he is squatting and decides to take matters into his own hands despite language and cultural barriers.

RF
Greece, 2010, 20 min, US Premiere
Director: Stavros Liokalos
Producer: Ekso Productions

One man simply trying to adjust his TV antenna sets off a chain of comic events that bring an entire apartment community together.

THE DOG (O Skylos)
Greece, 2009, 23 min, US Premiere
Director: Nikos Charalabopoulos (aka Labot)
Producers: Nikos Charalabopoulos, Louizos Aslanidis

The arrival of a young suitor and his dog means war for a father who compulsively protects his only daughter.

WHAT TIME WILL YOU BE BACK? (Ti Ora tha Gyrisis?)
Greece, 2010, 20 min, US Premiere
Director: Maritina Passari
Producer: Panayiotis Karabinis

When Eurydice rebels against her mother to follow her dream of becoming a punk-rock singer, she realizes that the mother-daughter relationship is not one-way.

NOTE: All films include English subtitles, except (*) indicates English original language.

“We are excited to celebrate this milestone anniversary and invite filmmakers everywhere to submit their short, documentary and feature films. In the past we have had premieres from several countries outside of Greece and Cyprus, including Australia, England, France, Germany, Japan and the U.S. The Greek culture’s artistic influence can be found worldwide.” said Matt Bolish, Programmer.

To qualify, feature, documentary and short film submissions must have been completed within three years prior to 2011 with a prevalent Greek theme or by Greek filmmakers (or of Greek/Cypriot decent) including directors, writers, producers or actors (in starring roles), (co-directors, co-writers and co-producers are also eligible).

For full rules and regulations on how to submit your film please visit the LAGFF website.

The 5th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (June 10th -13th, 2010) showcases new films from Greek filmmakers worldwide. LAGFF’s foremost goal is to promote Greek cinema and cultural exchange while bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood. This year LAGFF will offer a diverse program of films, a panel discussion and a tribute to a prominent filmmaker.

In addition to showcasing Greek films and culture, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival works to expose its visiting filmmakers to the entertainment business. The special panel series and popular One-on-One Program offer participants – both seasoned veterans and first time filmmakers – the invaluable opportunity to interact with working industry players in an intimate setting.

2010 Industry Participants:

Matthew Buzzell – Documentary filmmaker

Terry Dougas – Producer

John D. Eraklis – Founder & CEO of Exodus Film Group

Lynette Howell – Producer, Co-Founded Silverwood Films

Barbara Johns – Screenwriter

Kevin Koloff – Entertainment lawyer

Gideon Lockspeiser – Director of Motion Picture Delivery for Paramount Pictures

George Vitetzakis (Zakk) – President, and Creative Director of An Olive Branch Productions, Inc

Orpheus Awards are given to the most outstanding new films in the dramatic, documentary and short film categories. Named for the legendary Greek poet and “father of songs,” the Orpheus Award is the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival’s annual prize intended to honor the best in Greek and Greek inspired cinema. Since the Festival’s inception in 2007 the awards night has become an integral event serving to highlight the art and artists who are changing the way we think about film. Past Orpheus Award Juries have included producers, directors, noted film critics, and award winning actors including: Stratton Leopold (Producer), Joan Churchill (Director/Cinematographer), Steven Peros (Screenwriter), Valorie Massalas (Producer/Casting Director), and Mike Goodridge (Film Critic, Screen International).

The event’s attendees included names such as Academy Award winners Alexander Payne and George Tsakiris, Alexis Georgoulis, Penelope Spheris, Costas Mandylor, Demetri Martin, Jim Gianopoulos, John Aniston.

Jim Gianopulos, President & CEO of Fox with John Aniston

Phaedon Papamichael was honored with the career achievement award presented to him by his good friend, Alexander Payne.

The audience choice for best feature film was awarded to Renos Haralambidis’s Four Black Suits

Plato’s Academy, a film that tells the story of a Greek man who suddenly discovers that his family actually came from Albania won the best feature film Orpheus Award.

The short film who won an Orpheus Award was Colossi of Love.

Patricia Kara, of Deal or No Deal hosted the award ceremony.

"Deal or No Deal's" Patricia Kara

LAGFF Closing Night, including the star-studded Orpheus Awards ceremony, 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.

Joining them on the red carpet will be such luminaries as John Aniston, Alexandra Cassavetes, Costas Mandylor, George Chakiris, Seymour Cassell, Gena Rowlands, Demetri Martin, Andrew Panay, Ariana Savalas, Angelo Tsarouchas, Alexia Vassilou and many more…

The Awards will be followed by the festival’s closing night film, Plato’s Academy, a poignant often funny look at attitudes toward immigration. We cap the evening off with a dinner reception under the stars in the courtyard of the legendary Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood.

Plus – Free Screenings

LAGFF and the American Hellenic Council are pleased to announce several free screenings at this year’s festival. RSVP is still required, click here to get your free tickets.

LABOUR OF LOVE
Director: Pol Sklavos

Greece 2007: Wildfires rage across the country leaving behind a smoldering countryside and lasting emotional scars. The Mayor of Kalivia sets aside petty politics and begins to reclaim the land inspiring Greeks the world over one tree at a time. The Greek community of Los Angeles raised $50,000, which went directly to the project.

WORDS OF RESISTANCE (Logos Kai Antistasi)
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.

PLUNDER FROM A BLEEDING LAND
(Leilatontas mia Matomeni Hora)
Director: Takis Papayiannidis

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.