** Orpheus Awards & Celebration **
LOS ANGELES, CA [June 12, 2023] - The red carpet Closing Night of the 17th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) on Sunday, June 11, at the Silver Screen Theatre, Pacific Design Center, featured the LA Premiere of an award-winning film LISTEN (Greece, 2022) written and directed by Maria Douza. Douza and actors Efthalia Papakosta and Dimitris Kitsos were in attendance.
The 2023 Orpheus Award ceremony followed the screening and was emceed by AFI’s Chris Schwartz. Guests included VIPs, celebrities, dignitaries, jurors, sponsors, filmmakers from Greece and Cyprus, and international filmmakers of Greek descent. A lively reception catered by Nick The Greek concluded the evening.
LAGFF 2023 included films, filmmakers, Masterclasses, Workshops, events and a virtual screenings program following the Festival. “Over the past 17 years, LAGFF has screened over 650 films and hosted over 550 filmmakers supporting their films,” Festival Director Aris Katopodis stated. “The Festival is getting bigger, stronger and bolder. Over 80 films were either screened or available on our platform. While looking outwards, LAGFF is expanding its collaborations with many US-based and international institutions.”
LAGFF 2023 Trailer Montage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vwBNFdlONA
(Edited by Nasos Gatzoulis. Original music by Enter Tarot. Amaechi Titus Ottiji)
In late 2022, LAGFF launched the Global Greek Film Initiative (GGFI) designed to establish an array of new annual programs to promote cultural exchange between Greece, the US and the Hellenic Diaspora, service opportunities for employment and economic growth within Greece.
And The Winners Are.
Fiction Feature Film
Best Fiction Film LISTEN by Maria Douza
Special Jury Award for Best Film
IMAN by Corinna Avraamidouand Kyriakos Tofarides
Best Director
Panos Koutras for DODO
Honourable Mention for Best Director
Spiros Jacovides for Black Stone
Best Performance
Efthalia Papacosta for Listen
Honourable Mention for Best Performance
Stephanie Atala for IMAN
Documentaries
Best Documentary
The Other Half by Giorgos Moutafis – (from the online slate)
Special Jury Prize for Documentary Directing
Queen of the Deuce by Valorie Kontakos
Short Films
Best Short
Pebble by Karina Logothetis
Special Jury Award
Air Hostess - 737 by Thanasis Neofotistos
Honourable Mention
5 pm Seaside by Valentin Stejskal
Animation
Best Animation
My Mother the Sea by Aspasia Kazeli
Honourable Mention
The Trojan Horace by Scott Graham
Audience Award –
DOCUMENTARY FILM
Venizelos: the Struggle for Asia Minor
SHORT FILM
Share For Me
FEATURE FILM
Black Stone
Discovery Days, formerly the International Project Discovery Forum (IPDF), is a Los Angeles pioneer in promoting international independent film development. It is the industry section of the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. Utilizing the innumerable cinematic resources in Los Angeles, the mission is to create a bridge between two very different worlds – those of American and European independent cinema.
The 2023 Jury: Producer & Sundance’s Catalyst Program Director Giulia Caruso, Programmer-Producer Drea Clark (A VIEW OF THE WORLD FROM FIFTH AVENUE), Director Yannis Sakaridis
(AMERIKA SQUARE) and Filmmaker-Editor Nicole Otero (SLIP).
DISCOVERY DAYS Co-Founder/Director Araceli Lemos states, “The ninth edition of Discovery Days brought six unique projects that are currently in development to Los Angeles to be workshopped and presented to industry professionals here. We thank the filmmakers for trusting us to help them with their stories during this exciting and vulnerable stage. I am always amazed by how large a leap forward the filmmakers take, thanks to the support of the generous, creative community that has been built around the lab throughout the years.”
Winner:
The jury was impressed by this film's ability to weave cultural specificity into a contemporary world, to bridge ancient stories with fresh resonance. It reminded us all of the devastating yet critical moment when we finally see our parents as imperfect beings. And yet all of these themes are inside of an adventure we all want to go on with our families. With a very clever title to boot. We are happy to grant the Discovery Days award to A Girl Named Zeus by Nikos Dayandas.
Honourable Mention:
We give honourable mention to a project that shows a lot of promise in its premise, perspective, and ambition. We hope this acknowledgment will encourage you to take your ideas to script, to craft an exceptional cast of characters to support all the nuance in the world you want to create. Our honorable mention is Story from A Southern Coast by Alki Politi.
ABOUT: LAGFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that focuses it’s attention to bringing films and filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus, and the rest of the world to the United States. LAGFF runs from June 3-11, 2023. For more information, visit www.lagff.org
IMAGES:
LISTEN Director Maria Douza with the film stars Efthalia Papakosta and Dimitris Kitsos
Discovery Days 2023 Group photo and Filmmakers - attached photo:
Iris Baglanea, Jeff Stockwell, Karina Logothetis, Nasos Gatzoulis, Isabella Margara, Fokion Bogris, Nikos Dayandas, Dimitris Tsakaleas, Lida Vartzioti, Araceli Lemos, Alki Politi, Joel Garber, Katerina Kiagia (Photo by Urbanite LA)
ABOUT: LAGFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that focuses its attention on bringing films and filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus, and the rest of the world to the United States. LAGFF runs from June 3-11, 2023. For more information, visit www.lagff.org
