New York Greek Film Expo
The New York Greek Film Expo opens this week. Presented by Hellenic Film Society USA (HFS), the annual Expo runs October 3-13 in three theaters in the New York metro area.
Hosted by award-winning Greek actor Thanos Tokakis, the Expo features screenings of the latest Greek films at the Village East Cinema in Manhattan, NY; the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, NJ, and the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Astoria, NY.
Expo highlights
The Expo features 13 screenings of nine highly acclaimed Greek films, and one short. HFS will present their Lifetime Achievement Award to award-winning actress Vangelio Andreadaki. Throughout her four-decade career, she has embraced a wide range of roles, bringing her characters to life through memorable performances.
There will be an Opening Night Reception, sponsored by Axia Spirit. On October 7, the Consulate of Greece in New York will host a reception and discussion, “A Conversation with Thanos Tokakis”. Two films, Animal (2023) and Fonissa (2023), will be co-presented in a special partnership with New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT).
Throughout the Expo, there will be opportunities to meet the filmmakers and some of the actors. They’ll attend and participate in audience Q&As following screenings of their films.
Village East Cinema lineup
On Opening Night, Tokakis will kick off the festivities. Andreadaki will accept the Lifetime Achievement Award, then the film Little Things That Went Wrong (2023) will be screened. The story follows two fathers from opposite ends of the social scale who come together in a situation that captures the desperation lurking in each man’s psyche. Stay after, as director Haris Vafeiadis and lead actor Tokakis discuss the film with the audience.
Friday, October 4 features the screening of Animal (2023), co-presented by New York Women in Film & Television (NWIFT). It follows an aging, modestly talented entertainer who realizes that it is time to give up her career. After, there will be an audience Q&A with lead producer Maria Drandaki.
There will be two screenings and discussions on Saturday, October 5. First up is The Last Taxi Driver (2023), about a middle-aged cab driver grappling with his thwarted ambitions suddenly finds his life upended when he witnesses the suicide of one of his customers. Lead actor Kostas Koronaios will be in attendance to discuss the film. After, moviegoers can see the short, The Armchair on the Pavement, directed and written by Mary Kolonia, about an elderly ex-army general suffering from dementia whose memories of youth are sparked by an old song on the radio. Then see the evening feature, Athens Midnight Radio (2024), followed by an audience Q&A with director-actor Renos Haralambidis. It’s about a radio announcer who, on his 50th birthday, uses the air waves to find the woman he loved and lost years ago.
On Sunday, October 6, there will be three screenings and filmmaker discussions. First up is Guest Star (2023), a satirical dark comedy that centers on the hapless son of famous actors who is given a chance to earn his own place in the public eye by hosting a late-night TV talk show, followed by an audience Q&A with director and lead actor Vasilis Christofilakis. Then see The Promotion (2023), about a university professor who, when promoted to a higher rank, invites his father to travel with him to attend the promotion ceremony. The trip offers ample time to reassess their lives. A Q&A with director Periklis Choursoglou and lead actress Vangelio Andreadaki follows. The weekend wraps with a screening of The Rhapsodist, about a storyteller who captivates barroom patrons with stories that are as zany as they are entertaining, followed by an audience Q&A with director Nikolai Hamel and Tokakis.
Barrymore Film Center
The Expo moves to the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, NJ for two nights, for encore screenings of Little Things That Went Wrong and The Rhapsodist.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Expo culminates with a weekend of screenings and audience Q&As at the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY. Here, in the historical Greek heart of New York, four films will be shown.
On October 11, see an encore screening of Little Things That Went Wrong (2023), directed by Haris Vafeiadis.
The following evening, see Fonissa (2023). The box-office hit is based on the classic novel by Alexandros Papadiamantis. Despair over women’s oppressive living conditions in her island community circa 1900 drives a midwife to find a violent solution to confront the evils of a male-dominated society. Please note, due to the subject matter, this film is recommended for mature audiences only – themes of domestic violence, feminicide, and infanticide. Co-presented by New York Women in Film & Television (NWIFT), the screening will be followed by an audience Q&A with director Eva Nathena, visiting from Greece.
The New York Film Expo culminates on Sunday, October 13 with the screening of two films, including an encore screening of The Promotion. Then see the documentary Yani Spanos: Behind the Marquee, which examines the beloved composer in a song-filled documentary. After, take part in a Q&A with Director Aris Dorizas.
For schedules and tickets, visit www.hellenicfilmusa.org
New York Greek Film Expo 2024 is made possible with support from the Kallinikeion Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Microsoft, the Greek National Tourism Organization, Axia Spirit, ConnectOne Bank, NYWIFT (New York Women in Film & Television), the New York City Council, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr, Antenna Satellite, and the family of Nikos A. Andriotis. The New York Greek Film Expo is also funded in part by a grant from the New York City Tourism Foundation. It is also made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered by Flushing Town Hall.
Read more:
Award-winning Greek Actor Thanos Tokakis to Host New York Greek Film Expo 2024
