2009 FEATURES
ATHANASIA-WELL KEPT SECRETS
(Athanasia-Kala Krymmena Mystika)
Greece/USA, 2008, 95 min, 35mm, US Premiere
Director: Panos Karkanevatos
Athanasia, a Greek woman living in New York, keeps her secret well hidden in her heart; but when her daughter visits the Aegean birthplace, she discovers her mother’s past forbidden love, whose mystery still lies within the steep rocks of the beautiful island.
FIPRESCI Award, 2008 Thessaloniki Film Festival
ELLI MAKRA-42277 WUPPERTAL
Germany, 2007, 80 min, DVD, US Premiere
Director: Athanasios Karanikolas
Caught between two national identities in the grim German town of Wuppertal, Elli Makra dreams of returning to the homeland. When her sister goes to Greece to care for their ailing father, leaving her teenage daughter under her care, Elli embarks on a journey to seek an altogether new identity, her own.
Best Actress Award, 2007 Thessaloniki Film Festival
GOODNIGHT IRENE
Portugal, 2008, 98 min, Digibeta, LA Premiere
Director: Paolo Marinou-Blanco
An ageing, failed English actor living in Lisbon and a disaffected young locksmith compete over beautiful Irene, a local painter whose zest for life has pulled them both out of their reclusive existence. When Irene inexplicably disappears, the two men must join forces to find her, embarking on a journey to an unlikely friendship.
Official Selection, Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008
GUINNESS
Greece, 2009, 94 min, 35mm, US Premiere
Director: Alexis Kardaras
Threatened by his debtors and driven by greed, a charming gambler arrives at a middle-of-nowhere tavern, in search of a case of gold. Instead, he attracts the tavern owner’s unhappy wife, whose affection complicates his plan and perpetuates his spell of misfortune.
I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY
USA, 2009, World Premiere
Director: Nia Vardalos
Nia Vardalos and John Corbett star in a love story set in Manhattan where a florist, who abides by a strict five-date limit with any man, finds herself wanting more with the new restauranteur in town.
RUN IT
USA, 2008, 110 min, Digibeta, LA Premiere
Director: Evangelos Giovanis and George Giovanis
Over the course of an unforgiving day, a young boy, a substitute teacher and two thugs get tangled up in a series of violent crimes that unexpectedly bind them together.
SMALL CRIME
(Mikro Egklima)
Greece/Cyprus/Germany, 2008, 85 min, 35mm, LA Premiere
Director: Christos Georgiou
Stuck on a sleepy island where nothing ever happens, an overeager young policeman is looking for some action. When an old man is found dead following what looks like a simple accident, he takes it upon himself to launch an investigation.
Variety Critics Choice, Karlovy Vary Int. Film Festival
VALSE SENTIMENTALE
Greece, 2007, 107 min, 35mm, LA Premiere
Director: Constantina Voulgaris
Two young Athenians living on the fringe of society, meet each other unexpectedly. As the unfamiliar feeling of love starts creeping in, so does the fear of intimacy.
Official Selection, 2008 New Directors/New Films
2009 DOCUMENTARIES
VALSE SENTIMENTALE
Greece, 2007, 107 min, 35mm, LA Premiere
Director: Constantina Voulgaris
Two young Athenians living on the fringe of society, meet each other unexpectedly. As the unfamiliar feeling of love starts creeping in, so does the fear of intimacy.
Official Selection, 2008 New Directors/New Films
CHAMELEON BEACH
(Kamaeleonernes Strand)
Denmark, 2008, 52 min, Beta SP, US Premiere
Director: Adam Schmedes
On a beautiful Greek beach, a small population of African chameleons is fighting to survive, in fierce competition with a growing tourist industry that threatens to destroy the fragile environment and drive the species to extinction.
NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO & VILMOS
USA, 2008, 97 min, 35mm
Director: James Chressanthis
An intimate portrait following the friendship of renowned Hungarian cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond, across a 50 year-old journey of image-making that helped define a new American film aesthetic.
Official Selection, 2008 Cannes Film Festival
ON THE EDGE
(Kami Hito E-On the Edge)
Japan, 2009, 22 min, US Premiere
Director: Basile Doganis
A young rapper moves to Tokyo with dreams of making it big. Disheartened by the harshness of the megalopolis, he is about to give up, when he meets Ky-chi who takes him under his wing.
T FOR TROUBLE AND THE SELF ADMIRATION SOCIETY
Greece, 2009, 108 min, Digibeta, US Premiere
Director: Dimitris Athiridis
An in-depth portrait of Terry Papadinas, a Greek-American musician who rose to stardom in the 60’s Greek rock scene. Today, living on the fringe of society, he dares to look back at his own misgivings and failures in complete honesty.
THEMIS
Greece, 2009, 85 min, Digibeta, US Premiere
Director: Marco Gastine
For the very first time, a camera is allowed inside the Athens Court, within which small dramas of everyday life unfold, revealing a microcosmos of modern Greek society.
Official Selection, ACID, 2009 Cannes Film Festival
THE NIGHT FERNANDO PESSOA MET CONSTANTINE CAVAFY
Greece, 2007, 90 min, Digibeta, LA Premiere
Director: Stelios Charalambopoulos
On 21 October 1929, the ocean liner “Saturnia” sails from Trieste on its voyage to America, picking up immigrants from the ports of the Mediterranean, along with their dreams of the New World. There, an equally dreamlike encounter will take place, between two of the greatest poets of the 20th century, Fernando Pessoa and Constantine Cavafy.
Best Documentary, Greek State Quality Awards 2008
2009 SHORTS
I AM GAY
(Jag Är Bög)
Sweden, 2008, 15 min, 35mm, LA Premiere
Director: Nicolas Kolovos
A humorous glimpse into a young man’s dilemma about how to reveal his secret to his Greek-Swedish family.
MARIZA (Digital Animation)
Greece/Australia, 2008, 5 min, Beta SP, US Premiere
Director: Constantine Krystallis
A fisherman faces his donkey’s obstinacy.
ONE NIGHT TOGETHER
Greece, 2009, 13 min, 35mm, LA Premiere
Director: Eleftheria Astrinaki
A smuggler of illegal immigrants gets more than he bargained for, when one of the two young brothers he transports across the Turkish-Greek border dies mid-journey.
STREET BATTLE
(Odomachia)
Greece, 2008, 14 min, Digibeta, US Premiere
Director: Christos Kanakis
A salesman with no time to lose, rushes home from work, eager to catch a soccer match on TV. When his car breaks down in the middle of the countryside, his entire existence starts falling apart.
SYNTAGMA
Greece, 2008, 8 min, 35mm, US Premiere
Director: Christina Ioakeimidi
A poetic look at a young woman’s growing anticipation, as she heads off to meet a former lover in the heart of bustling Athens.
THE GRANDFATHER
(Der Grossvater)
Germany, 2009, 20 min, Digibeta, World Premiere
Director: Nikias Chryssos
A young man and his hard-edged grandfather meet at the crossroads of life and death.
WE CALL HER DAISY
UK, 2008, 23 min, Digibeta, US Premiere
Director: Stefan Georgiou
A young woman gives birth to a stillborn child and mourns it in her very own way.