After reviewing a record 182 film submissions, the 13th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) programming team has announced its official selections.
The 2019 Festival will take place June 3 to 9 and includes fiction feature films and documentaries, short films, animation, industry-led panels and workshops in virtual reality and distribution.
“LAGFF is committed to exploring new avenues and collaborations in the world of film,” explains Artistic & Festival Director Aristotle Katopodis. “We continue to encourage and expose new filmmakers and offer new educational programs as we embark on our 13th year. Our slate of 47 feature films includes many first-time directors, multiple-awarded films, while four of our main films were created by women.”
The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center educational collaboration returns this year with the premiere screening of “The Right Picket of the Robe” by first-time feature film director Yiannis Lapatas, on June 3rd, following its premiere at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
The Opening Night at the Egyptian Theater on June 5th, features another first-time director Basile Doganis, who has screened several short films at LAGFF, presenting the North American Premiere of his film “Meltem.”
Watch the trailer of Meltem
The Closing Night film on Sunday, June 9th is from first-time director Nikos Labot with the West Coast Premiere of “Her Job”, a Greek-French production that has already been recognized and awarded globally.
See the full slate of films here
LAGFF will also launch this year a collaboration with AnimaSyros, the premier animation event in Greece and among the top 20 animation festivals worldwide. Encompassing educational programs, tours of its program internationally, Anima Syros animates the island of Syros every September.
Another addition to the weeklong Festival is the “Aspiring Local Filmmakers” section.
Keeping with tradition– it’s Hollywood, after all– the Festival includes three Red Carpet Events including the Orpheus Awards Ceremony, a Filmmaker’s Reception, a Brunch hosted by the Consul General of Greece, the International Project Discovery Forum (IPDF), Industry Panels, as well as premieres and screenings. Dimitra Kasdagli is the Festival’s new Programming and Festival Manager and Filmmaker Liaison.
When LAGFF was launched in 2007, there was minimal Greek presence in Hollywood. Their primary goal is to represent Greek cinema, culture and the new generation of Greek filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus and around the world in the creative capital of the world and to build a bridge of opportunity. Visit the festival’s website for more information and a complete schedule.
The Pappas Post’s Official Selection
“In This Land Nobody Knew How to Cry”
In the summer of 2021, a research group scouting for viable sites for development arrives at Armenaki Island, where people live with their own laws and their own moral values, having found happiness in a completely different way of life.
This is director Giorgos Panousopoulos’ eighth feature film which has been referred to as a “dreamlike comedy” entitled in Greek “S’Ayti Ti Hora Kanis Den Iksere Na Klei” (“In This Land Nobody Knew How to Cry”), which is a verse from a popular song written by acclaimed songwriter Akis Panou.
This is Panousopoulos’ first film after a 13-year hiatus from the Greek cinema scene.
The new film takes place exclusively on the idyllic island of Ikaria, which is well known for the high life expectancy of its inhabitants and their relaxed philosophy of life. Made internationally famous by Dan Butler and his Blue Zones project, Ikaria is one of the places in the world where residents famously “forget to die,” living well beyond 100 years old.
The real Ikaria is the setting for the film’s imaginary island of Armenaki, where a European official, Felix (Serge Requet-Barville), arrives with his assistant Aura (Margarita Panousopoulou) to examine the “investment opportunities” on the island.
He fall in love with a local widow, Chrysa (Foteini Tsakiri), while Aura meets her old, unrequited love, Italian architect Vitorio (Babis Chatzidakis), who for the past ten years has been a teacher on the island.
Through these two love stories, Panousopoulos, who also wrote the screenplay, introduces the audience to the Greek way of thinking and how it has been impacted by the financial crisis.
Watch the trailer
Is The Pappas Post worth $5 a month for all of the content you read? On any given month, we publish dozens of articles that educate, inform, entertain, inspire and enrich thousands who read The Pappas Post. I’m asking those who frequent the site to chip in and help keep the quality of our content high — and free. Click here and start your monthly or annual support today. If you choose to pay (a) $5/month or more or (b) $50/year or more then you will be able to browse our site completely ad-free!
Click here if you would like to subscribe to The Pappas Post Weekly News Update
