The Hellenic Film Society USA celebrates Greek cinema in many ways. Every year we host the New York Greek Film Expo, a Greek film festival for all New Yorkers, in theaters in the New York metropolitan area. In 2020 when the pandemic closed all movie theaters, we went virtual and streamed Greek films to a national audience. Greek Film Expo on Demand was the first-ever virtual Greek film festival in the US. We present monthly Greek film screenings at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Astoria, NY, as part of our Always on Sunday film series. We also help to bring Greek film festivals to Atlanta and other cities. In addition, we host Conversations About Film with leading Greek and Greek-American actors and directors, who are interviewed by film scholars and participate in Q&A sessions with our audience. It has been our great honor to host Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning director Costa-Gavras, and Emmy Award-winning producer Celia Costas for in-person interviews to sold-out audiences. We have also hosted panel discussions about film and filmmaking, including the works of John Cassavetes, with prominent panelists such as director John Sayles and film historian Foster Hirsch. We invite you to see what we’ve done and to plan to join us for some of our engaging upcoming events.
NEW YORK GREEK FILM EXPO
The New York Greek Film Expo is an annual Greek film festival for all New Yorkers. It’s a festive time when we screen the finest Greek films, host receptions for our audiences, and present panel discussions on interesting subjects related to film and filmmaking. Our audiences enjoy post-screening interviews with directors who we bring in from Greece to provide insights into their filmmaking. It is a privilege for us to share the finest Greek films with Greek and non-Greek audiences in New York metropolitan area theaters.
STREAMING GREEK FILMS
When it was impossible to present our annual film festival in theaters due to the pandemic, we made the bold decision to offer our films remotely. Our first venture was Greek Film Expo on Demand, the first-ever virtual Greek film festival in the US. This enabled us to stream into homes across the country where, until now, many didn’t have access to Greek films. Based on our audience’s enthusiastic response, we are currently exploring ways to continue an online film presence.
ALWAYS ON SUNDAY MONTHLY FILM SERIES
In partnership with the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY, the Hellenic Film Society presents Always on Sunday, a series of monthly screenings of Greek films. It’s an opportunity for us to share the richness of Greek cinema with audiences of all nationalities.
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT FILM
At the Hellenic Film Society, we’re about more than just presenting screenings of well-crafted Greek films. We also host interviews with Oscar-winning actors and directors, conversations among film historians and filmmakers, and panel discussions on filmmaking. We have presented one-on-one interviews with Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning director Costa-Gavras, and Emmy Award-winning producer Celia Costas. We led a retrospective panel discussion about the life and career of award-winning director John Cassavetes as well as a talk about the benefits of filming in Greece. Keep checking our schedule of upcoming events and please join us for our next conversation about film.
FILMS SCREENED BY THE HELLENIC FILM SOCIETY
ADULTS IN THE ROOM
(Ενήλικοι στο δωμάτιο)
Costa-Gavras, director
BLUE QUEEN
(Μπλέ Βασίλισσα)
Alex Sipsidis, director
CLIFFS OF FREEDOM
Van Ling, director
DEFUNCT
(Απόστρατος)
Zacharias Mavroeidis, director
ELECTRA
Michael Cacoyannis, director
FANTASIA
(Φαντασία)
Alexis Kardaras, director
A FINE LINE
Joanna James, director
GLORIA
John Cassavetes, director
HER JOB
(Η δουλειά της)
Nikos Labot, director
HOLY BOOM
Maria Lafi, director
THE HOMECOMING
(Η Επιστροφή)
Vassilis Douvlis, director
JAMAICA
(Τζαμάϊκα)
Andreas Morfonios, director
KAZANTZAKIS
Yannis Smaragdis, director
THE LAST NOTE
(Το τελευταίο σημείωμα)
Pantelis Voulgaris, director
LAST SONG TO XENITIA
Athena Scotes, director
MADALENA
(Μανταλένα)
Dinos Dimopoulos, director
MARIA BY CALLAS: In Her Own Words
Tom Volf, director
MELTEM
Basile Doganis, director
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING
Joel Zwick, director
NOT TO BE UNPLEASANT BUT WE NEED TO HAVE A SERIOUS TALK
(Δε θέλω να γίνω δυσάρεστος, αλλά πρέπει να μιλήσουμε για κάτι πολύ σοβαρό)
Giorgos Georgopoulos, director
OLYMPIA
Harry Mavromihalis, director
THE OTHER ME
(Έτερος Εγώ)
Sotiris Tsafoulias, director
POLYXENI
(Πολυξένη)
Dora Masklavanou, director
REFUGE II: THE ICE PATH
(Καταφύγιο: Το μονοπάτι του πάγου)
Christos Nikoleris, director
SIEGE ON LIPERTI STREET
(Πολιορκία στην οδό Λίπερτη)
Stavros Pamballis, director
A SIMPLE MAN
(Ένας ήσυχος άνθρωπος)
Tassos Gerakinis, director
SMUGGLING HENDRIX
(Φυγαδεύοντας τον Χέντριξ)
Marios Piperides, director
STILL RIVER (Ακίνητο Ποτάμι)
Angelos Frantzis, director
SWING AWAY
Michael Achilles Nickles, director
TOO MUCH INFO CLOUDING OVER MY HEAD
Vasilis Christofilakis, director
WORLDS APART (Ένας άλλος κόσμος)
Christopher Papakaliatis, director
Z
Costa-Gavras, director
ZIZOTEK
Vardis Marinakis, director