2022 Monthly Greek Film Series

The Hellenic Film Society presents Always on Sunday, a series of monthly screenings of Greek films at the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY, to sell-out crowds.

.dog
Directed by Yianna Americanou

2021 | 95 minutes
In Greek with English subtitles

Cast: Andreas Konstantinou (Father), Dimitris Kitsos (Dimitris), Nikos Zeginoglou (Nick), Antonia Charalampous (Andi), Anna Yiagiozi (director of hostel)

Young Dimitris, on the verge of manhood yet very much a child, has romanticized his imprisoned father to mythic proportions. When his father is released from prison after ten years, Dimitris can’t wait to finally get to know him and make up for lost time. Once the boy realizes his father’s evil nature, however, he must decide whether his sense of right from wrong is stronger than his love for his father. Brilliant performances.

Youth Jury Award, Thessaloniki International Film Festival (2021)

Hellenic Film Society USA New York Greek Film Expo, Best Actor Award, Andreas Konstantinou

Screened December 4, 2022

SMYRNA: THE DESTRUCTION OF A COSMOPOLITAN CITY,
1900-1922

Written and directed by Maria Iliou
Historical consultant: Prof. Alexander Kitroeff

2012 / 89 min

To commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Smyrna Holocaust, the Hellenic Film Society is proud to present Maria Iliou’s classic documentary for its first New York theatrical showing in ten years.

Using astonishing archival footage and informative interviews with scholars and individuals with family ties to Smyrna’s Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Turkish residents, this fascinating documentary presents a balanced account of the destruction of the richest and most cosmopolitan, predominantly Christian city in Asia Minor.

This film is in English.

Screened November 6, 2022

DEFUNCT
ΑΠΟΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ
Directed by Zacharias Mavroeidis

2019 / 1:40

Cast: Mihalis Sarantis (Aris), Thanasis Papageorgiou (Vasos), Yiota Festa (Stella), Alexandros Mavropoulos (Ermis), Yiannis Niarros (Angelos), Akis Sakelariou (Kiriakos), Xenia Kalogeropoulou (Aunt Fani)

Aris, a failed young businessman, leaves his yuppie downtown lifestyle behind and moves into his late grandfather’s house in Papagou, the quiet, ultra-conservative Athens suburb of Army retirees. Settling in and attempting to reboot his business, he befriends an elderly neighbor, a comrade of his grandfather. Before long, Aris discovers a family secret that will forever change the way he looks at life.

THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2019:
Fischer Audience Award, Best Picture

This film is in Greek with English subtitles

Screened July 10, 2022

APPLES
Directed by Christos Nikou

2020 / 91 min
In English/Greek/German, with English subtitles

Cast: Aris Servetalis, Sofia Georgovassili, Anna Kalaitzidou, Argyris Bakirtzu, Kostas Laskos.

Amid a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia, Aris (Aris Servetalis) finds himself enrolled in a program designed to help him build a new identity and reintegrate into society. As he slides back into ordinary life, he meets a woman who is also in recovery. In his feature film debut, director Christos Nikou has created a poignant allegorical drama reflecting on memory, identity and loss.

“Soulfully relevant…has a ruminative quality that’s fairly uncommon in modern cinema.” Variety

17 international film festival awards
Greece’s official submission for
Best International Film of the 93rd Academy Awards

98% on Rotten Tomatoes

Screened June 12, 2022

SMYRNA, MY BELOVED
(Σμύρνη μου αγαπημένη)

Directed by Grigoris Karantinakis

In Greek and English with English subtitles
2021 / 2:21

Cast: Mimi Denissi, Leonidas Kakouris, Burak Hakki, Katerina Geronikolou, Jane Lapotaire, Susan Hampshire, Rupert Graves, Giannis Voyiatzis, Tamilla Koulieva, Christos Stergioglou, Daphne Alexander

This moving, historical drama, told through the saga of a prominent Greek family, recounts the burning of the vibrant cosmopolitan city of Smyrna in 1922 by the Turks, and the killing of its Greek and Armenian populations. In the present, a young Greek-American woman, visiting Greece with her grandmother to support the Syrian refugees, discovers that the similar Smyrna tragedy destroyed her own family 100 years earlier.

Nominated for 12 Hellenic Film Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress

Contains scenes of violence that may be too intense for young audiences.

Screened April 29, 2022 – Directors Guild in Manhattan
Screened May 1, 2022 – Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY

KING OTTO
Directed by Christopher André Marks

2022 / 1:21
In English/Greek/German, with English subtitles

In the summer of 2004, the Greek National Soccer Team, which had previously never even scored a goal in a major tournament, defied 300-1 odds to win the Euro Cup. King Otto tells the improbable story of one of the biggest underdog triumphs of all time, led by legendary German coach ‘King’ Otto Rehhagel who, after major success in his own country, made the bold decision to work with the underachieving Greek National Team in a language he didn’t speak, in a country he couldn’t understand. Besides the on-field drama, this is an intimate and inspirational human story about achieving greatness by celebrating each other’s differences and finding a way to work together. The film, which opened theatrically in Europe and Australia to critical acclaim, is set to take its place in the pantheon of inspiring sports dramas alongside Miracle, Hoosiers, and Cool Runnings. The BBC calls King Otto “a beautiful, beautiful film.”

IN PERSON!
Join us for a live panel discussion and audience Q&A with members of the 2004 Greek National Championship Team immediately following the screening.

Screened March 27, 2022

A SIMPLE MAN
ΕΝΑΣ ΗΣΥΧΟΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ
Directed by Tassos Gerakinis

2019 / 1:35

Screenplay: Tassos Gerakinis, Christos Strepkos

Cast: Takis Sakellariou (Makis), Katerina Papanastassatou (Sophia), Christos Strepkos (Mihalis), Yorgos Souxes (Kosmas), Nikolas Kassapis (Wine Merchant)

Heavily in debt and struggling to save his relationship with his headstrong daughter, a peaceful winemaker faces even more trouble when a dangerous fugitive invades his home and takes him hostage. Will circumstances push him, a simple man by nature, to his limits? This suspenseful, tautly filmed drama is thoroughly engrossing.

This film is in Greek with English subtitles

Screened February 20, 2022

SIEGE ON LIPERTI STREET
ΠΟΛΙΟΡΚΙΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΟΔΟ ΛΙΠΕΡΤΗ
Written and directed by Stavros Pamballis

2019 / 1:24

Cast: Constantine Markoulakis (Father), Daphne Alexander (Mother), Akilas Karazisis (Taxi Driver), Niovi Charalampous (Aigli), Dinos Lyras (Papous), Nicolas Dimitriou (Sergeant)

Not far from the buffer zone that divides the city of Nicosia, Cyprus, a desperate father crushed by economic austerity decides to fight to keep his family’s home from being repossessed.

THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2019:
Winner of five Best Picture awards, including
FIPRESCI Prize (International Federation of Film Critics)
People’s Choice Award
Michael Cacoyannis / ERT Award

This film is in Greek with English subtitles

An interview about the film with the director and lead actress Daphne Alexander can be seen here.

Screened January 23, 2022