The annual New York City Greek Film Festival opens this weekend at the Museum of the Moving Image with a full slate of films catering to Greek American audiences and aficionados of Greek and international film. This years festival boasts an impressive line up of great films at various venues throughout the city, including Little England (Mikra Anglia), the film selected by Greece to compete as its official selection in the 2015 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film competition.
The mission of the New York City Greek Film Festival is to establish a presence for Greek films in New York City. The festival aspires to bring the best work of Greek filmmakers to New York audiences and to show the films in the most up to date screening facilities.
Moving beyond its geographic borders and in a tremendous show of collaboration, the festival is sharing some of its films with communities in Boston and Atlanta.
The Best of the New York City Film Festival in Atlanta is being brought to Atlanta through the sponsorship of ‘Lykion Ton Ellinidon Atlanta’ and supported and promoted by the Atlanta Greek Connection, a group of Greek Americans seeking to promote Greek cultural events in the greater Atlanta region with a new website. Several of the films screening in the Big Apple will travel to the Peach Tree state, including Little England, which will play at the Woodruff Arts Center, along with other selected films. For a complete schedule of the Atlanta films, click here.
Four films will also travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts. See that schedule here.
Despite an economic crisis that makes the financing of motion pictures particularly difficult, the Greek film industry is experiencing an exciting renaissance. Greek films are finding an audience all over the world and are winning major prizes at international festivals. Film critics are talking about a “Greek new wave.” Yet the American market continues to be elusive. Given the high cost of film distribution and Americans’ aversion to reading subtitles, the US continues to represent a challenge for Greek film artists. But even here things are beginning to change. The Academy Award nomination for “Dogtooth” in 2011 as well as the commercial distribution of “Attenberg” and “ALPS” in 2012 to rave reviews have helped draw Americans’ attention to the cutting-edge films coming out of Greece.
The New York City Greek Film Festival is presented by the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce (HACC) in conjunction with the Hellenic American Cultural Foundation (HACF). The HACC was founded over 60 years ago to promote commercial and cultural ties between Greece and the US. Today it is a thriving organization of successful entrepreneurs devoted to strengthening the bond between the two countries. The HACF was established two years ago to promote Hellenic heritage and traditions. The festival is funded by supporters from the business, public service, and private sectors. The Onassis Foundation USA is the festival’s principal benefactor.
The New York City Greek Film Festival’s compete schedule is online, or you can download a copy of the brochure with the schedule and brief descriptions of the films here: NYGFF_2014_Flyer
2 comments
Hello Pappas Post,
I just wanted to clarify one item regarding the Greek film festival article. The films are being brought to Atlanta through the sponsorship of ‘Lykion Ton Ellinidon Atlanta’. They are the “presenters” of the film festival event, while the AGC (Atlanta Greek Connection) is simply helping to promote the film. We want to make sure they receive proper credit for their efforts.
Thanks!
TK
Thanks Tasia for the update. We have updated the article to reflect that! Thank you!