New York City Greek Film Festival of 2010

Fearless, Passionate & Original!

Wall Street Greek's Theatre & Film Columnist Penelope Karageorge leads off her foray into the blogosphere with her critical review of the fearless films and filmmakers of the New York City Greek Film Festival of 2010.

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New York City Greek Film Festival of 2010

This past year's New York City Greek Film Festival unreeled a dazzling array of new Greek films – audacious, controversial, entertaining, thought-provoking cinema with that special "Made in Greece" stamp. The best films from Greece refuse to play it safe. Greek auteurs are fearless, passionate, and original.

STRELLA - Strella takes us on the emotional journey of a transsexual and her father. An extraordinary film, it works on many levels: as tragedy, as comedy, as sheer entertainment, as a moving human drama. Writer/director Panos Koutras coaxed brilliant performances out of non-theatrical actors (A transsexual who looked like Maria Callas was not easy to cast). Mina Orfanou won the Hellenic Film Academy's Best Actress award for her unforgettable portrayal of Strella. Yannis Kokiasmenos was superb as the father, and Betty Vakalidou unforgettable as Mary, a surrogate mother. A gritty, close-up look at a fascinating subculture.

THE BUILDING MANAGER - A Greek family man suffers through a midlife crisis. He's caught between the devil (a sexy girl half his age whom he encounters in the Eden-like nursery where he goes to buy trees) and the deep blue sea (his mother) – and, of course, his wife. Hats off to the auteur Periklis Hoursoglou, who wrote, directed and starred in the film, with his real-life wife, Vangelio Andreadaiki playing his wife, and their two sons cast as sons in the film. An absorbing film - warm, human with an insightful take on contemporary Greek life.

PLATO'S ACADEMY - What's not to love about a gentle comedy featuring four Greek slackers who spend their time watching, and criticizing Albanian immigrants working around them? Antonis Kafetzopoulos gives a brilliant performance as Stavros, capturing all the nuances of this likeable loser. Separated from his wife, Stavros lives with his mother. When mama discovers a "lost" Albanian son, Stavros asks in dismay: could he be Albanian? This subtle, funny, ironic movie brings its point home: the new Greece has arrived. A delightful performance by Titika Sarigouli as the mother. Filippos Tsitos directed and co-wrote the film.

THE ISLAND - The Number One Top Grossing Film of the Year in Greece, it's another example of what Greeks do superbly: satire, lampooning themselves in the spirit of Aristophanes. Who killed the prominent citizen in the close-knit village? The police chief, the mayor, the priest, the sexy widow, the young son of the police chief who wants to design women's clothing? Everyone has a past and a delicious secret to hide. The performances are right-on in this fast-paced, well-written film directed by Christos Dimas. It's not always politically correct, occasionally tasteless, but extremely entertaining.

BLACK FIELD - Magnificent cinema- tography characterizes this unusual film written and directed by Vardis Marinakis. The year is 1654. A Janissary (a Greek recruited by force at a young age to serve in the Turkish army) turns up wounded at a remote cloister. A nun with a dark secret (she's actually a man) nurses him to health. The two flee into the woods together. Despite a muddled screenplay, the film's eroticism and scenery saves it. Won the Hellenic Film Academy's Award for Best Cinematography.

AMERICA, AMERICA - A work of art by the brilliant Greek-American Elia Kazan, the film chronicles his uncle's struggle to go from Anatolia to the USA. This was Kazan's personal favorite, and he put his heart and soul into the production. The cinematography is extraordinary, as are many of the performances including the lead played by Kazan discovery and Golden Globe Award winner Stathis Giallelis, taking the honors for "New Star of the Year" for his performance in the film. After the screening, the actor, who lives in New York, was interviewed by noted film critic Foster Hirsch. Giallelis offered a fascinating look at Kazan and the making of the film, including Kazan's obsession to get all the details right. Released in 1963, the film has been remastered and is available in DVD - a must for any Greek-American film lover.

DARK ODYSSEY - Set mostly in New York's Washington Heights in the 1950's, this Greek-American classic, written and directed by William Kyriakis and Radley Metzger, stars the remarkable Athan Karas. A Greek sailor jumps ship in New York and goes looking for the man who ruined his sister's life. But the sailor falls in love, goes to a party at a Greek home, and dances. Karas, who died last year, made an extraordinary contribution to Greek dance in America, and does an unforgettable dance on screen. Cineaste editor Dan Georgakas, director Metzger, and actor Lowell Byers, grandson of Karas, offered their insights on Dark Odyssey after the screening.

FOUR BLACK SUITS - A comedy written, directed and starring Renos Haralambidis, who also wrote the film score! Two down and out undertakers, an unsuccessful actor, and an ex-con try to turn their lives around. On the promise of a large fee, they carry out the dying wish of a Greek who lived abroad to carry his body, on foot, from Athens to his native village. We happen to love Haralambidis, so we'll go and see just about anything he does. Won the Audience Award at LA's Greek Film Festival.

DOGTOOTH - In this award-winning Greek drama from young director Yorgos Lanthimos, a husband and wife keep their children imprisoned in their house. The teenagers play weird games, learn a language devised by their parents to further cut them off from the world, and engage in bizarre, sexless sex. It's funny, offensive, tragic, and brilliant. The film played to a packed house at NYU'S Cantor Film Center, followed by a panel discussion with Dan Georgakas, Cineaste Editor; Vangelis Calotychos, professor, Columbia U., and psychologist Dr. Thomas Mallios.

COLOSSI OF LOVE - A documentary focusing on the Kamaki, the young suitors who perfected the art of seducing tourists in the '70's and 80's. To make this doc, director Nikos Mystriotis interviewed many of the Kamaki who waxed nostalgic about the time, the girls, the dancing, what they wore and the fun they had.

WITH HEART AND SOUL - Written and directed by Pandelia Voulgaris, this epic of the Greek Civil war focuses on two brothers who find themselves on opposite sides. Voulgaris, one of Greece's seminal film makers, dedicated the film to the thousands of victims who lost their lives on both sides of the conflict. Wonderful in so many ways, the film offers a great deal to admire – including Voulgaris's heart-rending depiction of young fighters who tease each other, kill each other, and even fall in love.

SUGARTOWN - Directed by Kimos Tsakiris, this important documentary takes an in-depth look at Zacharo (Sugartown) in the Western Peloponnese, almost destroyed in the fires of 2007. A total of 45 residents lost their lives, but the money provided to rebuild this community was lost or misused. The mayor behind much of the scandal blatantly tells almost all.

Three delightful shorts by Greek-American teenagers, winners in the No Limits 2010 competition co-sponsored by The National Herald and The New York City Film Festival, rounded out the festival: DE NADA: directed by Gracie Brett, 13; DON'T BE A LIAR, Mafia Stories Part II, directed by Dennis Latos, 18; and AROMA, directed by Michael Kontaxis, 16.



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