15th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival To Run As Virtual Edition

The 15th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) will be held on May 10-30, 2021.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will run online and on-demand only; however, in another twist which is actually an advantage for the event, the virtual component will allow this year’s Festival to reach a global audience.

The LAGFF virtual edition will offer new Greek cinema with curated features, shorts, documentaries and animation on a secure platform accompanied by a host of webinars, along with live and pre-recorded Q&A’s.

“In the middle of the pandemic there is bad news and silver linings. In Los Angeles, Arclight Theaters and Pacific Theaters have announced never returning to film distribution, which has a major impact on the future of theatrical releases and an emotional impact on all of us who have spent many hours in these amazing theaters,” explains Artistic & Festival Director Aristotle Katopodis.

“At the same time, the news from Greece is that there is an explosion of new production, underway or just beginning, and overwhelming – in a good way – for Greek film crews and professionals. It seems that the enhanced incentives of the Greek Government (EKOME) are finally hitting on all cylinders,” he adds.

Source: Greek Reporter.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, which showcases new films from Greece and Cyprus, also includes works by international filmmakers of Greek descent. The Festival not only promotes Greek cinema but cultural exchange as well, and helps to bridge the gap between filmmakers and Hollywood.

A large number of the people involved in the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival are filmmakers and recent graduates of local universities.

The Festival has always paid attention to filmmakers, showcasing their work and making every effort to expose them to the best that LA has to offer, with the hope that the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival is viewed as “the filmmakers film festival.”

Its unique International Project Discovery Forum (IPDF) brings works-in-progress to the forefront and is a living laboratory for promising films and filmmakers.

In the past 14 years, over 500 filmmakers have graced LAGFF with their presence at the iconic Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, the Writers Guild of America in Beverly Hills, and the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, where its screenings have taken place.

LAGFF has hosted over 30,000 film-loving guests, celebrating over 520 screened Greek films in Los Angeles.