ASTORIA – The Hellenic Film Society USA presents a rare New York visit February 8-9 by Oscar-winning director Costa-Gavras, in town for the New York premiere of Adults in the Room, a drama about the Greek economic crisis. The screening will be presented on Sunday, February 9, 4:30 PM at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), 36-01 35th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. The previous day, on Saturday, February 8, 3 PM, the Museum will show a digitally restored print of Z, marking the 50th anniversary of its original release, when it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The famed director will attend both screenings and will participate in an audience Q&A session following each film.

Based on the book by former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who led the tense negotiations between Greece and the European Union to avert bankruptcy, Adults in the Room was written and directed by Costa-Gavras and is seen by the director as a Greek tragedy for our modern times.

“The film is a reflection on real events, recounted via cinematographic logic and constraints of space and time,” he says. “In this story, it is the human adventure that matters most: how these events affected the social, economic and political life of society, and not only that of Greece.”

Christos Loulis and Alexandros Bourdoumis, who star in the film, will also attend the screening and post-film Q&A. The film is in English, Greek, French, and German, with English subtitles. The screening is part of the Museum’s Always on Sunday monthly Greek film series.

On Saturday, February 8, the Hellenic Film Society will present Z, a political thriller which tells the story of a journalist seeking the truth behind the murder of a prominent professor, despite the government’s cover-up efforts. The drama is a fictionalized account of the 1963 killing of Grigoris Lambrakis, who led the forces opposing the placement of U.S. Polaris missiles in Greece. In its review, Variety calls Z “a punchy political pic that mixes action, violence, and conspiracy on a robust, lavish scale.” The film, starring Yves Montand and Irene Papas, with music by Mikis Theordorakis, won 12 major awards, including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film is in French, Russian, and English, with English subtitles.

“We are elated that Costa-Gavras chose the Hellenic Film Society to present the New York premiere of Adults in the Room,” says Jimmy DeMetro, President of the Hellenic Film Society. “It is our honor to host this important director, whose work has had an enormous impact on world cinema.”

Costa-Gavras has directed 24 films since the beginning of his career in 1965, including Missing, starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

The Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Avenue in Astoria, is conveniently located near public transportation. For further information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.hellenicfilmusa.org or call 646-844-1488 and follow on Facebook and Instagram.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation is the lead supporter of the Hellenic Film Society USA. Additional support is provided by Onassis Foundation USA and the Kallinikeion Foundation.