ASTORIA – On September 15, Hermes AHEPA Chapter #186 of Astoria hosted a screening of ‘Niko Newark’, an autobiographical experience of 11-year-old Nick Dessipris during the historic riot that rocked the city of Newark in 1967. A native of the Garden State, Dessipris, the film’s Executive Producer, hails from the Alexander Hamilton AHEPA Chapter #54, Paramus, NJ, and attended the screening.

Also in attendance was the film’s director, six-time Emmy Award-winner Tracey Washington Bagley. After the 20-minute screening, Dessipris and Washington Bagley took questions from the audience, addressing the movie, its framework, and their experiences filming it.

‘Niko Newark’ constitutes a defining moment in Dessipris’ life. The movie is set in July 1967, when at the tender age of 11 he had to contend with the emotional impact of the Newark riots. Working at his father’s diner at the time, young Niko (played by Theodore Dalton) encounters a host of people— some decent, others quite flawed— who leave him wondering about the nature of humanity itself. Perhaps the person who stands out to Niko the most is Arty (played by Walter Russell III), an African-American youth who [spoiler alert!] shoots Cookie, a gangster (played by Joseph Emmel) in an act of vengeance before Niko’s eyes but who then becomes his closest friend. Nevertheless, the dire state Newark found itself in would not spare Niko’s diner world or him. Inspired by a seminal event of his boyhood, Dessipris in effect raises how we should view ourselves in life’s greater context, which we would all do well to contemplate.

A wine and cheese reception was held after the screening.