LOS ANGELES – The red carpet Closing Night of the 17th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) on June 11 at the Silver Screen Theatre, Pacific Design Center, featured the LA Premiere of the award-winning film ‘Listen’ (Greece, 2022), written and directed by Maria Douza. Douza and actors Efthalia Papakosta and Dimitris Kitsos were in attendance.

The 2023 Orpheus Award ceremony followed the screening and was emceed by AFI’s Chris Schwartz. Guests included VIPs, celebrities, dignitaries, jurors, and sponsors, along with filmmakers from Greece and Cyprus and international filmmakers of Greek descent. A lively reception catered by Nick The Greek concluded the evening.

LAGFF 2023 included films, filmmakers, Masterclasses, Workshops, events and a virtual program of screenings following the Festival. “Over the past 17 years, LAGFF has screened over 650 films and hosted over 550 filmmakers supporting their films,” Festival Director Aris Katopodis stated. “The Festival is getting bigger, stronger and bolder. Over 80 films were either screened or available on our platform. While looking outwards, LAGFF is expanding its collaborations with a host of U.S. based and international institutions.”

The LAGFF 2023 Trailer Montage, edited by Nasos Gatzoulis and with original music by Enter Tarot: Amaechi Titus Ottiji, is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3vwBNFdlONA.

In late 2022, LAGFF launched the Global Greek Film Initiative (GGFI) designed to establish an array of new annual programs to promote cultural exchange between Greece, the U.S. and Hellenic Diaspora, service opportunities for employment and economic growth within Greece.

The Orpheus Award winners follow:

In the Fiction Feature Film category, Best Fiction Film went to ‘Listen’ by Maria Douza.

The Special Jury Award for Best Film went to ‘Iman’ by Corina Avramidou and Kyriakos Tofarides.

Best Director was awarded to Panos Koutras for ‘DODO’ and the Honorable Mention for Best Director to Spiros Jacovides for ‘Black Stone’.

Efthalia Papacosta took home the Best Performance award for ‘Listen’ and Honorable Mention for Best Performance went to Stephanie Atala for ‘Iman’.

In the Documentaries category, Best Documentary was awarded to ‘The Other Half’ by Giorgos Moutafis from the online slate of films.

The Special Jury Prize for Documentary Directing went to ‘Queen of the Deuce’ by Valorie Kontakos.

In the Short Films category, Best Short was awarded to ‘Pebble’ by Karina Logothetis and the Special Jury Award went to ‘Air Hostess – 737’ by Thanasis Neofotistos, while an Honorable Mention went to ‘5 pm Seaside’ by Valentin Stejskal.

In the Animation category, Best Animation was awarded to ‘My Mother the Sea’ by Aspasia Kazeli and the Honorable Mention went to ‘The Trojan Horace’ by Scott Graham.

The Audience Awards for Documentary Film went to ‘Venizelos: the Struggle for Asia Minor,’ for Short Film to ‘Share For Me,’ and Feature Film to ‘Black Stone.’

LAGFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that focuses its attention to bringing films and filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus, and the rest of the world to the United States.

For more information, visit www.lagff.org.