The 17th Greek Film Festival in Adelaide, presented by the Bank of Cyprus, is upon us and the program is wide and varied.

Its real celebration this time around being its 80th birthday, which is about as long as the movies have been around.

The Festival kicks off on October 7 and runs until October 10, at Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas.

Amongst it all are light-hearted feature films such as the opening night film, the box office hit Nisos, a not-so-classic whodunit shot on the beautiful island of Sifnos, and I Love Karditsa (dir. Stratos Markidis), a prince and pauper story of a very different kind.

Dangerous Cooking (dir. Vasilis Tselemegos) starring Georges Corraface (Touch of Spice, 2009) serves up a menage a trois between two cooks and the beautiful Nana (Katia Zygouli) and in 180 Degrees (dir. Nicholas Dimitropoulos), art, crime and infidelity take centre stage in this hilarious madcap adventure.

It’s a road-trip of chance encounters, lost loves and new adventures in the thought provoking Athens – Istanbul (dir. Nikos Panayotoupoulos), while racism, religious belief and provincial pride come under scrutiny in The Mountain in Front.

With Heart & Soul (dir. Pantelis Voulgaris) pays tribute to the young victims of the Greek Civil War.

Also being featured are two short-films from Greek-Australian filmmakers, one that has travelled the globe via the internet, Maritsa by Constantine Krystallis and from Adelaide writer, director, producer Viron Papadopoulos, Bad Language.

If you’re in Adelaide for the opening night of the Festival then do hang around because there’s a party afterwards.

But if film is not quite your thing or you just can’t have enough in the Hellenic department, there is of course the much loved Odyssey Festival, opening on October 5.

Its real celebration this time around being its 80th birthday, which is about as long as the movies have been around.

There’s a big line this year so it’s best to visit www.odysseyfestival.com.au

Don’t panic there’s time enough, it runs until November 6.

For more information: www.greekfilmfestival.com.au