The 29th Greek Film Festival of Sydney is days away from commencement with this year’s edition breaking new ground in a bid to grow and expand it to new horizons.
The Film Festival, organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW and presented by Metaxa, premieres this coming Tuesday on October 15 and will run until October 27 , showcasing 33 works in total.
The events have been given a huge boost with the introduction of a second cinema in Moore Park that will screen films alongside its traditional home of Norton Street in Leichhardt.
Nia Karteris, Chair of the Greek Film Festival of Sydney, explained that they made the decision to expand this year as a means of reaching as many people as possible.
“With Leichhardt being the sole location for our audience it was not always possible for people living in different parts of Sydney to travel the distance,” Karteris told Neos Kosmos.
“We hope that our second venue, Moore Park, will become our second constant for future festivals and give the opportunity to people who could not attend in previous years to actually enjoy Greek cinematography closer to their homes.”
Karteris noted that there have already been encouraging signs in the pre-sales for the screenings, which has inspired further thoughts of expansion for 2025.
She expressed since pleasure with the collection of pictures selected for this year’s events, among which include Greece’s entry for the Oscars ‘The Murderess’, the Opening Night comedy ‘Hear Who’s Talking’ and a special retrospective to legendary filmmaker Nikos Koundouros.
“I would say that it is a diverse schedule for a diverse and demanding audience,” Karteris told Neos Kosmos.
“We need to cater to different age groups, audiences with different interests, sensibilities, demands… and I believe we have succeeded in that.”
The schedule features numerous multi-awarding feature films across a wide range of genres and subject matters (politics, romance, comedy, sports, music, biographies, documentary etc).
“I believe that Sydneysiders will have the opportunity to experience one of the best Greek Film Festivals of the late years.”
The Film Festival Chair stressed their goal in presenting quality works to Australian audiences, saying she is particularly proud with the secured pictures that she is certain will “make an impression and bring entertainment through quality to our cine friends”.
“We are blessed to have multiple special collaborations this year that allowed us to include unique and very interesting special events,” said Karteris, noting that several Q&A sessions have also been organised.
The Film Festival Chair shed light on her greatest hope with this year’s edition, that being to “manifest Greece’s great cultural presence through cinema to our modern multicultural society”.
“It is a way of reminding Greek Australians where they originate from, a way of introducing to the greater Australian society the culture that is shared by a large percentage of Australia’s ethnic population, and it is a way of making known the universality of hopes, dreams, and struggles through the art of filmmaking.”
Karteris praised the tremendous support already displayed through pre-sales and the various sponsors of the Film Festival.
“Apart from the incredible films offered as part of our lineup our audiences will have the chance to experience Metaxa cocktails, Oasis coffee tasting, Pontian and Cretan Hospitality with traditional appetizers and live music as well as important and extremely interesting Q&A sessions,” she said.
“It is also worth highlighting our giveaway holiday package for two to Mykonos and Santorini that will be drawn at our Closing Night event to a lucky winner/attendee of the 29th Greek Film Festival of Sydney.”
Further information on the Film Festival, including how to buy tickets, can be found at greekfilmfestival.com.au/sydney.
