The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, an annual showcase that brings films and filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus and other countries in the region to the United States, announced the winners of its 2023 Orpheus Awards at a ceremony on Sunday night at the Silver Screen Theatre in the Pacific Design Center.
Toplining the honors: Listen, directed by Maria Douza, which won for best fiction feature film. Iman, helmed Corina Avramidou and Kyriakos Tofarides, took home the special jury award for best film, and Panos Koutras won the best director award for Dodo.
Spiros Jacovides won an honorable mention for best director for Black Stone, and Efthalia Papacosta was awarded the best performance trophy for Listen. Black Stone also won the audience award for feature film, and an honorablemention for best performance went to Stephanie Atala for Iman.
Listen centers on a 16-year-old deaf girl forced to leave her progressive Athens school following financial upheavals and return to her fathers struggling island, where shes confronted by prejudice and intoleranceincluding, most shockingly, her own. The films director and actors Efthalia Papakosta and Dimitris Kitsos were in attendance.
In the documentary category, the award for best doc went to The Other Half, by GiorgosMoutafis (from theonlineslate), and the special Jury prizefor documentary directing went to Queen of the Deuce by Valorie Kontakos. Venizelos: the Struggle for Asia Minor took the audience award.
In short films, Pebble, by Karina Logothetis, won for best short, and a special juryawardwas bestowed on Air Hostess 737, by Thanasis Neofotistos. 5 pm Seaside, by Valentin Stejskal, received in honorable mention. The audience award went to Share For Me.
In animation, My Mother the Sea, by Aspasia Kazeli, won for best animation, with an honorable mention going to The Trojan Horace, by Scott Graham.
The 2023 Orpheus ceremony was emceed by AFIs Chris Schwartz. Guests included assorted VIPs, jurors, sponsors and filmmakers from Greece and Cyprus. The ensuing reception was catered by Nick the Greek.
In addition to screenings, LAGFF 2023, which ran from June 2-11, included workshops, panels, LGBTQ Programming, an inaugural LAGFF Film Student Fellowship, a Los Angeles City College Masterclass and 28 Online Screenings plus a virtual program of screenings following the Festival.
Over the past17 years, LAGFF has screened over 650 films and hosted over 550 filmmakers supporting their films, said Festival Director Aris Katopodis. 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.
In late 2022, the org launched the Global Greek Film Initiative (GGFI) to establish an array of new annual programs to promote cultural exchange between Greece, the U.S. and the Hellenic Diaspora, as well as to boost economic growth within Greece.
Pictured above: The LAGFF red carped on opening night, June 3, where novelist and producer George Pelecanos was honored. Left to right: Chris Diamantopoulos, actor/rapper Kevin Zans Ansong (Black Morris), actor Zina Wilde, Orpheus honoree George Pelecanos and son Nick Pelecanos.