2011 Los Angeles Greek Film Festival opens its third day by Special Industry Panel – Crossing Borders, focusing on Foreign Films in Hollywood, followed by five show times all through the afternoon and evening.
ALL SCREENINGS and events for Saturday will take place at Laemmle’s Sunset 5. Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Special Industry Panel – Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood
The age of global interconnectedness is shaping the ways films are made,distributed and exhibited in the US and abroad, while the dividing lines between foreign films, independent productions and Hollywood studio films are beginningto blur. For the first time in the history of American cinema, Hollywood studios have set up international offices to facilitate local productions filmed in the local language. Similarly, foreign films may be facing a newly kindled interest in the US. While still marginal players in the US distribution and exhibition domains, foreign films have a growing effect on both studio and independent domestic filmmaking, shown by an increasing number of international co-productions and Hollywood studio remakes.
This panel will address questions on the future potential of foreign films in the broader international market, including issues such as international representation and the use of alternative distribution and marketing resources.
1 PM
THE DOG (O Skylos)
Greece, 2009, 23 min, US Premiere
Director: Nikos Charalabopoulos (aka Labot)
Producers: Nikos Charalabopoulos, Louizos Aslanidis
The arrival of a young suitor and his dog means war for a father who compulsively protects his only daughter.
WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY
USA, 2010, 80 min
Directors: Will Hess, Terry Dougas, Nikki Frakes
Producers: Paris Latsis, Will Hess, Nikki Frakes, Terry Dougas
Get up close and personal with Stan Lee, the artist behind world-famous Marvel comics and comic book favorites like Spiderman and The Fantastic Four in this star-studded documentary that explores how one of today’s great creative minds came to be.
3:30 PM
KNIFER (Macherovgaltis)
Greece, 2010, 108 min, US Premiere
Director: Yannis Economides
Producer: Panos Papahadzis
In this artful B&W account of a decaying middle class, Nikos moves in with his brutish uncle to guard his dogs, but soon finds out that he must pull himself together in order to set things right.
5:30 PM
PYRAMIDS OF ATHENS (Pyramides tis Athinas)
Greece, 2010, 15 min
Director/Producer: Yolanda Markopoulou
A young Egyptian immigrant in Athens observes suspicious activity in the abandoned building where he is squatting and decides to take matters into his own hands despite language and cultural barriers.
MIKIS THEODORAKIS, COMPOSER (Mikis Theodorakis, Komponist)
Germany, 2010, 53 min, US Premiere
Directors: Asteris Kutulas, Klaus Salge
Producer: Klaus Salge
This in-depth portrait of Mikis Theodorakis explores the roots of the life and work of Greece’s legendary composer whose music became identified with the struggles of a nation torn by war and strife in the 20th Century.
7:15 PM
WITHOUT BORDERS (Horis Sinora)
Greece, 2010, 97 min, US Premiere
Director: Nick Gaitatjis
Producers: John Apostolou, Sandra Staggs
With the help of his eccentric cousin, Thanasis embarks on a journey across continents in search of his six-year-old adopted daughter, redefining the meaning of familial love along the way.
9:30 PM
A WOMAN’S WAY (Strella)
Greece, 2009, 113 min, LA Premiere
Director/Producer: Panos Koytras
When Yorgos is released from prison and seeks his estranged son, he meets and falls in love with the matriarchal transsexual Strella, discovering that the two have much more in common than expected and that she might even offer the key to his lost happiness.
Festival sponsors: ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America) – John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation – 1821 Pictures and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consulate General of Greece.
