LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Greek film,
Greek culture,
Greek marathon,
Greek fires
Dear Readers:
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and hosted by ARTWORX
This month, the San Francisco Greek Film Festival returns to present 19 contemporary and classic Greek feature films and shorts. This event is now in its seventh year. Sponsored by the Modern Greek Studies Foundation, the festival is enthusiastically supported. For more details, see page 5.
Next month, the fourth annual Los Angeles Film Festival gets underway as well. Complete details will be featured in the June HJ.
Once again, the Bay Area Greek community celebrated Greek Independence Day with two events that have now become traditions. The Ascension Historical Society (AHS) hosted its Greek Fun Run around beautiful Lake Merritt in Oakland where young and old alike gathered to walk or run in honor of Greek Independence. The event attracts serious runners from throughout the country. AHS even offers spanakopita at the finish line – who wouldn’t travel for that?
The Greek Cultural Parade took place in San Francisco as Greek churches and organizations were represented along Market Street. The parade includes local organizations and drill teams as well. For a photo pictorial of both the run and the parade, please see page 9.
In keeping with running, the anniversary of the Battle of Marathon was commemorated recently at Dodger Stadium’s Expo building in Los Angeles with a booth to honor the occasion. Spearheaded by the Consulate along with several Greek American organizations, the booth offered information highlighting the Marathon’s history as well as participation in this year’s Marathon which takes place in October. Special guest included author and marathon man himself, Dean Karnazes. See Mavis Manus’ column on page 10 for complete details.
Finally, no one can forget the fires that ravaged Greece 2007. At that time, Dr. Taso Lagos was trapped with his students in the Evia fires near the village of Kimi. Lagos, along with his assistant Stacey Eagle and students, returned to Greece to shoot a video documentary titled “The Great Greek Fires of 2007” and columnist Theodora Argue has reported on their experience on page 12.
See you at the Greek movies!
Frosene Phillips
THIS MONTH’S FEATURE
MAY 2010
San Francisco Greek Film Festival showcases 19 films
(Download May paper issue for full article)
The Seventh Annual San Francisco Greek Film Festival will be showcasing 19 contemporary and classic Greek feature films and shorts May 16-23 in the Delancey Street Screening Room. Promising to include something for everyone, the lineup includes a combination of comedy and drama; a documentary; and for the first time at the SF festival, an animation appropriate for children and adults. Combined together, these featured productions have received 33 awards worldwide. Highlights from this year’s festival include:
BIRDS IN THE MIRE (2008) by Alida Dimitriou.
WISHES (2009) by Angelos Spartalis.
THE MAN WITH THE CARNATION (1980) by Nikos Tzimas.
THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO TOUCH A STAR (2009) by Panagiotis Rappas & Aggelos Rouvas.
DUCE NARRATES (1945) by Stamatis Polenakis.
DOGTOOTH (2009) by Giorgos Lanthimos.
The festival kicks off Sunday, May 16 and will run through Sunday, May 23 at the Delancey Street Screening Room, 600 Embarcadero Street in San Francisco. All films will begin at 7:30 pm each evening, except for the double feature on Saturday evening which will begin at 6:30 pm, and all films will have English subtitles. Tickets are $15 for each screening, $35 for opening night which includes the Opening Night Reception, and $20 for the Saturday night double feature. Tickets and weekly passes, as well as a full description of all the films, are available online at www.grfilm.com. Tickets will be available at the door, and discounts are available for students with a valid student ID. Sponsorships opportunities are available. For more information, call 650-349-4134 or email admin@grfilm.com.
The San Francisco Greek Film Festival is sponsored by the Modern Greek Studies Foundation and all proceeds benefit the educational initiatives of the Center for Modern Greek Studies and the Nikos Kazantzakis Chair at San Francisco State University.