In June 2007, filmmakers Ersi Danou and Angeliki Giannakopoulos, and joined by documentary filmmaker Avra Georgiou, introduced the first Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) to a community that was ready and willing to connect with Greek creators from Greece, Cyprus and around the world. For the first time ever, Los Angeles was getting long-term Greek cultural representation with the establishment of an annual event; and, for the first time, Greek filmmakers would have the opportunity to repeatedly experience the center of American and global entertainment, meet local professionals, absorb diverse perspectives, develop their projects, and get to know transatlantic fellow creatives.
Greek-American top industry representatives, such as former studio head Jim Gianopulos, writer/director Alexander Payne, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, writer/actor Nia Vardalos, cinematographer/director Phedon Papamichael, producer Kary Antholis, television producer/director Greg Yaitanes, actress Melina Kanakaredes, and more… supported LAGFF unequivocally then, and continue to do so now. Board Members – Aris Anagnos, Dinos Andrianos, Kary Antholis, Lia Bozonelis, Thouly Dosios, Michael Galanakis, Alex Kalognomos, Christina Kounelias, Kathy Tavoularis, Greg Yaitanes… served our organization with exceptional dedication; some of whom continue their service to this day.
Hundreds of Greek and international filmmakers have passed through our stages, interacting with the audience and networking with fellow creators and professionals. A partial list of award-winning visitors includes Yorgos Lanthimos, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Pantelis Voulgaris, Yannis Economides, Tassos Boulmetis, Yorgos Mavropsaridis, Christopher Papakaliatis, Giorgos Georgopoulos, Asimina Proedrou, Yorgos Zois, Elina Psykou, Filippos Tsitos, Georgis Grigorakis, Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Eleni Alexandrakis, Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, Eva Nathena, Periklis Hoursoglou, Renos Haralambidis, Yannis Sakaridis, Evangelia Kranioti, Panos Karkanevatos, Alexis Alexiou, Elias Demetriou, Sofia Exarchou, Araceli Lemos, Nikos Dayandas, Myrsini Aristidou, Rinio Dragasaki, Orfeas Peretzis, Nikos Labôt, Dora Masklavanou, Spiros Stathoulopoulos, Christine Krokos, Harry Patramanis, Spyros Iakovidis, Olga Malea, Kimon Tsakiris, Nassos Vakalis, Yorgos Avgeropoulos, Dimitris Nakos, Thelyia Petraki, Aliki Theofilopoulos, Marcos Gastine, Dimitris Athanitis, and so many others.
A team of hardworking, passionate and skilled individuals, past and present, including Festival Manager Dimitra Kasdagli; Director of Development Katerina Hoyo-Frederickson; past development heads Dorothea Paschalidou and Pamela Spyrs; longtime Festival Producers Georgia Tripodes, Eleni Kafetzi, and, in the past, Alex Kalognomos and Eleni Arvaniti; additional producers Johanna Breeland, Cristina Ivane, Christina Marouda and Athina Daniel; Programmers Christina Bogdanou, Michael and Stephanie Grant, Petros Antoniades, Ritesh Mehta, Thouly Dosios, Matt Bolish and more; Tribute Producer/Community Programs Manager Fay Lellios; Webmaster Manos Krokos; Technical Directors Nasos Gatzoulis and Vanja Srdic; Orpheus Awards Producers/Directors Christina Diamantara and Constantinos Isaias; Graphic Artists Yiannis Mouravas, Jonny Hall and Natasa Haharidaki; Publicists Melinda Manos, Bev Regas and Mary Downey; Photographers Srini Natarajan, Vanessa Skopeo, Steven Sasaki and Maria Martin; Development/Promotion Associates Shelly Papadopoulos, Dena Romios and others; Box Office Coordinators Stella Kalivas, Annetta Babakhanie, Jennifer Romero and more; Theater Manager James Ananias; Hospitality Associate Sophia Koikas; Print Traffic Coordinators Nick Burns, Keith Arnold; and many more… have been working miracles over the years under the meticulous guidance of longtime Artistic/Festival Director Aris Katopodis. Throughout LAGFF’s existence, volunteers have ensured the smooth execution of our events constituting a vibrant team formerly coordinated by Adrian Fernandez and in the recent years by Sophia Thomopoulos.
From its inception, the Consulate General of Greece under the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has held LAGFF under its auspices and has provided indispensable help in bridging our local community with the Greek nation, in addition to hosting the Filmmaker Brunch annually. Honorary Consul General of Cyprus Andreas Kyprianides has recognized and continuously supported our effort to nurture and promote Greek creators and their works in Los Angeles.
Patrons of arts and culture such as Aegean Entertainment and the Metropoulos Family, the Kolovos Family, the Greek Film Centre and recently EKKOMED, Greece’s National Broadcaster ERT and ERTFLIX, Greek National Tourist Organization, Latsis Foundation and Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture, California Arts Council, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, European Languages and Movies in America (ELMA), Earth Friendly Products (ECOS), West Coast Investors and the Argyropoulos Family, The Hellenic Initiative (THI), Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture, Onassis Foundation, Theane Evangelis and Gibson Dunn, Aris Anagnos Charitable Trust, Elios Charitable Foundation, Dr. Stephen and Dr. Anna Yallourakis, Marcus & Millichap, The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, Petros Restaurant, The Egyptian Theatre, AT&T, Getty Center, Antenna Satellite and SKAI television broadcasters, The Siafaris Family, The Ananias Family, Gene and Vicky George, beGreek.com, Twoheys, The Avra Group, R & V Management, Peter & Vivi Demopoulos, Yannis and Maria Faturos, Daphne Valentina, Peter Zinelis, Christina Karagias, Delphi Greek, Farmer Boys and many more culture-loving companies and individuals have thrown their trust in our organization, participating in the effort to share and elevate artistic works by Greek filmmakers.
Every year, Greek filmmakers’ feature, short, documentary and animation films have screened in state-of-the-art theaters, competing for the Orpheus Awards in all categories, bestowed during the Orpheus Awards Closing Night Ceremony. In the last two decades, we proudly claim to have screened over 900 films, hosted more than 750 filmmakers and serviced approximately 50,000 spectators. But the numbers cannot fully describe the magic of bringing filmmakers into face-to-face conversations with audience members! It is in those moments that we fully realize our mission.
Yet, we do not stop there…
In 2011, LAGFF orchestrated a publicity campaign that led to Yorgos Lanthimos’ DOGTOOTH Academy Award ® nomination, which, in turn, jumpstarted the director’s brilliant international career. From that time onward, LAGFF has played an important role in promoting the Greek Oscar entries. Last year, LAGFF was officially selected to be among the 11 organizations, and the only one based outside of Greece, which comprise the Greek Oscar selection committee.Â
In 2013, director Araceli Lemos, alongside producer Giulia Caruso, established the film development program Discovery Days (formerly the International Project Discovery Forum). Araceli continues to serve as the director of Discovery Days with a team of filmmakers including Karina Logothetis, Nasos Gatzoulis, Joel Garber, and Katerina Kiagia. The four-day story & pitch lab invites creative teams with ties to Greece, Cyprus, Southern Europe and the Balkans to workshop their feature film projects in Los Angeles and receive guidance and feedback from Los Angeles-based, active film professionals. Past participants include INSIDE (dir. Vasilis Katsoupis, starring Willem Dafoe | Focus Features, Berlin Film Festival), SON OF SOFIA (dir. Elina Psykou | Best International Film Award – Tribeca Film Festival), SMUGGLING HENDRIX (dir. Marios Piperides | Best International Film Award – Tribeca Film Festival), and NOAH LAND (dir. Cenk Erturk | Best Screenplay, Best Actor | Tribeca Film Festival).
Our audiences have witnessed historic tributes, starting with honoring the great Olympia Dukakis in 2007, and continuing in 2008 by bringing together the John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands community; including the late Gena Rowlands herself, director Peter Bogdanovich, and actor Seymour Cassel. Since then, the LAGFF tributes have highlighted film luminaries – such as Elia Kazan, Mikis Theodorakis, Theo Angelopoulos, Penelope Spheeris, Alexander Payne, George Pelecanos, Anthony Katagas, George Chakiris and Karyofyllia Karabeti to name just a few. And in 2025, the multi-event Tribute to the legendary Costa-Gavras included a live conversation between the latter and world-renowned filmmaker Oliver Stone, leading to a robust collaboration with the American Cinematheque.
Since 2014, LAGFF has provided internships to more than 15 Loyola Marymount University students annually, who study the LAGFF program within the context of Prof. Katerina Zacharia’s course Representations of Greece – Ancient and Modern at the Department of Classics and Archaeology. Several of the same interns also get to participate in the entire film festival production process. Concurrently, we have cultivated ties and occasionally collaborated with educational and cultural institutions, such as University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, American Film Institute, Los Angeles City College, California State University Los Angeles, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, European Languages and Movies in America, American Cinematheque, Sundance Institute, Film Independent, Indian Film Festival Los Angeles, and the list goes on…
Festival Director Aris Katopodis and the LAGFF Team value the surrounding Greek-American community of Los Angeles and beyond. We believe that the Hellenic Diaspora is not only important for its role in preserving Hellenism but also in developing and advancing a cultural identity which has roots in a rich ancient heritage and continues to evolve through the present. Thus, we collaborate and exchange support with local organizations such as the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at Loyola Marymount University, Saint Sophia Cathedral Huffington Cultural Center, American Hellenic Council, Greek Heritage Society, Hellenic American Women’s Council, and many more.
Over the years, our team has become expert in organizing events, and LAGFF an influential example to Greek film festivals in the US, Canada, and Europe. As a nonprofit organization, we continuously face tough challenges, which are eventually overcome by the perseverance and resourcefulness of our team. In 2020, when the world was hit by the Covid pandemic and all event production came to a halt, we quickly pivoted to the digital realm, reaching not only our own Los Angeles and Southern California communities but the entire Hellenic Diaspora; as well as film and culture lovers from around the world. Attendance doubled and tripled in 2020 and 2021 thanks to the utilization of virtual technology. Recognizing, the significance and convenience of bringing people and works together on home screens and personal devices, we maintained the virtual component even after our return to the theaters in 2022.
In 2023, the Global Greek Film Initiative (GGFI), first envisioned by Board Member Lia Bozonelis, was launched with the aim to connect the American and Greek film industries, to inspire and inform on a year-round basis. In this context, our organization participated in several crew-training workshops offered by the Media Producers Association (PACT) and Faliro House Productions (Oxbelly), as well as the screenwriting workshop OWL. BRIDGES, a television script development program, is currently underway as the next GGFI program.
In the beginning of 2026, with support from Loyola Marymount University Department of Classics and Archaeology, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts Dean Dr. Richard Fox and Prof. Katerina Zacharia, and in collaboration with the Greek Documentary Association (Hellasdoc), we successfully launched the annual LAGFF-doc, a three-day documentary film festival which, in its inaugural edition, included 21 features and shorts highlighting important local and global contemporary issues.
Now, amidst working toward our festive 20th LAGFF edition, we take a moment to reflect back on our accomplishments and express our sincere gratitude toward a community of supporters, leaders, and advocates… all the while cherishing these collective memories as a beacon of light ushering us forward.
We thank the photographers who captured beautiful moments in LAGFF’s life, the @Urbanite.LA team — Srini Natarajan, Vanessa Skopeo and Steven Sasaki — and Maria Martin.