The Delphi Bank 26th Greek Film Festival (GFF) returns to showcase diverse stories from trailblazing Greek filmmakers across the globe.
From the poetic drama Epiphany starring AACTA award-winner Alex Dimitriades and irreverent black-comedy The Taverna, to the latest masterpiece by weird wave auteur Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster), the GFF will screen 15 superb features, three engaging documentaries and one Australian short.
Festival Chair, Nia Karteris, said this year's eclectic lineup of films, showcasing strong Greek voices from across the globe.
"From the inspirational, to the thought-provoking, and the downright hilarious, this year's program showcases an incredible selection of diverse tales that are guaranteed to resonate with Australian audiences," Karteris said.
The Festival will open with inspirational sports docudrama 1968, from award-winning Greek filmmaker Tassos Boulmetis (A Touch of Spice).
Given his father, Antonis, was a basketball player who played for the national team, it's fitting this year's festival opens with a drama about that very sport.
Starring acclaimed Greek actor Ieroklis Michaelidis, the film revisits the legendary victory of the emergent Greek basketball team AEK in the European Cup against the seemingly undefeatable Czechoslovakian team - Greece's first ever win in history.
The landmark event on April 4, 1968 smashed attendance records with over 100,000 spectators flooding the marble Panathenaic Stadium.
Boulmetis' 1968 is also an exploration of a historic time of post-war rivalry between European nations, the assassination of Martin Luther King and the Vietnam War.
Closing the festival is Australian director Alkinos Tsilimidos' black comedy The Taverna. Set in Melbourne, the film chronicles a chaotic night in which an impromptu belly dance at a Greek restaurant leads to a series of unexpected and hilarious mishaps.
Other film highlights in between opening and closing nights include:
Aigaio SOS (2018) - A 2018 earthquake brings to the surface a tiny rocky island in international waters between Greece and Turkey, adding to the tension between the two countries. Life on the island takes a comical series of twists and turns as we witness the antics of a handful of military misfits.
The Favourite (2018) - The critically acclaimed period black-comedy directed by triple Oscar-nominated director Yorgos Lanthimos, featuring an Oscar-winning performance for Best Actress by Olivia Colman as Queen Anne.
Epiphany (2019) - Starring AACTA award-winner Alex Dimitriades (The Slap, Head On), rising star Caitlin Carmichael (Dwight in Shining Armor) and George Georgiou (Mamma Mia!, Game of Thrones), this love letter to Greek culture tells the story of Luka, a troubled teen who befriends an older man and slowly uncovers her family's mysterious past.
In This Land Nobody Knew How To Cry (2018) - Directed by Venice Golden Lion-nominated filmmaker Giorgos Panousopoulos (M' agapas?), this unconventional comedy follows a research group who discover a lost Aegean island whose inhabitants have established their own carefree money-less lifestyle, and get carried away in a vortex of love and passion for life.
In a special event this year, Alex Dimitriades (The Slap) and rising star Caitlin Carmichael (Dwight In Shining Armor) will attend the Festival in Sydney to introduce Epiphany (Oct 17), and engage in audience Q&As.
Dimitriades and Carmichael star alongside George Georgiou (Mamma Mia!, Game of Thrones) in this love letter to Greek culture, which tells the story of a troubled teen who befriends an older man, and slowly uncovers her family's mysterious past.
The festival returns to Leichhardt's Palace Norton Street Cinema from October 8 to 20 with tickets on sale at greekfilmfestival.com.au.