A gala screening and reception will launch the third annual New York City Greek Film Festival on Thursday, November 5, 2009, 7:30 p.m., at the Visual Arts Theater, 333 West 23 Street, just west of Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
The opening night selection will be the New York premiere of "Guinness," directed by Alexis Kardaras. Also on the bill is the animated short "Mariza," directed by Constantine Krystallis.
Athens born Kardaras studied at the NYU Film School, and he has made a Greek movie with American know how. Inspired by Hollywood gangster films of the 1940s, "Guinness" tells the story of an unlucky gambler who has hit rock bottom. He goes searching for buried gold in a remote Greek mountain village, but the closer he gets to his treasure, the more unlucky he becomes. Will the love of the right woman turn his life around? Will love triumph over gold?
"Metaphorically speaking, the gambler represents everyone who goes digging for happiness instead of looking for it where it really is," says Kardaras who is expected to be among the celebrities attending the gala.
Regular festival performances run November 6 through 12 at the Cinema Village, 22 East 12 St.,in Manhattan. The festival moves to the CineMart Cinemas, 106-03 Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills, November 13-19. All films have English subtitles.
Full information will be posted on the festival website in mid-September:
