The Greek Film Festival of Sydney, a cultural highlight of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW (GOCNSW), has announced its milestone 30th-anniversary program.
rom October 14th to 26th, 2025, Sydney will celebrate three decades of Greek cinema in Australia with a spectacular lineup of films, multiple events, and special surprises. The Greek Film Festival of Sydney is proudly presented by Benchmark Greek Law.
The festival will powerfully launch with the epic film Kapetan Mihalis as its Opening Night Gala on Tuesday, October 14th, before showcasing an exceptional lineup for its 30th anniversary edition.
The festival’s full program is a testament to its rich history and includes multiple retrospectives. The first is an ode to the best films presented during the past 29 remarkable years.
The festival includes iconic films like A Touch of Spice, Rebetiko, Rosa of Smyrna and multiple iconic Pantelis Voulgaris’ films like Brides, Little England, It’s a Long Road, and the powerful The Last Note.
Also screened will be Yorgos Lanthimos’ groundbreaking Dogtooth, and classic comedies like Safe Sex and Balkanisateur that shaped the new Greek Cinema era. A special treat for long-time attendees will be a screening of The Flea, the very first film to open the Greek Film Festival in Australia.
The festival’s second retrospective acknowledges the Sydney-based filmmakers and their invaluable contribution to Greek cinema in Australia, highlighting the talent that has grown right here in the Hellenic community. It will feature the work of exceptional directors and writers such as Kosta Nikas, Alex Lykos, Billy Cotsis, and Kay Pavlou, who have masterfully woven their Greek heritage into their films.
Last but not least, a third retrospective highlights the entire filmmaking work of Greece’s iconic actor and director, Renos Haralambidis. Audiences will have the chance to see his unique vision unfold with screenings of Cheap Smokes, The Heart of the Beast, No Budget Story, and 4 Black Suits.
The retrospective will culminate in a special closing night treat: his latest poetic film, Athens Midnight Radio, which will screen at Palace Cinemas Moore Park on Sunday, October 26th, concluding official festival dates for 2025.
This year’s program also features an exceptional selection of the latest Greek, Cypriot, and Greek-themed independent films, documentaries, and cinematic masterpieces, reflecting the vibrant pulse of contemporary filmmaking.
Highlights include The Return with Ralph Fiennes, Maria with Angelina Jolie, the Cypriot films Diversion and Smaragda, the family film Santa’s Snow Candy, comedies such as Greek Mothers Never Die and Murphy’s Law, powerful dramas like Riviera, Together Apart, the iconic film Stelios and remarkable documentaries such as Dourgouti Town, Super Paradise, Memento, The Enigma of Keros and A Journey to the Stars!
“For 30 years, the Greek Film Festival has been a cornerstone of cultural expression and connection for our community,” Harry Danalis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, said.
“It has been an incredible journey, and this year’s program is a true celebration of that history, creativity, and the strong cinematic bonds between Greece and Australia. We invite everyone to join us for what promises to be a memorable anniversary.”
Nia Karteris, Chair of the Greek Festival & the Greek Film Festival of Sydney, said: “Reaching our 30th anniversary is not just a milestone; it’s a testament to the enduring power of Greek cinema and the unwavering dedication of our community.”
“For three decades, the festival has captivated Australian audiences, showcasing the modern Greek perspective with remarkable foresight, diversity, and quality. We are incredibly proud of the history we have built and are committed to making this 30th edition our most spectacular yet,” Ms Karteris added.
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements, including details on a special guest of honour visiting from Greece and a new venue partner that will bring the festival’s films to the western suburbs!
Full Program:
Kapetan Mihalis (Opening Night Film)
Crete, 1889. Captain Michalis is an uncompromising Cretan whose sacred duty is the liberation of Crete. However, the moment he meets Emine, the wife of his blood brother, Nouribeys, he’s possessed by a demon. Temptation won’t leave him alone and distracts him from his duty. The decision of whether to follow his duty or succumb to his passion will have a catalytic effect on all involved.
The novel Captain Michalis, upon which the film is based, has won international acclaim. It’s been translated into 28 languages and is Nikos Kazantzakis’ best-selling work worldwide. Inspired by the author’s childhood memories of his father in Crete, it delves into the Cretan people’s particular way of life and their fervent desire for freedom. The events in the story take place shortly before the Cretan Revolution, which aimed to liberate the island of Crete from the Ottoman Turks.
Greek Mothers Never Die
This supernatural comedy begins in Greece: Ella is the only child of Jack, an American singer-songwriter, and Despina, the zany, overprotective Greek owner of a cooked meat shop. Nick, Ella’s only friend, is a shy, nerdy ten-year-old. As Ella and Nick grow older their friendship turns into love, but in 2010 the Greek economy collapses, Nick vanishes, Jack dies and Despina and Ella move to America and set up shop there.
Ella is now a 27-year-old late-bloomer, dreaming of becoming a singer, but Despina wants her to take over the business. During their daily fight, Despina drops dead of a heart attack, only to return as a ghost, haunting Ella with unwanted advice and romantic guidance after Nick resurfaces as a handsome doctor and something of a playboy.
A Touch of Spice
A Touch of Spice is a story about a Greek boy (Fanis) growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor, teaches him that both food and life require a touch of spice to give them flavour. Fanis grows up to become an astrophysicist and an excellent cook, using his cooking skills to spice up the lives of those around him. Many years later he leaves Athens, where he is now living, and travels back to his birthplace to reunite with his grandfather and his first love; he comes now to realise that he forgot to put a little bit of spice into his own life.
Rembetiko
The highly acclaimed Rembetiko (1983, director’s cut 2024) is a poignant musical drama that chronicles the life of Marika, a gifted singer whose journey mirrors the turbulence of 20thcentury Greece. Born in Smyrna in 1917, Marika is forced to flee to Greece by the 1922 Catastrophe. Her early life is marred by personal tragedy. Despite these hardships, she rises to prominence in the rembetiko music scene—a genre often described as the Greek blues, known for expressing the struggles of the marginalised.
Marika’s story unfolds against a backdrop of significant historical events, including World War II and the Greek Civil War, highlighting themes of displacement, resilience, and the enduring power of music. Her
passionate performances and tumultuous relationships underscore the personal costs of artistic dedication. The film culminates in Marika’s tragic death, cementing her legacy as a symbol of cultural perseverance.
Brides
Set in 1922, Brides is the story of a mail-order bride – one of 700 from every corner of Greece, Turkey, Russia and Armenia – aboard the SS King Alexander bound for the USA. In her suitcase is a photograph of an unwelcome bridegroom and her wedding gown. Also on this vessel, but travelling in first class rather than third, is an American photographer on his way home to a failed marriage. She meets him and falls in love…
It’s A Long Road
Three people head towards a turning point in their lives: at a dig in Philippi, an archaeologist discovers an unlooted tomb; at a bird sanctuary in Thrace, a game warden pays back a poacher in his own coin; a factory owner goes berserk when his wife leaves him, taking with her their two small children.
Roza of Smyrna
The enigmatic old woman, Rosa from Izmir (Smyrna), and the powerful Ismael have lived for decades with the weight of a well-kept secret. Dimitris, an avid collector of Greek objects in Asia Minor, is preparing an exhibition in a renowned museum in Athens on the culture of the nationalities who cohabited in Izmir before the genocide.
During a trip to Izmir with the museum’s curator and his girlfriend, Rita, he accidentally finds a bloodstained Greek wedding dress in a small antique shop. An old photograph, a bloodstained wedding dress, and a letter become the reasons to retell their story from the past.
Balkanisateur
Stavros and Fotis, both penniless thirty-somethings and close friends with contrasting personalities, are trying to survive in a small town in Northern Greece. They learn that they can get rich by black-marketing dollars, so they travel to Bulgaria and Switzerland, hoping to gain money from the difference in foreign exchange rates. Their journey, full of stories and unexpected events, begins in an old car. Between East and West, the Balkans and Europe, hands exchange dollars for leva and leva for Swiss francs. The scheme is working, but how will it end?
Dogtooth
A father, a mother and their three children live in a house in the outskirts of a city. The children have never left the house. They are being educated, entertained, bored and exercised in the manner that their parents deem appropriate, without any influence from the outside world. Rediscover Yorgos Lanthimos’ iconic feature film that defined his style and launched his career. Awarded the Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Dogtooth was later nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category
The Flea
Elias lives in a village in the mountains near Olympia and is about to finish primary school. But nobody calls him by his real name; he’s mostly known as “The Flea”, the name of the handwritten newspaper he edits and publishes by himself. His fellow-villagers make fun of Elias and yet he dreams of travel. “The Flea” helps him escape his village’s boundaries and gives him the wings he needs to fly away.
Little England
In 1930s Andros, the island known as “Little England” because of its maritime tradition, local women mostly marry seamen and spend lonely lives, with their menfolk absent for long periods and sometimes lost at sea. A captain’s daughter, Orsa, is passionately in love with a sailor, Spyros, but her mother, Mina, at the helm of the family during her husband’s long absences, turns down Spyros’ marriage proposal for Orsa because of his humble background.
Obeying her mother’s wishes, Orsa marries Nikos, a captain and ship owner. Years later, Spyros returns to the island as an accomplished captain with excellent prospects. Mina decides that he is now eligible to marry Orsa’s younger sister Moscha. After the wedding, the two couples share the same house. Following World War II, suppressed feelings are rekindled…
Safe Sex
Safe Sex is a vibrant Greek comedy satire that weaves together multiple vignettes about the romantic and sexual entanglements of modern Athenians. Directed by the creative duo Michalis Reppas and Thanasis Papathanasiou, the film adopts a mosaic structure to humorously explore diverse aspects of intimacy – from dating misadventures and marital misunderstandings to experimental relationships and
social taboos.
Murphy’s Law
After an accident Maria Aliki (or Alice), a failed actress in search of big roles, gets thrust into a reality where she is called on to play all the parts that life could have given her if she had made different choices. Where exactly is she? Has she passed out, has she died or is she dreaming?
Trying to understand what is happening to her and trying to find her way out to real life, Maria Aliki tries to fit into roles that others seem to have designed for her. How can she get back to life? Does she really want to go back? In a journey of self-discovery, Maria Aliki is confronted with herself and is asked to answer the essential question: “To be or not to be?” Ultimately, who is the real Maria Aliki, and how can she find her way back to life?
Together Apart
Anna and Philippos meet on an island after a year of separation in order to finalise their divorce and negotiate the future of their two children. Anna seems confident in her decision to separate, while Philippos seems unable to accept that their marriage is over. Their heated arguments bring deeper feelings to the surface. Their love and attraction are rekindled. The island, beautiful but dangerous, becomes a reflection of their marriage.
Stelios
The touching story of the singer Stelios Kazantzidis, a child of a refugee family from Pontus, who managed to create a brilliant career thanks to his enormous talent and against all social and personal difficulties. Music, love, family, friends, fishing, creativity, night bouncers, fanatics, and great conflicts, create the mosaic of his life. A tribute film to a great singer, whose voice spoke to the hearts of all Greeks
around the world. A film for those who loved him, and those who would like to get to know him.
The Last Note
Pantelis Voulgaris’s most recent film deals with one of the most important chapters of modern Greek history: the execution of 200 Greek resistance fighters by the German occupying forces on May 1st, 1944, in Kaisariani, as reprisal for the ambush of Nazis by the Greek Resistance. It takes us to the concentration camp of Chaidari, the period before Labor Day (May 1st), and introduces us to the people behind the tragic events. The leading character is 34-year-old Napoleon Soukatzidis, a Cretan born in Asia Minor, who had been arrested under the Metaxas dictatorship in 1936 and had been in prison and exile ever since.
A Journey to the Stars
In 1987 the Giannakopoulos family, fans of the Panathinaikos Athletic Club, decided to take over management of the men’s basketball department. The decision would launch them on a journey to the Stars.
The film captures the team’s journey from the establishment of the men’s basketball department in 1919, the inauguration of the women’s team in 1937 and the resistance activities of its athletes during the Occupation, to the building of the Indoor Hall under the stands of the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium and the team’s reaching the Final Four of the Cup Winners’ Cup, all leading up to the pivotal moment when the Giannakopoulos family took over its administration, which led it to repeated successes in the European Basketball Championships.
The Return
After twenty years away Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognisable. The king has finally returned home but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan War. His beloved wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by her many ambitious suitors to choose a new husband, a new king.
Their son Telemachus (Charles Plummer), who has grown up fatherless, is in danger of death at the hands of the suitors, who see him as an obstacle in their relentless pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Odysseus has changed too. Scarred by his experience of war, he is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember. But he is forced to face his past in order to rediscover the strength needed to save his family and win back the love he has lost.
Maria
Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie is Maria Callas, one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century, in acclaimed director Pablo Larrain’s biographical drama Maria. The film follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. The film reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva comes face to face with her identity and her life.
Santa’s Snow Candy
In a stunning mountain village, a quirky pastry chef named Mr. Panagiotis (Alexandros Antonopoulos) is forced by circumstance to hide a little girl, Fani (Ariadni Velli), in his house. It doesn’t take long for his two grandkids (Spyros Douyias and Stella Mouriki) and their mate (Stratis Zacharis) to find the hidden Fani, and just like that, the “gang of five” is formed.
The four kids and Mr. Panagiotis embark on a fantastic adventure that blurs the lines between reality and fairytale. But first, they have to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. They need to trick Mr. Panagiotis’s daughter (Katerina Geronikolou), the local doctor (Meletis Ilias), and pretty much everyone in the small
community. They face a heap of obstacles, and after a thousand and one twists and turns, their secret is revealed, and they’re forced to face the music. Will they live happily ever after?
The whole crew gets mixed up in a comedy full of icing sugar, childhood dreams, and sweet tunes by Themis Karamouratidis. The film’s song is performed by Eleonora Zouganeli.
Diversion
Kostas is a policeman, divorced with a child and with his mother in a nursing home. He is having a hard time financially, so he often steals jewelry from the corpses he conveys to the morgue. His ex-wife, Andri, works as a cleaner but she too is struggling financially since Kostas doesn’t always pay in full the alimony they agreed upon. At the same time, he maintains a relationship with Elena, who lives with her mother.
One day, when he and his colleague Andreas are called upon to transport a deceased person, an elderly woman, Kostas steals a cross from the corpse and puts it with other stolen jewelry in a biscuit container that he hides in a kitchen cupboard. Things start to get complicated when Elena stays overnight at Kostas’ apartment, finds the container and makes a disturbing discovery.
Riviera
A mysterious stain appears on the wall in one of the rooms of a guest house on the Athenian Riviera, which young Alkistis manages together with her mother, Anna. In her spare time Alkistis tries to communicate with a dying tree, which she calls Jerry.
Their only guests are Petros, a failed writer, who can no longer afford to live there, and a couple who are threatening to leave because of the growing mould in their room. Anna is about to sell out. Alkistis falls out with her best friend and gets involved in a doomed romance with a local engineer. As she desperately tries to cling onto the past, she spirals down into a frenzy of denial. Yet maybe the end of her world is not
quite so tragic after all…
Smaragda – I got thick skin and I can’t jump
A middle-aged woman, Smaragda, moves into her late mother’s house in Ayia Napa, a tourist town in Cyprus, taking on the care of Bella, her mother’s guide dog. Concerned about the environment, but with problems in her relationships, single and professionally stagnant, she ponders on the heritage she will leave.
As a former children’s TV show host yearning to return to the industry and facing rejection, she explores social media, encountering both fame and backlash. Financially strained, she takes a job as a kids’ entertainer at a tourist resort, a far cry from her previous aspirations. And yet…
Dourgouti Town (Documentary)
An estate agent interested in investing wanders around the area of Neos Kosmos in Athens, formerly known as Dourgouti. Through his eyes unfolds the past, present and uncertain future of this once run-down district. A district like a deserted island, right next to the Acropolis, sharing the fate of similar neighborhoods around the globe. A district that silently records the history of the city for the last 100 years, just before gentrification takes complete control of the area and radically changes its character.
Super Paradise (Documentary)
Over the past 70 years, Mykonos has experienced transformations that test the limits of imagination: once it was dirt cheap, today it’s unaffordable; once it was “off the beaten track”, today it’s a top destination; once it was inclusive, today it’s exclusive. So, what happened? How did a tiny island become a melting pot for such radically divergent experiences? Was it once α paradise? Is it still?
In this documentary the cinematic material is intercut with exclusive interviews, a mosaic of people of all ages from different walks of life – locals, internationals, intellectuals, artists, farmers, bar owners – all offering their unique perspective on the Mykonos experience and providing a behind-the-scenes, intimate view of a complicated and fascinating island.
Memento (Documentary)
Memento is a lyrical journey into the heart of Giromeri, a fading village nestled in the misty mountains of Epirus, northern Greece. Each Easter Monday, among weathered tombstones and blooming spring, villagers gather in the cemetery where local musicians perform the favorite songs of the departed – an intimate ritual of remembrance echoing through generations. This unique tradition becomes a timeless bridge between the living and the dead, between melody and memory. The documentary reveals the fragile beauty of rural life, where tradition clings to the edges of modernity. It is a gentle hymn to a way of life slowly fading, yet still fiercely sung.
Athens Midnight Radio (Closing Night Film)
On the night he turns fifty a seasoned late-night radio presenter realises, with unease, that his youth is gone forever. While he unravels his life on air and messages from a distant past are transmitted from a forgotten answering machine, an old love affair left in limbo comes back to haunt him. His army service in the Presidential Guard (Evzones), the silent nocturnal audience, a midnight marathon, the dimly lit Athenian antiquities and the nocturnal landscape, all mingle nostalgically and dreamily with the radio waves…
No Budget Story
Unable to make ends meet, aspiring filmmaker Eirinaios still dreams about making the ideal independent sci-fi movie. He can’t secure funding until shady entrepreneur and former adult-movie producer Tolis takes a shine to him. Tolis seems to believe in Eirinaios, but his new protégé must do something in return
4 Black Suits
Four undertakers in financial trouble latch onto a one-off opportunity to change their lives and bid farewell to a profession they entered for a while but got stuck in for good. On the promise of a large fee, they fulfill the dying wish of a Greek who lived his life abroad: he wants them to take his body from Athens to a village in Boeotia for burial…on foot. Deciding to grant his bizarre request, they embark on an odyssey which soon becomes an unexpected voyage of discovery.
Cheap Smokes
A mosaic of moments of Athenian life in the last summer of the twentieth century. A carefree and enigmatic walker collects the best moments of a city that the laziness of summer makes light and magical. Doomed loves and tragicomic encounters emerge to confront the harsh yet redemptive humour of everyday life. The central hero roams the landscape of night-time Athens looking for love, while
at the same time wandering in his own inner landscape and questioning his existence.
The Heart of the Beast
His advanced studies in philosophy have caused Stephanos to view all people as his inferiors. When he is discharged from army service (which is obligatory in Greece), he thinks the world belongs to him. In reality all that belongs to him are debts left by his mother, who has just died, and rejection by his formerly devoted girlfriend. Then Nikos, an old high school classmate, reappears in his life…
Sacred Heart
After the death of his pregnant wife, a religious man rejects his faith and ironically challenges God and the Devil, as he struggles with the desire for revenge.
Alex & Eve
Alex, a Greek Orthodox schoolteacher, falls for Eve, a Lebanese Muslim lawyer. The relationship is forbidden by both families, so the lovers find themselves in a critical dilemma.
Two Homelands (Documentary)
Two Homelands is both a commemoration of war and a celebration of community. 2024 marked 50 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Six elderly Australian Greek Cypriots – aged 70 to 102 – reflect on their war-torn island, life in Australia and their desire to see unification with their Turkish Cypriot compatriots. Filmed in Greek, the documentary offers a powerful perspective on migration, displacement,
identity, resilience and cultural legacy.
The Greeks of South America (Documentary)
A loco Greek-Aussie-Lesbian adventurer, Billy Cotsis, journeys to South and Latin America in 2024 and 2025, exploring Greek communities that have thrived since the 1800s. The film visits 23 countries, showcasing multi-generational Greek speakers, businesses, churches, and cultural traditions. It highlights how these communities preserve their heritage and language in distant lands. The film also reveals shared values between Greeks and the peoples of the Americas, such as a love for food and adventure, all while celebrating the region’s stunning landscapes.
The Enigma of Keros (Documentary)
The excavations at Dhaskalio (directed by Colin Renfrew and Michael Boyd of the McDonald Institute, University of Cambridge) have completely transformed our understanding of what was previously seen as a Cycladic enigma. The today uninhabited island of Keros, in the Cyclades, Greece, was the site of the world’s earliest maritime sanctuary in the Early Bronze Age, and a thriving centre for metal production, providing much evidence for all crucial developments in architecture. The documentary presents all the great finds and the complex architectural design on the islet of Dhaskalio, which testifies to a sophisticated settlement of the Early Bronze Age, which could only be compared to the one in Knossos, Crete during the same period. In the 1950s, Keros was the focus of public attention concerning one of the largest cases of looting in the world.
Further details on the upcoming Film Festival, including how to buy tickets, can be found at https://greekfilmfestival.com.au/sydney
Event Details:
- What: 30th Greek Film Festival Sydney
- When: 14-26 October 2024
- Where: Palace Cinema Norton St, 99 Norton St, Leichardt, NSW 2040 & Palace Cinema Moore Park, 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park NSW 2021
- Tickets & Full Program: https://greekfilmfestival.com.au/sydney
