Schedule:

In its 7th year, the houston greek film festival (hgff) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that showcases new films from greek and cypriot filmmakers, producers and actors from greece, cyprus and the diaspora. Featuring both feature-length and shorts, the hgff aims to promote greek cinema to houston and all of texas and the southwest

Thursday, december 5, 2024

7:00pm behind the haystacks (feature)
Drama | 118mins | gulf coast premiere
Hgff 2024 opening film
A tragic incident on greece's northern border strikes a local family of three, pushing them to face their own personal impasses, while having to deeply consider the price for their actions.
(greek with english subtitles)

7:00pm firebug (short)
Drama | 24mins | north american premiere
Foivos, a new father, revisits his childhood home amidst a nearby wildfire. The visit stirs painful memories of his father. Foivos attempts to "Extinguish" the emotional fire that has haunted him since childhood.
(greek with english subtitles)

Friday, december 6, 2024

7:00pm the cardinal (short)
Drama | 16mins | gulf coast premiere
Muhammad, a young economic migrant working in a seaside tavern in athens, decides to turn himself into a ladies’ escort hoping to escape his harsh reality. But when a middle-aged lady calls for his services, mohammad must face a difficult personal truth.
(greek with english subtitles)

7:00pm to a land unknown (feature)
Drama | 105mins | gulf coast premiere
A palestinian refugee living on the fringes of society in athens gets ripped off by a smuggler and sets out to seek revenge.
(arabic & greek with english subtitles)

9:15pm africa star (feature)
Drama | 120min | gulf coast premiere
We follow three generations of cypriot women whose lives were tragically altered by one man's submission to temptation. Plagued by guilt over his act in 1945 and his failure to make amends in 1967, the now ailing octogenarian makes one last attempt in 2008.
(greek with english subtitles)

9:15pm buffer zone (short)
Drama | 16mins | gulf coast premiere
Two young soldiers across enemy lines fall in love and find escape from their oppressive environments through music.
(greek with english subtitles)

Saturday, december 7, 2024

1:30pm the child who measured the world (feature)
Drama | 104mins | north american premiere
A powerful french property developer of greek origin, finds his life suddenly turned upside down. When he arrives in greece the next day to repatriate the body, he also discovers somehting that will change his life forever.
(greek with english subtitles)

1:30pm koupepia (short)
Comedy | 11mins | north american premiere
Petros, a widowed cypriot man, attends his son's engagement party. Over koupepia, a traditional cypriot delicacy, he meets eleni. The two appear to have nothing in common but bond over the food of their heritage reframing petros' relationship to his son.
(greek with english subtitles)

4:00pm farewell: and suddenly memory began to remember (short)
Documentary | 41mins | world premiere
This documentary explores themes of dementia, trauma, and memory. The story follows toula vlachoutsikou, a psychotherapist suffering from dementia who once wrote stories about memory. Her daughter, now her caregiver, reflects on the mother-daughter bond amid illness.
(greek with english subtitles)

4:00pm kristos: the last child (feature)
Documentary | 90mins | gulf coast premiere
Of the only 30 inhabitants of arki island, 10-year old kristos must make a decision which will have huge impacts on his future and that of his island - of which he is the last remaining child.
(greek with english subtitles)

6:30pm operation star (feature)
Drama | 102mins | gulf coast premiere
A greek captain and sergeant, on the run after sabotage attempt against german forces, seek refuge in a village. Hunted by a ruthless german lieutenant's platoon, an unexpected love story unfolds amidst wartime, altering their paths. Includes special guest speaker to introduce the film.
(greek & german with english subtitles)

9:00pm taxi (short)
Drama | 15mins | gulf coast premiere
A taxi driver recounts the details of her husband's gruesome death to her passengers during a scenic drive through cyprus. The narrative keeps her passengers on edge, but by the journey's end, she must face an unavoidable reality.
(greek with english subtitles)

9:00pm yani spanos: a life behind the marquee (feature)
Documentary | 118mins | gulf coast premiere
A discovery of the incredible musical journey of yani spanos, setting off from small-town kiato to major collaborations in paris, and ultimately his huge success in greece.
(greek with english subtitles)

Sunday, december 8, 2024

12:30pm the coordinates (short)
Drama | 15mins | north american premiere
Elsa and martin's lives are slowly falling apart after their involvement in a legal case that's kept the location of a young woman's body hidden. Now elsa must make a choice to stay true to her sworn oath as a lawyer or do what's right.
(english)

12:30pm where we live (feature)
Drama | 90mins | gulf coast premiere
A day in the life of a young lawyer antonis spetsiotis that turns out quite unexpectedly, starting from the courts to end up in a wild scenery in the outskirts of athens.
(greek with english subtitles)

2:30pm the one note man (short)
Comedy | 23mins | gulf coast premiere
A muscian lives a careful life. Each day is like the next, just how he likes it. One day, however, misfortune and fate collide, breaking his routine and rocking his world forever.
(english)

2:30pm sew torn (feature)
Drama | 95mins | back in houston
A seamstress gets tangled in her own thread after stealing a briefcase from a drug deal gone bad. In an escalating game of cat and mouse, her different choices lead to drastically different outcomes along the way. A zavitsanos brothers film.
(english)

4:45pm unorthodox (short)
Drama | 23mins | gulf coast premiere
703ad, byzantium. A peaceful farmer is accused of heresy and sentenced to 24 hours of mandatory prayer, locked in a medieval pillory. Due to an invasion in the area, the officials forget to release him.
(greek with english subtitles)

4:45pm murderess (fonissa) (feature)
Drama | 97mins | gulf coast premiere
Hgff 2024 closing film
Greece's 2024 oscar submission
The story follows hadoula, an elderly midwife who has been hardened by years of surviving in a patriarchal society. Her life takes a dark turn as she confronts the limitations imposed on women in her society, leading her to acts of defiance and ultimately violence. The film adapts alexandros papadiamantis’s classic novella, which has been described as one of greece's finiest examples of modern literature and a powerful exploration of gender roles, family, and societal oppression.
(greek with english subtitles)

(when buying tickets to any film, you get to watch the short(s) and feature film - they're paired together)

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Date: december 5-8, 2024

Location:  matchouston - 3400 main street, houston TX 77002

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