Greek Film Festival 2018

Overview

Blue skies and scenic coastal sights will brighten Melbourne's cinemas between Wednesday, October 10 and Sunday, October 21, with the Greek Film Festival coming to town. Marking its 25th year, this showcase of Hellenic filmmaking will 16 features at Palace Como and The Astor Theatre — including ten brand new flicks and a six-movie retrospective focusing on Greek comedies.

In the latest and greatest camp, the festival kicks off with World War II drama The Last Note, charting events leading up to the execution of 200 Greek war prisoners in the Chaidari concentration camp. At the other end of the fest comes something completely different with closing night's Smuggling Hendrix, about a man's attempts to rescue his runaway dog from the UN border between Greek and Turkish Nicosia.

Elsewhere, viewers can see the latest Greek Weird Wave effort, Pity, which is co-written by The Lobster and Dogtooth co-scribe Efthimis Filippou — or check out Jamaica, about two brothers reuniting after a tragedy. Drama Happy Birthday takes inspiration from the street demonstrations that rocked Athens in 2008, while comedy-thriller Rosemarie follows a soap opera writer who borrows storylines from his real-life neighbours, and sequel The Bachelor 2 has been compared to The Hangover movies.

There's also a touch of Australia in the lineup, thanks to Melbourne-set local flick West of Sunshine. After premiering at last year's Venice Film Festival, director Jason Raftopoulos' debut effort about a man trying to settle his gambling debts while taking care of his primary school-aged son has been doing the rounds of Aussie cinemas all year. The warm-hearted social realist drama also features a fantastic performance from Pawno's Damien Hill, who sadly passed away last month.