CelebrateGreece.com Reaches Top 10 on Amazon.com Video Downloads

CelebrateGreece.com's latest release, A GREEK ISLANDS COOKING CLASS, reached Top 10 on Amazon.com's Video Downloads in multiple categories. See MORE.

FIRST ANNUAL LOS ANGELES GREEK FILM FESTIVAL

CelebrateGreece.com proudly covered the 1st Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, which took place at The Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills earlier this summer. The Festival featured 24 feature films and shorts, many as World Premieres. This wonderful four-day festival was created under co-directors Angeliki Giannakopoulos (MY CHILD: MOTHERS OF WAR, 2006) and Ersi Danou (A SEA APART, 2003). CelebrateGreece.com’s own CYNTHIA DADDONA graced the red carpet on Opening and Closing Nights interviewing established celebrities and the Greek stars of Hollywood’s tomorrow, such as 300's Tyler Neitzel, Troy's and 24's Adoni Maropis, Spiderman's Michael Papajohn and NBC'sDeal Or No Deal's Model Patricia Kara. (See photos of these new Greek stars below)
CelebrateGreece.com's Cynthia Daddona on the Festival's Red Carpet

The Festival consisted of Opening Night Ceremonies, special panels and Closing Night Ceremonies (with the E! Network's Daily 10 show's Debbie Matenopoulos serving as hostess). The LAGFF handed out the festival's first Orpheus Award to Academy Award Winner OLYMPIA DUKAKIS at the Closing Night Ceremony with Academy Award-winning filmmaker ALEXANDER PAYNE (SIDEWAYS; ABOUT SCHMIDT) on hand to present to Dukakis. Also honored with the first Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by legendary actress ANNE JEFFREYS, was veteran Hollywood Foreign Press Association journalist YANI BEGAKIS, who has been instrumental in the success of the Golden Globe Awards.





On hand as presenters for the awards of Best Dramatic Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Direction, Audience Choice and a Special Jury Award were MICHAEL CONSTANTINE (My Big, Fat Greek Wedding), MELINA KANAKAREDES (CSI: NY; Providence), STRATTON LEOPOLD (Exec. Producer of Mission Impossible III; Star Trek[XI]) and Chairman of 20th Century-Fox Filmed Entertainment JIM GIANOPULOS.



Also on hand to honor Yani Begakis was Karen Sharpe Kramer and her daughter Katharine Kramer. Their late husband and father, respectively, was Director Stanley Kramer who's credits include, but most certainly are not limited to "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", "High Noon", "The Caine Mutiny" and "The High & The Mighty". Karen Kramer won a Golden Globe for "The High & The Mighty" and Katharine is the god-daughter of the late Katharine Hepburn.


Feature length films included THE GUARDIAN’S SON (2006), SWEET MEMORY (2006), THE HEART OF THE BEAST (2005), PINK (2006), AKAMAS (2006), OPA! (2005), BRIDES (2004), WHO’S ON FIRST (2006), A SONG FOR ARGYRIS (2006), SUGARTOWN (2006), and MARSEILLES, A GREEK PROFILE (2004).

Short films included THE TRIKALA PHOTOGRAPHER (2005), THE THIEF (2005), MINES (2006), TIME OUT (2006), THE LONG HAUL OF A.I. BEZZERIDES (2006), SHRINK (2005), HOUSE OF THE OLIVE TREES (2007), PAPERBOAT (2006), AIRPORT FOR SALE (2006) and MY GERMAN VOCABULARY (2007).

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE - AKAMAS - Dir: Panikos Chrysanthou
BEST DOCUMENTARY -WHO’S ON FIRST - Dir: Valerie Kontakos
BEST DIRECTOR - ALEXANDER VOULGARIS for PINK
BEST SHORT - MINES - Dir: Christos Nikoleris
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD - A SONG FOR ARGYRIS - Dir: Stefan Haupt

SPECIAL JURY AWARD - THE GUARDIAN’S SON - Dir: Dimitris Koutsiabasakos
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - OLYMPIA DUKAKIS
HONORARY ORPHEUS AWARD - YANI BEGAKIS

CELEBRATEGREECE.COM's CHOICE - OPA!

Greek Stars of tomorrow (top to bottom), Tyler Neitzel, Adoni Maropis, Patricia Kara and Michael Papajohn (right).






Among the many sponsors of the festival were the Greek or Hellenic Secretariat General of Information (Panos Leivadas), Metaxa, the Greek Film Centre and Antenna Group.

Panos Leivadas (Ctr), Hellenic Secretariat General of Information, and Helen Vrynioti (rt), Press Counselor, Los Angeles Greek Consulate

CELEBRATEGREECE.COM MEETS WITH GREEK AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES

Alexandros P. Mallias, Cynthia Daddona and Dr. James Stathis


CelebrateGreece.com was honored when Founder Dr. James Stathis and On-Camera Host & Marketing Director Cynthia Daddona were invited to a private lunch with Greek Ambassador to the United States, Alexandros P. Mallias, during his recent visit to the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In our discussion of Greek culture with the Ambassador, we discovered he also believes the past of Greece offers much wisdom that is applicable to the present. He was delighted to learn more about CelebrateGreece.com’s mission to “preserve Hellenic Heritage and Greek Culture for the Future.” The luncheon also included Author/Professor Apostolos N. Athanassakis, Argyropoulos Chair in Hellenic Studies, Department of Classics, UCSB, and Consul General of Greece at Los Angeles, Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras.

BIG, FAT, GREEK WEDDING BLESSING FOR CELEBRATEGREECE.COM’s A GREEK ISLANDS WEDDING PRODUCTION

Nia Vardalosraises money for the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo, California and also Blesses CelebrateGreece.com’s Dr. James Stathis and Cynthia Daddona.

Nia Vardalos was the MC for a highly successful fundraiser for the St. Dimitrios Greek Orthodox new building Fund. Her inspiring personality and, of course, entertaining humor had Greeks bidding on My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding movie memorabilia that included signed movie posters, scripts and a bottle of Windex!

Short Video Trailer for A GREEK ISLANDS WEDDING

Click screen to play or pause.

Afterwards, we talked with Nia and discovered that her Yiayia and Dr. Stathis’ Yiayia were good friends in her hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. When we told her that James is the founder of CelebrateGreece.com and a documentary filmmaker of subjects on ancient Greece and Cynthia Daddona is on-camera personality, former comedienne and author of the amazon.com bestseller Diary of A Modern Day Goddess she asked for Cynthia’s autograph and book. But, best of all when we told her we were making A Greek Islands Wedding documentary and writing a feature film called Goddess and the G®eek she was overjoyed and began rubbing our backs to bless and instill us with her good wishes. OPA!

WORLD RENOWNED ARCHAEOLOGIST CHRISTOS DOUMAS and DR. JAMES STATHIS EXCHANGE ANCIENT HISTORY THEORIES AT UCLA

The top photo shows Dr. James Stathis ( left) and Prof. Christos Doumas.
Also attending were Consul General of Greece at Los Angeles, Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras (bottom picture, left),
and Press Counselor Helen Vrynioti.

Professor Christos Doumas, head of excavations of the bronze-age site of Akrotiri on the Greek Island of Santorini, discussed his fascinating and ongoing theories about his excavations and factual basis for some of the Greek Myths. Santorini is thought by many in the scholarly community to be the factual location of Plato’s legendary lost island of Atlantis. His North American Lecture Tour, sponsored by the Alexander S. Onasis Foundation, included three days of talks at UCLA.

Most compelling was his theory that the Cycladic Islands were the birthplace of Western Civilization as evidenced by their cooperative trade practices and evolved economy. He also discussed his bronze age theories as the factual basis for many of the ancient Greek myths, including Jason and the Argonauts, Prof. Doumas’ favorite.

During the three day visit, Dr. Stathis and Prof. Doumas exchanged their own closely held theories on the factual bases of many of the Greek Myths. Dr. Stathis’ own theory on the origins of the Atlas myth astounded Prof. Doumas who commented, “thank you for telling me that…I never thought of that. It makes so much sense.” Dr. Stathis’ Atlas theory will be presented as part CelebrateGreece.com’s
Greece: Spirits of the Ancients® documentary, presently in post-production.

A short video trailer of
GREECE: SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENTS®

Click screen to play or pause.
Music Courtesy of Yanni Live At The Acropolis
23rd Street Publishing

GREECE: SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENTS®

Our current production of
GREECE: SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENTS®

Click screen to play or pause.
Music Courtesy of Yanni Live At The Acropolis
23rd Street Publishing