LAGFF Celebrates the 2023 Orpheus Awards as ‘Listen’ Wins Top Feature Honor

variety.com:

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, an annual showcase that brings films and filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus and other countries in the region to the United States, announced the winners of its 2023 Orpheus Awards at a ceremony on Sunday night at the Silver Screen Theatre in the Pacific Design Center.

Toplining the honors: “Listen,” directed by Maria Douza, which won for best fiction feature film. “Iman,” helmed Corina Avramidou and Kyriakos Tofarides, took home the special jury award for best film, and Panos Koutras won the best director award for “Dodo.” Spiros Jacovides won an honorable mention for best director for “Black Stone,” and Efthalia Papacosta was awarded the best performance trophy for “Listen.” “Black Stone” also won the audience award for feature film, and an honorable mention for best performance went to Stephanie Atala for “Iman.” “Listen” centers on a 16-year-old deaf girl forced to leave her progressive Athens school following financial upheavals and return to her father’s struggling island, where she’s confronted by prejudice and intolerance—including, most shockingly, her own.

The film’s director and actors Efthalia Papakosta and Dimitris Kitsos were in attendance. In the documentary category, the award for best doc went to “The Other Half,” by Giorgos Moutafis (from the online slate), and the special Jury prize for documentary directing went to “Queen of the Deuce” by Valorie Kontakos. “Venizelos: the Struggle for Asia Minor” took the audience award.

In short films, “Pebble,” by Karina Logothetis, won for best short, and a special jury award was bestowed on “Air Hostess – 737,” by Thanasis Neofotistos. “5 pm Seaside,” by Valentin Stejskal, received in honorable