Several hundred guests attended Closing Night of the 18th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) on June 9 at Silver Screen Theatre, Pacific Design Center. The critically-acclaimed ‘Murderess’ (‘Fonissa’), starring Karyofyllia Karabeti and directed by Eva Nathena, was featured and included a live dialogue with the film’s star and director.
The screening was preceded by a lively red carpet hosted by influencer Becca Brazil and followed by the Orpheus Awards.
The Orpheus Awards hosted by Arianna Papalexopoulos honored renowned Greek actress Karyofyllia Karabeti with the 2024 Orpheus Award. Awards Presenters were Angelo Hatgistavrou: Best Animation, Maria Korinthiou: Best Short Film, Jaswant Shrestha: Best Documentary, Eliza Gerontakis: Honoree Award, Elena Evangelo: Best Performance + Best Director, Marie Avgeropoulos: Best Film.
The Closing Night reception and party were presented by The Kolovos Family, appetizers and catering by Nick The Greek, wines by Avra, VIP Room catering by Petros, Cocktails from Kleos Mastiha, Dulce Vida Tequila, and Empress Gin, Water from Smart Water, soft drinks and cookies by Optima Foods and VIP gift bags from Chrysofora olive oil and Hellenic Aesthetic.
Several hundred guests attended Closing Night of the 18th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) on June 9 at Silver Screen Theatre, Pacific Design Center. The critically-acclaimed ‘Murderess’ (‘Fonissa’), starring Karyofyllia Karabeti and directed by Eva Nathena, was featured and included a live dialogue with the film’s star and director. The screening was preceded by a lively red carpet hosted by influencer Becca Brazil and followed by the Orpheus Awards.
The Orpheus Awards hosted by Arianna Papalexopoulos honored renowned Greek actress Karyofyllia Karabeti with the 2024 Orpheus Award. Awards Presenters were Angelo Hatgistavrou: Best Animation, Maria Korinthiou: Best Short Film, Jaswant Shrestha: Best Documentary, Eliza Gerontakis: Honoree Award, Elena Evangelo: Best Performance + Best Director, Marie Avgeropoulos: Best Film.
The Closing Night reception and party were presented by The Kolovos Family, appetizers and catering by Nick The Greek, wines by Avra, VIP Room catering by Petros, Cocktails from Kleos Mastiha, Dulce Vida Tequila, and Empress Gin, Water from Smart Water, soft drinks and cookies by Optima Foods and VIP gift bags from Chrysofora olive oil and Hellenic Aesthetic.

The 2024 Orpheus Winners are in the Animation category, Best Animation- ‘Ready’ by Eirini Vianelli with ‘Claw Machine’ by George Salameh taking home the Special Jury Award.
In the Shorts category, ‘Wings’ by Fivos Imellos won Best Short with ‘Buffer Zone’ by Savvas Stavrou taking the Special Jury Award.
In the Documentaries category, ‘Kristos, the Last Child’ by Giulia Amati won Best Documentary and ‘Laughing in Afghanistan’ by Anneta Papathanassiou won the Special Jury Award.
In the Best Performance category, Dimitra Vlagopoulou won for her role in ‘Animal’, while the Special Jury Award went to Karyofyllia Karabeti for her role in ‘Murderess’.
Best Director went to Adonis Florides for ‘Africa Star’ with the Special Jury Award going to Eva Nathena for ‘Murderess.’
‘Animal’ by Sofia Exarchou won Best Film.
The Audience Award for Short film went to ‘One Note Man’ by George Siougas.
In the Documentary category, the Audience Award went to Happy Clothes: A Film about Patricia Field by Michael Selditch.
The Audience Award for Feature Film went to ‘Jaunt’ by Alexi Papalexopoulos.
The Discovery Days Honorable Mention went to ‘Four Funerals and a Wedding’ (Montenegro) by Writer/Director Nikola Mijovic and Producer Maja Kecojevic (Parangal Film).
The Discovery Days Winner is ‘Nearby Faraway’ (Greek, Germany) by Writer/Director Sonia Liza Kenterman and Producer Myrto Stathi (BYRD).
Now in its 10th edition, the Discovery Days story and screenplay lab continues to serve as an industry leader in developing artistic international feature film projects as well as fostering ties between filmmakers from Southern Europe/the Balkans and the Los Angeles community of cinema.
Many films that have participated in the lab go on to successful paths, including ‘Medium’ directed by Christina Ioakeimidi, screening at this year’s LAGFF. Under the leadership of director Araceli Lemos, Discovery Days received a record number of submissions and ultimately selected seven projects. The team includes Joel Garber (Producer), Karina Logothetis (Producer) and Nasos Gatzoulis (Programmer). To celebrate Discovery Days’ 10th anniversary edition, Greek sculptor Kyriakos Rokos created this year’s award.

LAGFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that focuses its attention on bringing films and filmmakers from Greece, Cyprus, and the rest of the world to the United States. Since its founding, LAGFF has screened over 520 films and hosted over 500 filmmakers supporting their films. More information is available online: https://www.lagff.org