ASTORIA, NY – GreekNews USA
The Hellenic Film Society (HFS) will present the award-winning film, 1968, which depicts the improbable victory of the Greek AEK basketball team over the Czech team in one of the most epic basketball games of all time.
The film, part of the Society’s Always on Sunday monthly Greek film series at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY, will be shown on Sunday, April 21 at 3pm.
Director Tassos Boulmetis, who also directed the acclaimed film, Politiki Kouzina, weaves archival footage of the historic game with recent interviews with players from both teams, along with fictional stories, to reveal the fascinating personal and political histories that came to play on the court that night against a backdrop of upheaval that rocked the entire world in 1968.
The game, a thrilling David and Goliath story, holds a Guinness world record for the largest attendance at a basketball game (80,000 in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens), and a victory that is still talked about.
The film is in Greek with English subtitles.
“There will be a lot of interest in this film,” says Maria C. Miles, Hellenic Film Society president. “It’s not just another inspirational sports movie…it’s a tribute to the human spirit and captures a moment in time during one of the most eventful years of the 20th century.”
For further information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.hellenicfilmusa.org.
The screening is part of Always on Sunday, the Greek film series presented monthly by the Hellenic Film Society at the Museum of the Moving Image.
The series is partially supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered by Flushing Town Hall.
About the Hellenic Film Society USA
The Hellenic Film Society USA (HFS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to sharing Greek films as a way of promoting cultural diversity, while strengthening the communities it serves. It is rooted in the belief that Greek cinema deserves to be part of the American cultural landscape. Founded in 2018, the organization promotes feature films, documentaries, and film shorts made by Greek filmmakers and those of Greek descent, as well as films that promote the cultures of Greece and Cyprus.
In addition to collaborating with the prestigious Museum of the Moving Image for its series of monthly Greek film screenings, HFS presents the annual New York Greek Film Expo film festival. HFS also hosts a YouTube channel offering free Greek films and interviews with filmmakers. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and the Kallinikeion Foundation are the lead supporters of the Hellenic Film Society USA.
Additional support is provided by Microsoft, Greek National Tourism Organization, AHEPA, the New York City Council, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Flushing Town Hall, Antenna Satellite TV, and NYC & Company.
