The New York Greek Film Expo returns October 8 through 18 with 12 films screening across Manhattan, Queens and Fort Lee, New Jersey, along with visiting actors and directors, audience Q&As and a four-film retrospective of Michael Cacoyannis.
Presented by the Hellenic Film Society USA, the program includes eight recent films and four Cacoyannis works. Screenings begin October 8 at the DGA New York Theater, continue October 9–11 at Village East Cinema, move to the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee on October 13 and the Melrose Ballroom in Queens on October 14, and conclude October 16–18 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. The full schedule and ticket information are available through the Hellenic Film Society.
Greek actress Katia Goulioni will serve as honorary host of the 2026 Expo. She returns after appearing at last year’s festival with Murphy’s Law, for which she later received the Expo’s award for best performance in a feature film.
The festival opens Thursday, October 8, with Hold Onto Me (Κράτα Με), the feature debut of Cypriot filmmaker Myrsini Aristidou. The film follows 11-year-old Iris (Maria Petrova) as she seeks out her long-absent father, Aris (Christos Passalis).
Hold Onto Me won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance lists the film as a Cyprus, Denmark, and Greece production. Aristidou and Passalis are scheduled to take part in a Q&A following the New York screening.
The opening-night screening begins at 7 p.m. at the DGA New York Theater, 110 West 57th Street. Hold Onto Me will screen again on October 13 at the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee.
The remaining contemporary films are Broken Vein, directed by Yannis Economides; Last Call, directed by Sherif Francis; Life in a Beat, directed by Amerissa Basta; Patty Is Such a Girly Name, directed by Giorgos Georgopoulos; Receptions, directed by Filippos Tsitos; and Rooster, directed by Tassos Gerakinis. Several screenings will be followed by conversations with visiting filmmakers and cast members.
Patty Is Such a Girly Name, about a young judo athlete who leaves her island home for Athens to pursue her Olympic ambitions, won seven 2026 Hellenic Film Academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Director Giorgos Georgopoulos and lead actor Vangelis Mourikis are scheduled for a Q&A following the October 10 screening at Village East Cinema.
On October 14, Cavo Paradiso Mykonos: 30 Years of History will have its U.S. premiere at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens. The documentary traces the history of the Mykonos nightclub through its founders, promoters, and DJs. A Q&A with director Andonis Theocharis Kioukas and an after-party are scheduled after the screening.
The final weekend focuses on Michael Cacoyannis, the Greek Cypriot filmmaker whose work reached international audiences with Zorba the Greek. The Museum of the Moving Image will screen A Girl in Black on Friday, October 16; Zorba the Greek on Saturday, October 17; and Stella and Windfall in Athens on Sunday, October 18.
For Manhattan screenings, the Hellenic Film Society lists a $150 pass that includes the opening-night film and six screenings at Village East Cinema. The opening-night reception and screening package is sold out, while film-only tickets are $30. Other Manhattan screenings are $20, with 20 percent discounts available for seniors 65 and older and students with valid ID. Tickets for screenings at the Museum of the Moving Image and Barrymore Film Center are sold separately through those venues.
All films are presented with English subtitles. The full screening schedule, film descriptions, and ticket links are available through the Hellenic Film Society.