A Greek-American filmmaker brings his debut crime thriller to the Philadelphia area with a month-long theatrical run.
I was front and center on behalf of Cosmos Philly this past Thursday evening at the historic Cinema Village Theatre in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village for the red-carpet premiere of Once a Week for Life. The Verdict is in. If the many excited cast members, actors, and guests waiting to get inside after walking the red carpet were any indication, their high energy was matched only by the excitement of onlookers, fans, members of the press, and photographers, all there to capture a glimpse of a little Hollywood glitz. The film did not disappoint.
The OWFL cast, assembled by Zouvelos, comprises performers in combined motion picture and television productions that have been honored with more than 179 Academy, Primetime Emmy, People’s Choice, Screen Actors Guild, and Grammy Awards.
Before he ever shouted “action” on set, George Zouvelos had already traversed the streets of New York City on foot, before he raced through them in an ambulance with red and blue lights flashing, determined to save lives. He also investigated and pursued absconders and fugitives unapologetically, guided by the mantra that it is better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.
Now he brings that same urgency and grit to the Delaware Valley, as his debut feature film, Once a Week for Life, makes its local premiere for general audiences and his own Greek-American community at Oaks Center Cinema, just outside Philadelphia.
For Greek Americans in the Philadelphia area, this is more than just a movie. It is a celebration of heritage, service, and the enduring ties between New York and our own vibrant community. With a month-long run at Oaks Center Cinema, local audiences have a rare chance to experience a story that reflects their values, struggles, and triumphs on the big screen.
As Zouvelos states, “No one on this earth is infallible, as we are all perfectly imperfect, just as the film and its characters portray. In my private life, I do not claim to be, or portray myself as any different, whether I am acting or simply living my life.”
The Film: Captures New York City in a Mason Jar. It’s Unapologetic Grit, Conscience, and the City Streets Zouvelos Came From.
Once a Week for Life is a gritty New York crime saga with a Greek-American heart and soul. At its center is an NYPD fugitive hunter and a former U.S. Navy SEAL veteran who struggles to hold himself together while doing nothing to confront the addictions he uses to soothe his emotional and physical wounds.
He is a creature of impulse and gluttony, often blind to the collateral damage he causes to himself and those around him, sometimes until it is too late.
For Greek-American viewers, this journey will feel instantly familiar: a fellow Hellene whose art, values, and perseverance are rooted in public service, community, and the lessons of family and faith.
For Zouvelos, character is proven not in comfort, but in crisis, a theme that pulses throughout the film.
“I weigh my options almost at once, because life taught me early that hesitation can carry a cost no man wishes to pay. That instinct was not born in comfort, but in harsh necessity, in moments where danger was real, and tragedy was not an idea but a fact…”
In OWFL, Lieutenant Adam Galanis is an NYPD fugitive hunter and a highly decorated U.S. Navy veteran, a former lieutenant commander with SEAL Team 5 who is trained to kill and has bled across at least three theaters of war: Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Back on the streets of New York City, he carries the battlefield with him, not as memory alone, but as instinct, appetite, and curse.
Now a police lieutenant leading the elite NYPD U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, he is a bombastic moral masochist, a man who keeps choosing pain over surrender because he no longer knows how to live any other way.
His life does not begin to fall apart with the latest tragedy. It was unraveling long before that, thread by thread, compromise by compromise, wound by wound, until a sting for a dangerous fugitive goes wrong and tears open everything he has tried to keep contained.
What follows is not simply a hunt. It is a descent through organized crime, City Hall, addiction, trauma, and corruption within his own ranks, where every promise is stained, and every act of duty comes at a cost.
“They want him dead and gone, but only he, Adam Galanis, knows how their story ends. Simply, ‘Justice Demands Blood.’”
Zouvelos does not just direct this world; he inhabits it. He wrote the script, produced, narrated, cast, composed music, and starred, surrounded by a deep bench of character actors from films like The Irishman, The Departed, The Shape of Water, CODA, and The Godfather, and shows like The Sopranos, Shameless, Ray Donovan, and Vinyl.
Where and When to See It
For local audiences, Once a Week for Life is now screening at Oaks Center Cinema just outside Philadelphia.
The film officially launched its local run on March 20, with special showings scheduled through April 13, 2026.
- Get tickets: https://www.oakscenter.net/movie/once-a-week-for-life
- Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OnceAWeekForLife
- Watch the trailer: https://vimeo.com/1173011376
Coming Soon to Streaming
Following its Philadelphia-area premiere, Once a Week for Life will be available beginning April 14 on major streaming and cable pay-per-view platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Dish, DirecTV, Google Play, and Fandango at Home.
The film was also recently featured in Variety, noting its upcoming distribution:
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/film-news-in-brief-feb-23-2026-1236670209
The Man Behind the Movie
George Zouvelos is a SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association actor, as well as a member and Emmy judge of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, New York Chapter.
He is also a member of New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), the American Film Institute (AFI), and the International Screenwriters’ Association (ISA).
In addition, he has spent more than three decades with the national AHEPA organization and currently serves as president of AHEPA Hermes John Cassavetes Chapter 186 in Astoria.
His roots stretch from Greek mountain villages in Arcadia and near Sparta to the immigrant neighborhoods of New York City. Born in Manhattan and raised in Astoria, Queens, he grew up at Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cathedral and as a Boy Scout in Troop 23.
Before studying filmmaking at the New York Film Academy and acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, he earned a BA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and worked in emergency services, law enforcement, and investigation.
For his service, he received numerous medals and lifesaving commendations, experiences that continue to shape his storytelling today.
He is also a father of four in Astoria with his wife, Anastasia, and their rescue dog, Frodo Baggins Zouvelos.
