Greek Film Festival Netherlands

The trailer for the first edition of GRFFNL is here. Three days of screenings, performances, music, conversations, and gathering around contemporary Greek cinema in the Netherlands. 22–24 May 2026 Tickets and full program via the link in bio. Festival trailer made by: @smaragda_nits Visual identity: @arthousedsgn #grffnl26 #greekcinema #filmfestival #greeksinthenetherlands

DAY 1 — SCREENINGS From queer nightlife in Athens to intimate portraits of displacement, memory, and belonging, the first day of GRFFNL brings together films that move between the personal and the political. GRFFNL runs May 22–24 at Filmhuis Cavia (@filmhuiscavia ), with selected events taking place at De Kempenaerstudio (@de.kempenaerstudio ) next door. The full festival program, tickets, and schedule are available through the link in bio. #GRFFNL #FilmFestival #AmsterdamEvents #GreekCinema #QueerCinema IndependentFilm

Closing Night + After Party Sunday, May 24 — De Kempenaerstudio We close the festival with an evening of live music, gathering, and a final night together at De Kempenaerstudio. Dimitris Tsiotas and Stelios Ladopoulos present a live set of Greek music drawing from rebetika and laika, performed with bouzouki, guitar, and vocals. After the concert, the night continues with drinks and music into the late hours. Free entrance. Doors — 19:00 Live music — 20:00 Dimitris Tsiotas is a guitarist based in Amsterdam whose playing is rooted in bebop and post-bop jazz. Stelios Ladopoulos is a musician and sound engineer based in Utrecht who regularly performs Greek music across the Netherlands, with musical groups ‘‘Gidiki’’ and ‘‘Arda and the Giannena’’. Dimitris and Stelios are both Greek performers who met in the Netherlands, they play together both Jazz and Rebetiko repertoires. Following the concert, the evening continues with drinks and music as we mark the end of the festival together. #grffnl26 #greekcinema #greekrebetiko #closingnight

Opening Night Friday, May 22 — De Kempenaerstudio We open the festival with an evening of live performance, music, and a good reason to stay a little longer. The night begins with a performance by Bea Álvarez Borque and Dimitra Sofroniou, followed by our opening night after party with drinks and music into the late hours. Free entrance. Doors — 19:00 Performance — 20:00 Bea Álvarez Borque (@bea.alv.b ) is a performer and composer of electronic music with a background in classical viola, focusing on sound design, sonic textures, and spatialisation. Dimitra Sofroniou (@dimitra.sofr ) is a composer, performer, and sound artist from Athens, based between Amsterdam and Antwerp. Her work explores gender, emotion, and identity through the meeting point of music and performance. #grffnl26 #openingnight #liveperformance #filmfestival

What if your budget is not the problem? Most filmmakers are taught to compensate—to stretch what they have and imitate what they don’t. But what if working with less is not something to overcome, but something to work from? This 3-hour workshop, led by Smaragda Nitsopoulou (@smaragda_nits ), approaches low-budget filmmaking as a method: a way of thinking, seeing, and making decisions. Bring a project at any stage. Leave with concrete feedback, new references, and a clearer next step. 📍 De Kempenaerstudio 🕒 15:00 📅 23 May Limited spots → Register via link in bio #grffnl26 #workshop #lowbudgetfilmmaking

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Animal (Opening Night Film + After Party) Ticket sales for the full film program go live today at 12:00 (link in bio) We’re proud to open this year’s festival with Animal, directed by Sofia Exarchou. A world behind the spotlight. A body pushed to its limits. A summer that never seems to end. Animal is a raw and immersive dive into the lives of resort entertainers, where performance and reality blur under the relentless rhythm of the season. Set against the sun-drenched backdrop of a Greek island, the film follows a group of animators as they navigate exhaustion, desire, and the quiet fractures beneath carefully choreographed smiles. Blending intimacy with intensity, Exarchou captures bodies in motion—dancing, enduring, unraveling—revealing the cost of constant performance in a world built on illusion and escape. What begins as spectacle slowly transforms into something far more vulnerable and unguarded. Fierce, hypnotic, and deeply human, Animal asks: what happens when the show never stops—and the role becomes your only reality? #grffnl26 #filmfestival #animal #greekcinema

PROGRAM ADDITION: Avantaz by Christos Tatsis We’re very excited for our collaboration with @dramafilmfestival for Drama International Short Film Festival On the Road. During the festival, we will present two curated blocks of short films from the program, now featuring an exciting new addition to DISFF Block I. The initiative brings award-winning and selected short films from the annual international short film festival in Drama to other cities across Greece and abroad, introducing these works to new audiences. Films featured in this program: 400 Cassettes – Thelyia Petraki (@thelyiapetraki ) Or How to Disappear – Giorgos Aggelopoulos (@aggelogiorgas ) Ludyas – Akis Polyzos (@akispolizos_ ) Requiem in Salt – Sylvia Nicolaides and Nicolas Iordanou (@sylvianicolaides and @nicolasiordanou ) Noi – Neritan Zinxhiria (@reconstructingmemories ) Avantaz – Christos Tatsis (@ch_tats ) #grffnl26 #disff #disffontheroad #shortfilm #greekcinema

This Thursday, April 30th: GRFFNL presents: 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘃 Stergios Paschos | 2016 | Greece | 94’ | EN subs It's the summertime, Athens is boiling hot, but thirty-year-old Nikos is cooling off in the northern suburbs, drinking cocktails by the pool. The pool is not his, but Stavros's, who has asked Nikos to look after the house and his dog for the summer. The opportunity seems unique to the penniless musician, who decides to invite his ex-girlfriend, Sofia, there for a few days of vacation in the city. But when the unsuspecting Sofia arrives, the vacation in paradise goes off track. Nikos locks himself in the home studio with her, determined not to let her leave unless he finds out the reasons why they broke up. Why? Because he still hasn't understood. And if he doesn't understand, how will he get over her? Mentally. Because he's gotten over her romantically. Of course… 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘃, a post-romantic story of two people who refuse to grow up, follows a couple’s attempt to communicate. Blocked, imprisoned and unable to explain what is happening to them, the two heroes embark on a journey of exploration of all that unites and divides them. And while their journey initially seems like an innocent walk in the countryside, they will soon feel lost in an inhospitable and hostile environment… A screening in preparation for the upcoming Greek Film Festival (@grff.nl ), May 22-24! Doors: 20:00 Start: 20:30 Tickets: 5 Euro or Cineville See ya 💙🤍

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Stray Bodies A journey across borders. A fight for autonomy. A testament to the resilience of choice. Stray Bodies, directed by Elina Psychou (@elinareklats ), is a poignant and unflinching documentary tracing the lives of people navigating Europe’s fragmented reproductive landscape. Moving between countries where laws shift and rights are contested, the film follows individuals seeking access to IVF, abortion, and dignified end-of-life decisions—revealing the quiet determination behind deeply personal choices. Blending intimate storytelling with a broader political lens, Psychou captures bodies in motion—across geographies, systems, and moral boundaries. What emerges is a powerful reflection on freedom, agency, and the invisible structures that shape our most private decisions. Tender, urgent, and deeply human, Stray Bodies asks: what does it mean to have control over your own body in a world of unequal rights? #grffnl26 #filmfestival #straybodies #greekcinema

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Avant-Drag! A stage of transformation. A space of resistance. A celebration of identity without compromise. Avant-Drag!, directed by Fil Ieropoulos, is a vibrant and unapologetic exploration of Athens’ queer performance scene. Blending documentary and experimental storytelling, the film follows a group of drag artists as they reclaim space, challenge norms, and redefine what it means to exist freely. Through raw performances and intimate moments, Ieropoulos captures a community that thrives on creativity, defiance, and radical self-expression. Bold, political, and deeply human, Avant-Drag! asks: what happens when art becomes a form of survival—and visibility becomes an act of power? #grffnl26 #filmfestival #avantdrag #greekcinema

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Amercement A quiet debt. An unspoken guilt. A search for something that may never be returned. Amercement, directed by Fokion Bogris (@f_bogris ), is a haunting meditation on accountability and the invisible weight of our choices. Moving through fragmented memories and silences, the film traces a man’s inner reckoning as he confronts the cost of what cannot be undone. Sparse yet emotionally charged, Bogris crafts a world where absence speaks louder than words, and redemption remains uncertain. With striking visual restraint and a deeply introspective tone, Amercement invites us to reflect: what does it truly mean to make amends? #grffnl26 #filmfestival #amercement #prostimo #greekcinema

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT We’re very excited to announce our collaboration with @dramafilmfestival for Drama International Short Film Festival On the Road. The initiative brings award-winning and selected short films from the annual international short film festival in Drama to other cities across Greece and abroad, introducing these works to new audiences. During the festival, we will present two curated blocks of short films from the program. Swipe to discover the films. Films featured in this program: - Dust to Dust - Dimitris Papathanasis - Magdalena Hausen: Frozen Time - Yannis Karpouzis (@yannis_karpouzis ) - The Wolves Return - Stelios Moraitidis (@stelios_moraitidis ) - 100 Years Ahead - Michael Gigintis - My Green Garden - Eleni Tsekeri (@lne.tsekeraout ) #grffnl26 #disff #disffontheroad #shortfilm #greekcinema