In its 5th year, the Houston Greek Film Festival (HGFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that showcases new films from Greek and Cypriot filmmakers, producers and actors from Greece, Cyprus and the diaspora. Featuring both feature-length and shorts, the HGFF aims to promote Greek cinema to Houston and all of Texas and the Southwest!Read more

At the turn of the 17th Century, English people of every station were known to have practiced the occult arts, from alchemy and the Cabala to homespun spells and witchcraft. Join Severall Friends as they enchant with excerpts from contemporary diaries, diatribes, drama, poetry, and music, touching on magic of all sorts.Read more

Director Sergio Bernal presents his "tutor," Director Eduardo Mata fascinating history through a life of conducting.

Director Eduardo Mata, Mexican native but World Citizen, took the Latin American contemporary music to higher levels around the world. Mr. Mata served as Director, Musician, Conductor, Composer, Cofounder of the Mahler Society Mexico, Resident Director of Phoenix Symphonic, Guest Director of the London Symphonic and Director of the Dallas Symphonic Orchestra. His work in Venezuela allowed him the opportunity to direct the Youth Symphonic Simon Bolivar Orchestra many times. From his passion for developing young musicians in Venezuela he was awarded the Andres Bello Award in Music in 1989. 

Sergio Bernal, a native Colombian and outstanding Latin American conductor, composer, and teacher, will take us by the hand and lead us through Director Mata's life experiences and colorful history. Director Bernal, Director of Orchestral Studies, and a Professor of Music at Utah State University, was an apprentice to the late Maestro Eduardo Mata at the Dallas Symphony and subsequently works as his assistant in recording projects of the Ibero-American symphonic repertoire.Read more

Change Happens! and IMPACT Collective bring to you a powerful and poignant documentary known as "Connecting the Dots," the first feature documentary of its kind to offer a raw and intimate look at youth mental health from a global perspective. With heartfelt poignant stories of lived experience, the film exclusively showcases young voices breaking barriers surrounding youth mental health. Through highly cinematic and youth character-driven storytelling, Connecting the Dots is emotional, reflective, and hopeful, and highlights youth mental health globally.Read more

INTEMPO DANCE ENSEMBLE presents an evening of dance and music inspired in the magical world of the day of the dead celebration. Colorful Catrinas and Funny Sugar Skulls dance, surrounded by live music atmosphere and guided by imaginary beings - Alebrijes - as they journey to their new home.  

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration of pre-Hispanic origin that honors the deceased on November 2. The festivities begin on November 1 and coincides with the Catholic celebrations of All Souls and All Saints. In Mexico, it is a celebration of life remembering loved ones who came before us, but with joy and devotion, dedicating an altar to welcome them back for their visit to the world of the living, once a year. The characters are La Catrina, El Catrin and the Alebrijes - imaginary beings made up of physiognomic elements of different animals, not only fantastic but also real that form a mesmerizing being full of magic and color that accompany souls in their voyage to their new home.  Read more

LOST/Return to Beirut is one hour of music and visual art performance. It’s the meeting of a feature film and a documentary with a powerful solo piano performance. The return of Rami Khalife to his homeland, Lebanon, is a rediscovery of his country that he painfully left as a child because of the war, a scar of the exodus that has never healed.Read more

Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features a fast-paced, wildly funny and touching book and score. 

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! 

A riotous ride, complete with audience participation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a fast-paced crowd pleaser and an instant theatre patron favorite.Read more

A Better Broadcasting and Media presents Rodney Bigham, the Heavyweight Champ of Comedy.Read more

The world-renowned composer of Zorbas the Greek, Mikis Theodorakis, is considered to have been the greatest Greek composer of the twentieth century, a symbol of Greece, and a hero in Greece’s political struggles. His music has travelled the world like that of no other Greek composer before him. His endless numbers of songs were sung by the Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Nat King Cole, Edith Piaf, and many more. The internationally renowned Greek contralto Alexandra Gravas has had the honor to work with the great composer on various occasions from the start of her career on stage and on recordings including the Symphonic song Raven with the composer himself conducting the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Symphony Orchestra. She has travelled the world singing his songs in her recitals to high acclaim.  “Each of Alexandra’s interpretations is a thorough penetration into the most hidden aspects of my work.” -Mikis Theodorakis 

Following a brief introduction to the legacy of Mikis Theodorakis by Dr. Alex Kalamarides, Alexandra will interpret with her unique voice an assortment of songs representative and evocative of the great composer and his times, accompanied on the piano by Mexico City resident pianist, Mr. Jozef
Olechowski.

The event is sponsored and presented by the Hellenic Cultural Center of the Southwest (HCC-SW) and the Hellenic Professional Society of Texas (HPST). Read more