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This is the first time that Bring Your Chair – Cozy Festival welcomes a double Oscar-winning director! It is the first time that a film is screened for the general public and the first time that an event is organized outside the Monastery of the Cross of the Lighthouse with the sea breeze of the Aegean Sea and the view of the Holy Rock of Chrysopigi creating an ideal setting for the screening of the film!

Alexander Payne takes us back to the 1970’s and together with his beloved actor Paul Jamati, the excellent Da’Vine Joey Randolph and newcomer-apocalyptic Dominic Sesha, they unfold a story that balances drama and comedy.

History professor Paul Hannum (Paul Jamatti) is forced to spend the Christmas holidays at the strict boarding school where he works to supervise five students who have gone “unclaimed.” The four of them leave, leaving the troubled Angus (Dominic Sessa) and cook Mary (Da’Vane Joy Randolph), who is mourning the loss of her only son in the war. The professor, the disobedient student and the grieving cook find themselves together, each scarred by their own deep wounds. The trio, seemingly mismatched at first, discover comfort and understanding of each other.

The film was included in the list of the 10 Best Films of 2023 by the National Board of Film Critics and the American Film Institute. It had five nominations at the 2023 American Academy Film Awards, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Randolph. Also, three nominations at the 2023 Golden Globes, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for Giamatti and Randolph, respectively, and seven nominations at the 2023 British Academy Film Awards, winning BAFTA Best Casting and BAFTA Best Supporting Actor for Paul Giamatti.

The film will be screened in the presence of the director and will be followed by a discussion with the audience.