Joe Cortese’s ‘Here’s Yianni!’ Boarded by Motion Picture Exchange

The Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Exchange has acquired worldwide sales rights on dramedy “Here’s Yianni!” starring Joe Cortese, Julia Ormond and Rosanna Arquette. They will be launching sales on the indie title during the American Film Market this week.

Cortese (“Green Book”) plays the titular character in the feel-good film, which is based on the true story of writer-director Christina Eliopoulos’s father. Cortese plays a Greek diner owner who is living with dementia and imagines himself as a late-night talk show host. 

Ormond (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) plays Yianni’s wife Plousia in the film. Arquette (“Pulp Fiction”), Kevin Pollak (“A Few Good Men”) and Colleen Camp (“American Hustle”) also star.

Yianni and Plousia have spent 40 years running their beloved seaside Greek diner, which serves as a warm hub of laughter, stories, food and community. When Yianni begins slipping into a dreamlike world where he imagines himself as the host of a late-night talk show starring those close to him, Plousia “grapples with her new reality that he’s battling dementia and attempts to hide his illness from his best friends played by Pollak and Arquette,” the synopsis says.

Cortese and Camp serve as producers on “Here’s Yianni!” alongside Nick Vallelonga and Valerie McCaffrey for McCaffrey Productions.

“Here’s Yianni!,” which launched from several U.S. festivals including the Arpa Film Fest in L.A. and premiered internationally at Italy’s Torino Film Festival, also features an original song titled “Remember to Remember” penned by multiple Oscar nominee Diane Warren and performed by Grammy-winning band Train.

“‘Here’s Yianni!’ immediately struck us as something rare; a film that balances profound emotional truth with genuine warmth,” said Ryan Bury, president and co-founder of Motion Picture Exchange. “Christina has delivered a beautifully crafted, performance-driven story that feels intimate, yet universal. The film is the perfect blend of heart and artistry we’re proud to represent.”