Beyond Borders travels to Athens!
MARCH 29-31, 2024, GREEK FILM ARCHIVE
Under the Patronage of H.E. of the President of the Hellenic Republic Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou
Beyond Borders – Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival is preparing for its 9th edition, 25/8-1/9/2024 in Kastellorizo, but in the meantime distant Kastellorizo is coming to Athens! From March 29 to 31, 2024, the award-winning documentaries of the 8th Beyond Borders will be screened in the welcoming space of the Greek Film Archive with free admission for the public.
DEI – PPC is a Strategic Partner of Beyond Borders, actively supporting the arts and culture, everyone and everything that leads us to the future, a better future, where culture has the first say.
With film screenings, Q&As and masterclasses, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy films from around the world that stood out last August for the way they tackle the lesser-known aspects of History, for their social sensitivity, originality and their artistic value.
As stated by Irini Sarioglou, President of the festival: “For Beyond Borders to come to Athens was a constant wish of ours, the creators and of course the public of the festival, which does not have the possibility to travel to the remote yet enchanting Kastellorizo. We are particularly happy about our collaboration with the Greek Film Archive and from this year onwards the award-winning films of Beyond Borders – Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival will be screened in March in Athens meeting their wider audiences. We are very proud of the films of the festival, many of which are shown in Greek, international and world premieres, finding their way to the festivals or even to theaters. Films with courage, daring, humor, documentation, films that see the world clearly and that deserve to be seen by as many people as possible. We are waiting for you all for three cinema evenings in Athens endorsed with the air of Kastellorizo!“.
Must-watch films like Scenes with my father(Best Historical Documentary Award and FIPRESCI Award) by Dutch-Croatian director Biserka Šuran in a Greek premiere which revives scenes from the former Yugoslavia, Audrey Napanangka (Best Social Documentary Award) by Australian Penelope McDonald in international premiere, which follows the life of the amazing Audrey and the Walpiri family who travel by educating their own children, I woke up 18 (Odysseus Special Award) by Vera Iona Papadopoulou, where six unaccompanied young men and women talk about life in Greece, as it suddenly changes and becomes difficult at 18, Her Tobacco (Best Greek Documentary Award) by Stathis Galazoula and Eliza Kavalaraki, which unfold the memories of female tobacco workers, The hidden children of Colonization (#ThisisEU Award) by Dominique Regueme in Greek premiere, which deals with the history of removal and exile of thousands of multiracial children during Belgian colonization in Congo, Rwanda and Burundiand, Bitter September(Bronze Phoenix μicro) by Sofia Faradatou in a Greek premiere for the management of the murder of Zak Kostopoulos, A Tale of four Minorities (Best Political Documentary Award and Special Mediterranean Friendship Award) by Israeli David Derin a world premiere, with the revealing stories from Muslim, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish, Religious Settler Jewish and Secular Jewish gay families, Will you look at me? (Golden Phoenix μicro) by Chinese Shuli Huang, a confessional conversation between a young director and his mother and Alex Anna’s Scars (Silver Phoenix μicro) in a Greek premiere, a disarmingly honest portrait of the director’s own personal struggles with depression and self-harm.
Also don’t miss the masterclasses of Jordan Paterson, Canadian director, producer and writer and Michel Noll’s, president of the French Ecrans des Mondes, founder of Grecdoc and Director of International Development of Beyond Borders. Michel Noll’s masterclass on Friday 29 March entitled « Beyond the Imagination: A Symphonic Festival» will focus on issues of international interconnection and development of film festivals in the light of innovation, artificial intelligence and future perspectives. On Saturday 30 March with the masterclass ‘Exploring migration through the lens‘, Jordan Paterson will examine questions that documentarians and media researchers face today with the escalating migration crisis, such as: What is the ethics of consent to a crisis? What is the legal commitment of the documentary internationally? What is the role of cooperation with interlocutors and their personal opinions? What do we really mean by ‘access’? What is the filmmaker’s ideological framework, explicitly or implicitly? And how can documentary represent and create films that oppose dominant film industry or media narratives?
Both of these masterclasses will be conducted in Engish.
Organisation: Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME) in collaboration with the French Ecrans des Mondes.
With the support of the Hellenic Parliament, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of National Defense, the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Hellenic Broadcasting Company (ERT), the Greek Film Center, the Embassy of Australia in Athens, the Embassy of Germany in Athens, and the US Embassy in Athens.
Media Sponsor of the event is ERT.
The screenings in Athens will take place at the Greek Film Archive, Iera Odos 48 & M. Alexandrou 134-136, Kerameikos metro station.
Free entry with admission tickets that you will find at more.com
Find the promo video of the event here.
Program of screenings and masterclasses:
Friday, March 29
16:30-17:15 Masterclass Michel Noll “Beyond Imagination”
18:00-18:30 Start of the event / welcoming addresses
18:30-19:17 Scenes with my Father by Biserka Suran, 47′
19:17-19:25 Break
19:25-20:50 Audrey Napanagka by Penelope MacDonald, 84′
20:50-21:00 Break
21:00-21:15 I woke up at 18 by Vera Iona Papadopoulou, 13΄ (Q&A with the director follows)
Saturday, March 30
16:00-18.00 Jordan Paterson Masterclass “Exploring Migration Through the Lens”
18:00-18:40 Her tobacco by Stathis Galazoula & Eliza Kavalaraki, 39′
18:40-19:00 Q&A with the directors
19:00-20:00 The Hidden Children of Colonization by Dominique Regueme, 58′
20:00-20:10 Break
20:10-20:40 Bitter September by Sofia Faradatou, 26′
Sunday, March 31
18:00-18:20 Will you look at me? by Shuli Huang, 20′
18:20-19:55 A Tale of Four Minorities by David Deri, 95′
19:55-20:05 Break
20:05-20:15 Scars by Alex Anna, 10′
20:15 Closer of the event
You will find photos of the films HERE. For more information you can visit the website www.beyondborders.gror contact the Festival at info@beyondborders.gr .
A few words about the films of the festival
Scenes with My Father, by Biserka Šuran, Netherlands, 2022, 47′ (Greek Premiere):
Šuran takes her father on a trip down memory lane, reliving scenes from their birth country, the former Yugoslavia. The memories are reflected in cinematic sets, in which they discuss nationality, identity, love, dreams and regrets. Love letters, archival and anecdotal material from family members give the audience insight into the trials and tribulations the family experienced when they were forced to leave their homeland. This symbolic road trip works
healing the wounds of the past, as the director and daughter creates space to relate to her father’s experience and inevitable choices. The result is an inspiring conversation that many viewers would love to have with a parent.
Best Historical Documentary Award, sponsored by ERT for his creative innovation in the genres of history and autobiography and FIPRESCI Award for how he manages to combine a personal story with the tragedy of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia.
Audrey Napanangka, by Penelope McDonald, Australia 2022, 84′, International Premiere
The story of a Warlpiri woman, Audrey, and her journey with her Sicilian partner Santo to stay together with their growing children despite the many challenges they face. Audrey imparts her cultural, language and legal knowledge into the lives of those she cares for, while also ensuring they are educated for today’s complex world. Shot over a period of more than 10 years in Mbantua (Alice Springs) and the Warlpiri homelands, the footage of this determined couple’s everyday life provides unique insight into a family in Australia today.
Best Social Documentary Award sponsored by ERT for the great sensitivity and respect for the editing of the film that takes us beyond borders.
A Tale of Four Minorities by David Deri, Israel 2023, 95′, World Premiere
Four families, parents and their children, from four minorities in Israel, are facing an identity crisis, which has intensified during the pandemic: Muslims, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Religious Settler Jews, and Secular Homosexual Jews. A journey that reveals extremism and decay, but also creates surprising alliances and fascinating dialogue.
Best Political Documentary Award sponsored by ERT for the film that not only offers us a penetrating look at the difficulties of one of the most chronic hotbeds of conflict and frustration, but is also a great paraphrase of humanity in general.
Special Award Mediterranean Friendship sponsored by EKOME for the bold and penetrating look with which it records cultural peculiarities and differences of Israeli society, which echo the wider Mediterranean reality, in order to express the imperative need for mutual acceptance and coexistence.
The hidden children of colonization, by Dominique Regueme, France – Belgium, 2022, 58′, Greek Premiere
During the Belgian colonization of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, many thousands of multiracial children were victims of targeted segregation: forcibly removed from their families, placed in special boarding schools and then exiled to Belgium on the eve of independence. This film tells the story of many of those children: Sixty years after the events, these witnesses are now looking back at their past, looking to find their roots and even heal childhood wounds.
#ThisisEU European Values Award from the Delegation of the European Commission to Greece for focusing on the tragic consequences of Belgian colonial policy in the pre-revolutionary Congo, where the targeted separation of thousands of mixed-race children tore apart families and lives.
“Will you look at me?” by Shuli Huang, China, 2022, 20′
When a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown trying to find himself, a long-overdue conversation with his mother plunges the two into a search for acceptance and love. A poignant story of personal conflict that eventually evolves into a larger picture of complex family relationships of LGBTI people in today’s China.
Golden Phoenix μicro for the personal story of an extremely painful mother-son relationship, told in an almost radically poetic way, using a super 8 camera.
Scars, by Alex Anna, Canada, 2020, 10′, Greek Premiere
An intimate portrait of the director’s own personal struggle with depression and self-harm. By combining documentary with comics, this film raises awareness and highlights the importance of discussion around the specific issues.
Silver Phoenix μicro for the director’s combination of a poetic diary and tender cinematography for the portrayal of a mental disorder that draws viewers into a seemingly beautiful, but ultimately very painful story. The tension between visible pain and beauty creates a fascinating mix of emotions that stick in our minds like scars on the body.
I woke up 18, by Vera Ionas Papadopoulou, Greece, 2022, 13′.Six children. Six unaccompanied children. A word makes all the difference. Six people talk about life in a new country, Greece, a life that changes abruptly and becomes much more difficult at 18. The dreams, frustrations, fears and hopes of six young people.
“Odysseus” Award of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece for the approach with particular sensitivity and respect for the human face of the issue of unaccompanied minors, a result of modern immigration and refugee flows. Of the children, who in the meantime are growing up and are called to face the harsh reality and all that it entails.
Her tobacco, by Stathis Galazoula & Eliza Kavalaraki, Greece, 2023, 39′
Female tobacco workers, second generation refugees themselves, look back on their working memories from the tobacco warehouses of Agrinio. At the same time, the tobacco worker Parthena Despoinidou visits the emblematic Papastratos tobacco warehouse, trying to reconstruct the space that was once one of the most important tobacco production centers of the 20th century.
Best Greek Documentary Award, sponsored by the Greek Film Center for highlighting the issue of women’s work and themes such as exploitation, solidarity and resistance in the past and present.
Bitter September, by Sofia Faradatou, Switzerland, 2022, 26′, Greek Premiere
After the murder of the Greek-American LGBTI activist, Zach Kostopoulos, his childhood friend, Sofia Faradatou, returns to Greece and is stuck in an impasse. The video of the murder, taken by a passer-by, is playing on repeat on all the country’s television channels. Between the media narrative and her own archive from her friend, Sophia has no choice but to isolate herself and ponder the meaning of memory. Only time can give her the space to grieve and deal with her boyfriend’s absence.
Bronze Phoenix μicro for the contribution, through her personal perspective, to the cultivation of greater tolerance in modern, diverse societies.