Closing and Awards Ceremony of the 10th Beyond Borders

A week of documentaries from around the globe, documentary masterclasses, a Pitching Lab, concerts, children’s workshops, a co-production forum, podcasts, series, and a critics’ corner. A captivating journey filled with images, unseen aspects of human nature, moving stories, tender yet also harsh realities of life from every corner of the world. A week during which different worlds came closer together through cinema. In an era marked by challenges and tensions, documentary film sheds light, informs, and unites.

Strategic Partner of Beyond Borders is PPC, the leading energy company in Southeastern Europe, which actively supports the arts and culture. As an integral part of the country’s social and economic fabric, PPC fosters dialogue with culture and the arts, supporting all that leads us toward the future – a better future for all, where culture takes center stage.

At the Festival’s Closing Ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Culture and representative of the Prime Minister, Iason Fotilas, stated in his address that it was a great honor and joy to attend the 10th Beyond Borders, which this year invited audiences to delve into the truths hidden behind images and human testimonies. He highlighted the power of documentary, particularly in an era of fabricated realities and easy misinformation, stressing the importance of documentation and personal testimony in the face of information overload. He referred to the State’s support through EKOME with €7,600,000 for approximately 200 documentaries over the past six years, as well as the broader support of the film sector with €220,700,000 for 100 national and international productions. Finally, commenting on the recent changes in the process of selecting Greece’s submission for the Oscars, the Minister noted that he had heard the concerns of documentary filmmakers regarding their absence from the committee, and announced that their participation will be ensured as of next year. He concluded by wishing the Beyond Borders team to continue their remarkable work with inspiration: “At the outermost edge of our homeland, we show that the strict and inviolable borders of our country are, in the end, ourselves – our people and our dreams,” he said.

Deputy Mayor of Culture of the Municipality of Megisti, Stratos Amygdalos – a close companion of the Festival throughout the years – warmly remarked on behalf of the Municipality that the magic of cinema meets the magic of the island. He praised the love and passion of the people who constitute the driving force of the Festival, which has now become the cultural and creative epicenter of Kastellorizo. “The Municipality believes in and supports the Festival, because we see it as one of the greatest assets we can have,” he stated.

The Municipality of Megisti also honored the Festival’s founder and Artistic Director, Irini Sarioglou, along with Michel Noll, Artistic Consultant and Director of International Development, presenting them with commemorative plaques. Noll expressed his deep gratitude to the island and the Deputy Mayor, who from the very beginning stood by the Festival, helping maintain its high standards and its ability to keep surprising audiences. He emphasized that Kastellorizo is a magical place, one that reminds us of the dimension of universality and allows us to embrace the “bigger picture.” “The Festival cultivates humanity, solidarity, and dialogue – and it is in this spirit that we will continue,” he stressed.

Closing the ceremony, Irini Sarioglou offered heartfelt thanks to her team, which, as she noted, has now become her family, as well as to the Jury members, directors, and producers. She also expressed her gratitude to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has supported the Festival unceasingly since 2016. She acknowledged PPC, Strategic Partner of the Festival for the past three years, for its decisive contribution to the institution’s smooth operation and dynamic trajectory, the President of IDISME, Panagiotis Poulakos, as well as the professionals and residents of the island for their invaluable support. “This Festival has many unique qualities: it is a Festival that honors humanity and dialogue,” she underlined. “As long as genocides, wars, and any form of indignity that undermines human dignity continue to exist, we will continue to raise a strong voice here – not only with words but with a way of life.”

And since the journey of Beyond Borders can even reach into space, the Closing Ceremony featured the Greek premiere of Asteroid Hunters by Thomas Marlier and Guillaume Lenel (France, 2024). A fascinating film about planetary scientists, astrophysicists, geochemists, and experts from diverse scientific fields who today form a global network of thousands of “sky sentinels.” Their mission: to detect, observe, and study asteroids—celestial bodies that may follow potentially destructive trajectories, but which also hold invaluable clues about the origins of our solar system.

The Closing Ceremony of the Festival is always marked by outstanding music, but this year, weather conditions offered a unique and magical surprise collaboration. Flight restrictions prevented the musicians of acclaimed performer Kostas Triantafyllidis from arriving on the island, while at the same time, conductor and pianist Miltos Logiadis and musician Christos Zerbinos were unable to depart from Kastellorizo. This unexpected twist sparked the creation—on the very same day—of a “new orchestra” and a fresh joint program that deeply moved both the artists themselves and the packed audience at the Hero Square. “I can’t believe I am here performing with Logiadis and Zerbinos; this is something I will tell my grandchildren about,” said Triantafyllidis, who performed a wide repertoire of beloved songs.

The concert also featured the musical setting by Andreas Anagnostopoulos of the poem Kastellorizo by Maria Panagiotidou, which received the first prize in the poetry competition for Kastellorizo organized by IDISME. The piece was performed by Kostas Triantafyllidis, adding a further emotional highlight to the evening.

Awards of the 10th Beyond Borders

In its two competition sections, a total of 10 awards were presented:

Main Competition

The Main Competition featured 18 medium- and feature-length documentaries. The Jury consisted of:

Tassos Boulmetis – President (director, screenwriter, and producer)
Claudia Bucher (Commissioning Editor, ARTE G.E.I.E)
Eugenia Giannouri (Assoc. Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle)
Jobst Knigge (director)
Maria Louka (documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and journalist)

Golden Wreath of Megisti – Grand Prix
Awarded to Lo by Thanasis Vassiliou (Greece, 2025). With minimal means yet densely layered storytelling, the director dares a profound descent into the impenetrable and shadowed landscapes of his family history, transforming the fragments of a collapsing middle-class apartment into a vivid, multi-dimensional mosaic of memory, loss, and hidden trauma—crafting a compelling and immersive cinematic experience.
This award carries a cash prize of €7,500, for the best film dealing with historical events and figures, contemporary socio-political issues, and the advancement of human rights in any form.

Silver Wreath of Megisti
Awarded to Letters from Wolf Street by Arjun Talwar (Poland, 2023). In this portrait, Talwar takes viewers on a journey along the street where he lives in Warsaw. It is a reflection on contemporary Poland, where the Indian filmmaker uncovers unique images, stories, and characters, exploring what it means to be Polish. The film addresses belonging and racism—both explicit and deeply embedded, the kind that often goes unnoticed. There is a raw honesty in this work that is at once moving and, at times, genuinely humorous.
This award carries a cash prize of €3,000, sponsored by ERT, for the second-best film exploring historical events and figures, socio-political issues, and human rights.

Bronze Wreath of Megisti
Awarded to The Lost Season by Mehdi Ghanavati (Iran, 2024) for its humane, sensitive, and respectful depiction of a young woman’s struggle to resist Iran’s patriarchal theocratic regime and the traditions of her local community. Ghanavati’s camera pays a masterful cinematic tribute to Iranian women who embody courage and strength through their persistent, often perilous resistance. Their ongoing fight for fundamental human rights, freedom, and equality resonates as a powerful inspiration for the global struggle for justice and democracy.
This award carries a cash prize of €2,000, sponsored by ERT.

The Wreath of Megisti, awarded annually to the best films in the Main Competition, is a faithful handcrafted replica of a wreath discovered in an ancient tomb in 1913, dating back to the mid-4th century BC.

EKKOMED Award for Best Greek Documentary
Awarded to Sculpted Souls by Stavros Psillakis (Greece, 2025). A tender and inspiring film on the power of solidarity to open luminous cracks even in the darkest conditions, created by a filmmaker whose consistent humanitarian perspective permeates all his work.
This award carries a cash prize of €1,000, sponsored by EKKOMED – Creative Greece.
“Odysseus” Award
Presented by the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Lo by Thanasis Vassiliou. With masterful artistry, the film navigates childhood memories, the tender relationship with the filmmaker’s mother as his guiding light, and the suffocating images of the past rooted in the collective trauma of the Junta. Bridging past and present, the film underscores the necessity of returning to one’s roots, heritage, and maternal legacy, while paying special tribute to Greeks of the Diaspora seeking identity and connection with their homeland.
This award carries a cash prize of €500, supported by the General Secretariat.
#ThisisEU Award
Awarded to The German People by Marcin Wierzchowski (Germany, 2025). Through long-term observation of survivors and the families of victims of the 2020 racist attack in Hanau, Wierzchowski reveals with striking clarity how racism and xenophobia erode European values and threaten democracy. In an era of rising polarization, the film is an urgent reminder that an open society is not self-sustaining; it demands vigilance, empathy, and a commitment to pluralism.
This award, offered by the Representation of the European Commission in Greece, carries a cash prize of €500, sponsored by ERT.
FIPRESCI Award
The FIPRESCI Jury, composed of film critics Jan Storø, Elli Mastorou, and Nikolaos Aletras, awarded the prize with the following statement:

“As film critics, we look for works with strong storytelling, dramaturgy, cinematic quality, and a clear perspective on the world we live in. The film we selected brings together all these qualities powerfully. It focuses on young people—the future of humanity—while questioning how they confront the violence of contemporary societies. It reflects on how social media reshapes our perception of the world and how cinema and social media intersect. With strong visual storytelling that combines different formats and techniques, and the use of absurdist humor to defuse traumatic events, this film stands at the boundary between the real and the virtual, between emotions and algorithms, between empathy and indifference.”

The award goes to The Longer You Bleed by Ewan Waddell (Ukraine, 2025).
It carries a cash prize of €500, sponsored by ERT.

At the award ceremony, Maria Louka (Main Competition Jury), Elli Mastorou and Jan Storø (FIPRESCI Jury) added:

“We feel compelled tonight to express our firm opposition to the crime that has been unfolding for nearly two years in Gaza by the state of Israel. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of genocide—the eradication of entire families, starvation, the killing of thousands—including many children—the targeted murders of journalists, and the destruction of an entire region. We declare our solidarity with the Palestinian people, with the international humanitarian convoy Summud, which today sets sail with many vessels and participants from 44 countries to deliver aid to Gaza, and with March to Gaza Greece, part of this mission. The genocide in Gaza is the foremost moral challenge of our times. We call upon all cultural institutions, film festivals, creators, and cinema workers to support Palestinian artists and join the global call for an immediate end to the genocide.”

μicro Competition Section

In the μicro Competition Section, the Jury consisted of: Michaela Kolster – President (journalist and Program Director at ZDF/PHOENIX), Bruce Clark (writer and journalist), Alex Sakalis (writer and journalist), Gilles Perrin (professor of French literature and cinema), and Vassilis Loules (director).

• Golden Phoenix
For its artistic cinematography and powerful depiction of the contrast between childhood innocence and the brutal reality of war, the Golden Phoenix is awarded to Clear Sky by Marcin Kundera (Poland, 2024).
At first glance, two boys simply seem to be playing. Yet gradually, war emerges in the background: the ruined school, the collapsed buildings, the sirens of air raids, and the sound of gunfire build an oppressive atmosphere. The children try to preserve an illusion of normalcy, and it is precisely this stark contrast between their playful innocence and the merciless reality around them that makes the film so striking.
The cinematography remains tightly focused on the boys, never looking away from the devastation surrounding them. Even the scene of their phone conversation with a Russian, which initially appears to be part of the game, highlights the deep divide between Russia and Ukraine. This cinematic clarity—capturing the harsh reality of a childhood lived in wartime—is what unanimously convinced the jury and made Clear Sky the undisputed favorite of this year’s competition.
The award is accompanied by a prize of €1,250, supported by Phoenix TV, for the best short documentary film by a first-time filmmaker.

• Silver Phoenix
For its masterful animation and moving transformation of personal memories into a universal story of love and loss, the Silver Phoenix is awarded to Simply Divine by Mélody Boulissière & Bogdan Stamatin (France, 2024).
The story begins in 1939, recounting the romance of a young woman from a Romanian village and a soldier whose relationship is shattered by the chaos of World War II. Decades later, the story is pieced together through the testimony of the now-elderly woman shortly before her death, two letters from her beloved, and photographs from a public archive: images of young soldiers with their sweethearts. These fragments of memory weave a narrative full of love and hope, set against a world marked by death and futility.
The film’s animation, with its aesthetic simplicity and artistic boldness, elevates the personal into something universal. The creators breathe life into still photographs, granting eternal value to fleeting moments of happiness once shared. With poetry running through every frame, Simply Divine transforms the everyday into something extraordinary, capturing the essence of life’s most moving and ephemeral moments.
The award is accompanied by a prize of €1,000, supported by Phoenix TV, for the best short documentary film by a first-time filmmaker.

• Bronze Phoenix
For its sensitive yet powerful portrayal of human resilience in the face of extreme adversity, the Bronze Phoenix is awarded to My Land is Burned by Abdulrahman Alshowaiki (Belgium, 2024).
My Land is Burned immerses the viewer in the harsh yet vibrant social microcosm of a camp in northern Lebanon, where refugees from the Syrian civil war struggle daily for survival. Amid poverty and uncertainty, the community displays profound care for one another. A teacher reflects on the futures of her bright and energetic pupils. A mother strives to keep her children warm and fed. In one of the most touching scenes, a half-paralyzed war veteran is tenderly cared for by his young son.
What makes the film truly remarkable is its delicate depiction of how the deep drive for survival and dignity—both individual and collective—endures even in the most desperate conditions. Where other filmmakers might resort to didacticism or propaganda, Abdulrahman Alshowaiki weaves his narrative with tenderness, restraint, and moments of humor, creating not just a record but a profound exploration of human endurance.
The award is accompanied by a prize of €750, supported by Phoenix TV, for the best short documentary film by a first-time filmmaker. In addition, all three award-winning films of the μicro Competition will be screened on Phoenix—one of Europe’s leading documentary television networks.

The μicro Jury also awarded two Special Mentions:

For its detailed exploration of personal struggles and social challenges, a Special Mention goes to Refuge by Partha Das (India, 2024). The film offers a sensitive and profound look into the life of a disabled man in modern India, touching on themes of family, heritage, and honor within a society steeped in tradition and burdened by poverty. Following the complex and compelling figure of Farooque—from the metro corridors where he tries to sell simple bracelets to his long-delayed return to his mother’s home—the film unfolds with quiet observation. The gradual revelation of his circumstances is both shattering and deeply moving, highlighting the director’s ability to tell a story with patience, empathy, and inner strength.
For its sharp and powerful portrayal of identity in contemporary Greece, a Special Mention goes to Albgreko by Ilir Tsuko (Greece, 2024). The film explores the experiences of young people of Albanian descent who grew up in Greece, shedding light on how their evolving self-awareness mirrors the country’s transformation over the past thirty years. It paints a portrait that is light yet profound, political without didacticism, and realistic without clichés. Albgreko stands out as a pioneering work, part of a new wave of documentaries exploring the New Greece. Avoiding conventional narratives of forced assimilation, the film instead highlights the possibility of embracing multiple identities without internal conflict—embodying the promise of a modern, multicultural Greece.

Pitching Lab

The Pitching Lab Jury, chaired by Claudia Schreiner (Head of Masterschool, Documentary Campus, Germany) and composed of students from the Festival’s Film School Network—Sofia Y. Silva (Venezuela), Spyros Betsis (Greece), Ana-Stefana Pop (Romania), and Haluk Laman (Turkey)—selected the project Fragments of Humanity by Maros Pulscak (Slovakia) for its clarity, quality, and overall excellence.
The award includes free professional coloring services for the completed film (after the final cut stage), offered by award-winning colorist Dimitris Karteris (dimitriskarteris.com), with a service value of €3,000.

See you next year at the launch of the new decade of Beyond Borders, August 23–30, 2026!

Photos from the middle days of the Festival you will find HERE.

A short audiovisual recap HERE.

Photos from the Opening Ceremony can be found HERE.

This year’s catalogue can be found HERE.

Photos from the festival can be found HERE and film stills HERE.

Watch the detailed programme of 2025 HERE.

Watch the trailer of the 10th edition HERE.

Selected photos from the Press Conference you can find HERE.

For more information, visit: www.beyondborders.gr or email info@beyondborders.gr

Organized by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME), in collaboration with France’s Ecrans des Mondes.

Co-organized by the South Aegean Region with the support of the Hellenic Parliament, Ministry of National Defense, General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Secretariat for the Aegean & Island Policy of the Ministry of Shipping, EKKOMED – Creative Greece (National Centre for Audiovisual Media & Communication), Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), Greek National Tourism Organization and the embassies of Australia, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland and Italy in Athens.