The full lineup of the 8th Beyond Borders
World, international and Greek premieres in a rich program with contemporary themes that opens a window to the world
With 42 films, 30 of which in a Greek, international and world premiere, the 8th Beyond Borders – Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival presents Main and μicro competitive sections with films that include the most modern topics and touch each of us.
From the 20th to the 27th of August, in Kastellorizo, a cinematic setting in itself, younger and established filmmakers from all over the world comment reality, they overturn certainties and imagine the future in a line up of exciting feature, medium and short films.
As stated by Irini Sarioglou, President of the festival: “Beyond Borders, during its eight years of existence, tries to contribute substantially with a different look, to ‘see’ beyond the borders, to observe and listen to the world all without blinders and tightly, transforming in this way, Kastellorizo, the small paradise with its great history and unparalleled beauty, becomes a point of reference for artists and spiritual people, a place of meeting, solidarity, understanding and reconciliation of peoples”.
Films in this year’s festival focus on themes such as war, refugee and displaced populations, colonialism, gender and sexuality, justice and the lack of it, working conditions, technology and its challenges, life and the world as we knew it and as it is changing.
As Michel Noll, president of co-organizer Ecrans des Mondes and Director of International Development of the festival, comments: “Historical, social and political documentaries are necessarily subject to the changing times we live in. One of their aims is precisely to witness the characters, events and places within the time of their narratives. As we watch in the world political arena, the rise of the extreme right and the regressive national isolations that accompany it, I am glad to see that in the cultural and social arena there is a trend towards greater unity. After the dramatic experience of covid and as the war in Ukraine continues, peaceful cultural and social exchange, migration and its consequences are becoming the subject of very powerful documentaries”.
The Main Competition section begins on Monday, August 21 with the screening of the highly anticipated documentary We Will Not Fade Away by Ukrainian award-winning director Alisa Kovalenko that follows the dreams of five teenagers in war-torn Ukraine, and continues with Scenes with My Father, by Dutch-Croatian director Biserka Šuranin a Greek premiere which revives scenes from the former Yugoslavia, as well as “Radji”, also in Greek premiere, by Georg Götmark & John Erling Utsi which comments on conflicts about the land and borders in the northernmost part of Sweden and Norway. On Tuesday, August 22, screenings begin with the film “Roofless Dreams” by journalist, war correspondent and documentarian Sotiris Danezis, who follows for 13 months five people who live under the threat of homelessness, on the streets of Athens and follow the “Her Tobacco” by Stathis Galazoula & Eliza Kavalaraki, which unfold the memories of female tobacco workers, as well as the Greek premiere of “Holy Dilemma”, by the Hungarians Julianna Ugrin and Márton Vízkelety, where we follow a Roman Catholic priest who, after many years of a secret double life, decides to take his fate into his own hands. On Wednesday, August 23, the human spirit overcomes war, as we will see in the film “When Spring Came to Bucha” by Mila Teshaieva & Marcus Lenz, while in “Uncanny me”, shown in a Greek premiere, Katharina Pethke deals with digital 3D clones and in the international premiere of “Audrey Napanangka” by Australian Penelope McDonald we follow the life of a Walpiri family that travels while educating their children themselves. On Thursday, August 24, Maria Louka and Myrto Patrsalidou take the baton with “Frief – Those who remain», a conversation with families of Shahzad Luqman, Pavlos Fyssas and Zak Kostopoulos. In “Underdog”, by the Dutch Mariëtte Faber, which also has its international premiere in Kastellorizo, we follow a veterinarian who searches with her trained dogs for people who have gone missing but is prevented by the authorities, while in the Greek premiere of “Hours of Ours”, by By Thai Komtouch Napattaloong, we follow the adventures of a Sudanese family seeking asylum in Bangkok. On Friday, August 25, we watch the World Premiere of “A Story of Four Minorities” by the Israeli David Deri with families of Muslims, Jewish Ultra-Orthodox, Jewish Religious Settlers and Jewish Secular homosexuals, we enjoy a lost, unpublished discussion about cinema between Theodoros Angelopoulos and Nikos Panagiotopoulos in the film “To each their voice: Theodoros Angelopoulos – Nikos Panagiotopoulos”, by Antonis Kokkinos & Yannis Soldatos and we learn the real role of the Military Censor in “The Soldier’s Opinion” , by award-winning Israeli director Assaf Banitt. On Saturday, August 26, the last day of the competition, the Greek premiere of the film “Dead Weight”, by the Italian Francesco Del Grosso, which tells the story of Angelo Massaro, the protagonist of one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in the history of Italy, is followed by “What Remains on the Way”, by Jakob Krese & Danilo Do Carmo which tells the story of a single mother and her four children,
The μicro Competition section starts on Thursday, August 24 with the Greek premiere of “Geamăna”, by award-winning German director Matthäus Wörle, about the eponymous abandoned Romanian village in the Apuseni mountains. We continue with “Morning Routine”, by Romanian Robert Kocsis also in Greek premiere, which follows a young director in search of his next documentary about the war in Ukraine. Also making its Greek premiere is “Un robot à soi”, by Canadian Anne Gabrielle Lebrun Harpin, which, by reusing advertisements and television archives, examines the relationship between women and technology, as well as “Back”, by Syrian Yazan Rabee, which shares the recurring nightmare of many Syrians who have left their homeland, but also “Angelique”, by Elisabeth Kratzer, with the story of 73-year-old transgender Angelique Nagel. Konstantinos Potamianos’ Call of the Lighthouses tells the story of the renovation of mainland Europe’s two southernmost lighthouses, while Cypriot director Kaiti Papadima’s Every Sunday follows a group of Filipina domestic workers in Cyprus as they prepare for a beauty pageant organized by their local community. Friday, August 25 begins with the film “Bitter September” by Sofia Faradatou in a Greek premiere about the management of the murder of Zak Kostopoulos. Greek premiere for “Do you get me?” by Otto Lazić-Reuschel following Mohamed Taychen Chakir who left Morocco for Europe at the age of 12, as well as Liam LoPinto’s Karam Camera; Shaimaa Al Sabti & Hana Barhum with the story of two Syrian refugees who start their journey as filmmakers, but also for “Waiting Working Hours”, by the Belgian Ben De Raes which gives voice to the uninsured foreign workers of Diksmuidelaan in Brussels. On a similar theme is the film “Not go gentle”, by the Slovenian Sasha Ihnatovich, about immigrants who risk their lives to find safe haven. In “Will you look at me?” by the Chinese Shuli Huang we watch a confessional conversation between a young director and his mother. In its international premiere, the film “Grandpa’s stories” by the Hungarian Dániel Nagy, where an amateur filmmaker grandfather, tries to narrate tragic scenes from the 20th century to his grandson, On Saturday, August 26, screenings begin with “I Woke Up 18” by Vera Iona Papadopoulou, where six unaccompanied young people talk about life in Greece, as it changes and becomes difficult at 18. At the Greek premiere of Ken Rischard’s “Glimmer” for the collapse of the Luxembourg steel industry, as well as Spain’s Carmen Tortosa’s The Roundabout, which describes a typical day in the lives of two Moroccan immigrants next to a roundabout, and Why? by the Ukrainian Natxo Leuza which poses the unanswered questions of every war, but also Manon Testud’s “One never kills for love” where we follow a feminist group writing slogans on the walls of Montreal against the systemic violence suffered by women and minorities. “Scars”, by Canadian Alex Anna, also in Greek premiere, is a disarmingly honest portrait of the director’s own personal struggles with depression and self-harm. The World Premiere follows the film “Future comes at the right time”, by Elena Bongiorno, Sofia Merelli, Martina Tamburini & Gabriele Umidon, which tells the story of the Nigerian Nelson and his escape to Italy, after a violent attack because of his sexuality and μicro screenings close with “Vidisova” by Giorgos Panagopoulos which follows Mr. Tasos as he rebuilds the house of his childhood memories, in a small village that was destroyed by its own inhabitants in the 60s, in order to subsidize as earthquake victims and build a new village.
A total of 11 awards are to be given in the two competition sections: Best History, Best Social and Best Political Documentary Award, all sponsored by ERT, Best Greek Documentary Award sponsored by GFC, Special Mediterranean Friendship Award sponsored by EKOME, Special “Odysseus” Award sponsored by the General Secretariat of Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, FIPRESCI Award, #ThisisEU European Values Award of the European Commission in Greece, and Gold, Silver and Bronze Phoenix μicro with the support of the German state channel ZDF/Phoenix and ERT.
This year’s jury of the official competition section consists of: Wolfgang Bergmann (CEO of ARTE Germany, Chairman of the Committee), Eva Stefani (Director/Academic), Karin Jurschick (Director/Academic), Stavros Papageorgiou (Director/Artistic Director of AEI Cyprus Film Festival) and Jordan Paterson (Director/Producer). The FIPRESCI jury includes the critics Senem Erdine (Altyazi, Turkey), Davide Magnisi (CineCritica, Italy) and Thodoris Koutsogiannopoulos (LIFO, MEGA TV, COSMOTE TV), while the μicro jury consists of: Peter Arens ( Head of History and Science Program, ZDF German Radio and Television, Chairman of the Committee), Pelin Esmer (Director), Marcin Malatynski (Academic/Producer), Afroditi Kairaki (author/ professor of cinema) and Panos Dendramis (professor of cinema / director).
Apart from the Competition, at Panorama, we will have the opportunity to enjoy films such as “Queen Lear” by Turkish Pelin Esmer about a theater group of peasant women from mountainous Southern Turkey, “Kinyra: Priest Ktilos Aphroditas” by the Cypriot Stavros Papageorgiou for the most important mythical figure of the ancient history of Cyprus, “Death of Pharaoh Anwar Al Sadat and the Holy Warriors” by the German Wilfried Huismann about the successor of Nasser and President of Egypt who tried to break the wall of hostility between two peoples who claimed the same land , Jean-Christoph Caron & Ali Soozandeh’s James Bond on Berlin’s Death Row, about the Cold War events that inspired Bond creator Ian Fleming,”Why we fight” by Alain Platel & Mirjam Devriendt about how dance expresses the violence that erupts as a physical reaction, when we have no words and ways to express our discontent. In Testaccio, also known as the cemetery of the poets, where rest among others Shelley, Keats, Gregory Corso, Antonio Gramsci and Joyce Lussu. Followed by Gabriele Salvatores’ favorite “Mediterraneo”, Stavros Psyllakis’ “Farewell-The memory of the place” about the survival struggle of the rebel Giorgos Lionakis, Viktor Portel’s “The Investigator” about Vladimír Dzuro, the first Czech forensic investigator of International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, “Vienna Calling” by Philipp Jedickefor theVienna’s young underground music scene. Philippe Falardeau’s ‘Lac-Mégantic-This is not an accident’ investigates one of the worst oil train tragedies in history, sparked by corporate and political negligence, while ‘Writing Bethune: ep 3 ‘Spain & The Fight Against Fascism (1936-1937)”by Jordan Patersonreveals a new perspective on the controversial Canadian doctor who continues to define the political relationship between China and North America. “Fortunate Son” by Tony Asimakopoulos is an autobiographical documentary by the son of Greek immigrants living in Canadawheremet the cruel world of drugs, while in Irini Sarioglou’s “Homeland Unforgettable Asia Minor”, Vassiliki Ralli tells the tragic story of her family who in 1922 were forced to leave Moshonisi, Asia Minor, and finally started a new life on the opposite coast. Finally, the film “Venizelos, fight for Asia Minor” by Nikos Dayatas, we follow the story of the great politician through dramatized scenes, rare files and interviews.
You will find detailed information about the programme HERE
The festival’s Opening Ceremony on Sunday 20 August will feature the award-winning documentary The Laughing Boy by Alan Gilshelan (Ireland, 2022), which unravels the thread of truth behind the well-known song written by teenage rebel Brendan Bean as a tribute to another legendary revolutionary, Michael Collins, but enjoyed a great second life as a left-wing anthem of resistance to the Junta, translated by poet Vassilis Rota and set to music by Mikis Theodorakis. With original music by Eleni Karaindrou and with the participation of personalities such as Maria Faradouri, Pantelis Voulgaris, Roberos Manthoulis and Pantelis Boukalas, the film narrates the unexpected transformations of a song, but also the turbulent history of two peoples. The evening will end with the concert of Fotini Darra, being present for the first time in the island, alongside Kostas Tryantaffilidis and George Papachristoudis.
At the Closing Ceremony on August 27, the film “Tricks on the Dead” by Jordan Paterson (Canada-France, 2015) will be screened, through which the thread of the first mass migration of Chinese workers to Europe is chronicled and spread. The Festival will conclude with the exciting company of Eleni Tsaligopoulou, George Andreou and Korina Legakis who marry the sounds of the East and the West in a “Musical Tribute”.
Cinematic Tributes
Of course, as every year, there will be masterclasses with leading personalities from the film and television industry, such as Jean Christoph Caron, head of the Phoenix Documentary Department, who with “The True History Behind Pop-Culture Heroes” , explores the lesser-known aspects of the history of the heroes who inspired James Bond and The Lord of the Rings, Professor Aphrodite Kairaki who will deal with the films ‘Magic City’ and ‘Dream Apartment’ and the representation of refugee problems through these and Giuseppe Cederna, actor, writer and protagonist of the movie Mediterraneo who will combine his memories from the movie with personal experiences and memories from Kastellorizo itself. Finally, Stavros Papageorgiou, will share with us tips and information for co-producing in Cyprus while Wolfgang Bergmann will reveal the secrets of coproducing with ARTE.
An integral part of the Festival is the two-day Audiovisual Pitching Lab, where 12 projects from all over the world that are discussed with leading professionals from the field of the film industry, who thus contribute decisively to the formation and implementation of future filmmaking. Head Moderator is Claudia Schreiner (Documentary Campus Masterschool, Germany), while the jury is made up of undergraduate and graduate students from cinema schools in Thessaloniki, Munich, Prague and Tel Aviv.
Through the above programs and actions, the Festival practically stands next to young creators, giving them the opportunity to realize their cinematic vision with the help of leading professionals. This year it has placed even greater emphasis on the dimension of training and development, creating an innovative Network and partnering with many of its most important film schools in Southeast Europe and the Middle East: This partnership includes indicatively the participation of completed films in the μicro-competition scene, through whose award-winning films will be screened on Phoenix – one of the largest European documentary television networks, the participation in the Pitching Lab and its committee etc.
Furthermore, under the supervision of the Secretary General of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), Klaus Eder,will be held during the screenings and on a daily basis, the Critics’ Corner action, during which three distinguished members of FIPRESCI will talk to the professionals, but also to the public, about the films shown the previous night in the competition sections of Festival.
And because cinema is stories, innovating once again in this year’s event, “Beyond Storytelling” was instituted: a film workshop with the participation of students from the collaborating network of film schools, which will focus every year on a thematic core intertwined with Kastellorizo and will “introduce” its members to all stages of film production, from development to post production by producing a short documentary film. This year the workshop is held in collaboration with Tel Aviv University and Queen’s University of Kingston (Canada), under the guidance of academic Uri Cohen and director Danae Elon.
Maintaining ties of extroversion and synergy with global cultural bodies, the 8th edition of the Festival will host representatives from an honored media, an honored academic institution and an honored film festival: Honored Media will be Germany’s largest state channel, ZDF, honored academic institution the Munich Film School, one of the largest and oldest film schools in Europe, while the honored festival will be the Cyprus Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Documentary Festival (AEI Cyprus Film Festival). This year also sees the introduction for the first time of the institution of the honored country, which for 2023 will be Canada.
Side Cultural Activities of the Festival
In addition to the production and promotion of cinematographic art, which is the primary and main goal of Beyond Borders, the Festival organizes side cultural actions every year, in order to highlight the most uncritical part of our country in a point of global cultural meeting.
During the screening week and between the breaks, the program will be interspersed with musical interludes, by Dimos Vougioukas and Dimitris Koufogiorgos, from the world of Argentine Tango and Valse Musette, the musical traditions of the Balkans and Greek music, which are inspired by the domestic and international music film repertoire and sometimes combine the sounds of accordion and classical guitar and sometimes mandolin and piano.
At the same time, throughout the week of the Festival, workshops will be held for adults and children, such as: “Cin(e)perilipsis in the classroom” – experiential film workshop by EKOME and Dimitris Papacharalambous and Matoula Papadimitriou, Macrame (compodetics) – Creation objects and jewelry from Cleopatra Arsenikou, Traditional dances of the Dodecanese by Nikos Zellos, Pasta workshop by Aris Liokatis, but also Underwater cleaning with the environmental organization i-Sea!
At the same time, there will be an art exhibition by Georgianna Dallara in the open-air market of the island and a sculpture exhibition by the artist Alexandros Zygouris, while every day the journalist and writer Pavlos Methenitis will coordinate afternoon book presentations with historical, literary and cinematographic themes. The central book presentation of the festival will be the new edition of IDISME in collaboration with the University of Geneva, which approaches the Asia Minor Disaster through the eyes of Western sources, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne. The panel will include academics Matteo Compagnolo, Irini Sarioglou, Peter Arens and the executive director of ARTE Germany, Wolfgang Bergmann.
You will find photos from the films of the Main Competition HEREand of the μicro you will find HERE. You will find photos from the festival HERE.Watch the trailer of the 8th Beyond Borders HERE and get a taste of the festival’s films on video HERE as well as the μicro HERE.For more information you can visit the website www.beyondborders.gr or contact the Festival at info@beyondborders.gr.
The Festival for the last 3 years is under the auspices of A.E. of the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Stay tuned for all Beyond Borders activities and news by following the Festival on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Organisation: Hellenic Foundation Foundation (IDISME) in collaboration with the French Ecrans des Mondes and in co-organisation with the South Aegean Region. DEI (PPC) – the leading Greek electric utility, with activities in electricity generation, distribution network operation and supply of electricity to end consumers – is the Platinum Sponsor of the Festival. The Festival is supported by the Ministry Of Culture, Greek Film Center, the National Audiovisual Media and Communication Center (EKOME), the Hellenic Parliament, the General Secretariat of Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Greek National Tourism Organization, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), the Municipality of Megisti Island, the Embassy of Germany in Athens, the Embassy of Australia in Athens, the Embassy of USA in Athens, the Embassy of Spain in Athens and the Czech Center of Athens.