30/07/2021 - A series of cultural events, a full Panorama section line-up and an opening ceremony dedicated to Greece’s bicentennial are among the highlights coming up on Kastellorizo

For the sixth year in a row, the Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival will take place on the idyllic island of Kastellorizo, on the shores of the Aegean Sea, from 22-29 August. The festival has already announced its competition section and the international jury set to adjudicate there (see the news).

The opening ceremony will be dedicated to Greece’s bicentennial, celebrating 200 years since the Greek War of Independence, and it will feature a screening of the film Spetses ‘21, At the Crossroads of History by Panos A Thomaidis, which offers an original reading of the story of the Greek Revolution, starring the descendants of the insurrectionists in the 1821 Greek War of Independence, but also ordinary inhabitants of the island. As for the closing ceremony on 29 August, this will be marked by a screening of the documentary The Cradock Murders by David Forbes and Michel Noll.

Apart from the titles in competition, 16 additional documentary films – of which nine are feature-length, four medium-length and three short – will be screened in the Panorama section of Beyond Borders. The selection includes compelling movies dealing with historical, cross-cultural events, trends and personalities that have shaped our countries, peoples and civilisations. The features in Panorama are 1.000m2 of Time by Maro Anastopoulou (Greece), Affection to the People by Vassilis Douvlis (Greece), All the Rebets of the World by Dimitrios Traggalos (Greece), The Creepy Line by MA Taylor (USA), Enough! by Daisy Gedeon (Australia), Greece, A Necessary Story by Angelos Abazoglou (Greece), Mayor by David Osit (UK/USA), Town of Glory [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Dmitry Bogolyubov (Russia/Czech Republic/Germany) and Queen Lear [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Pelin Esmer (Turkey).

Apart from the screenings, a rich cultural programme is being organised during the days of the festival, including exhibitions of photos and sculptures, music concerts and educational courses for children. Visitors will have the chance to enjoy an exhibition run by the National Historical Museum, “The Archipelago on Fire”, which will be hosted at the Town Hall of Megisti; the Athens String Quartet, comprising leading members of the Athens State Orchestra, will melodically fill the gaps between the screenings, performing traditional Mediterranean music to the audiences on Kastellorizo; and Alexandros Melissinos’ Shadow Theatre will run a handful of performances for all audiences. Admission to all educational and cultural events is free of charge.

Finally, Beyond Borders has initiated a series of collaborations for this edition in order to contribute to the evolution and promotion of documentaries and culture around the world. This year, the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF), which has been supporting creative documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe since 2001, will be the Academic Partner of Honour, while the Amsterdam-based Movies That Matter Festival, known for supporting human rights-themed films, is the Festival Partner of Honour. As for the Media Partner of Honour, this will be the Hellenic Parliament Television Channel.

The Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival is organised by the Hellenic History Foundation and is co-organised with Ecrans des Mondes (Paris). The sixth edition will be held under the patronage of the president of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. The festival is supported by the Hellenic Parliament, the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Municipality of Megisti, the Embassies of Australia, the USA, the Federal Republic of Germany, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Israel in Athens, the Cervantes Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Czech Centre in Athens. The main sponsors are the Ministry of Culture, the Secretariat General for Aegean and Island Policy, EKOME and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.