26/06/2025 - The festival celebrates a decade of cinematic storytelling with a bold programme exploring memory and identity, while spotlighting Greek documentary films

The tenth Beyond Borders Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival (24-31 August) marks a major milestone with a landmark edition dedicated to Greek documentary cinema and its evolving landscape. The festival, which this year unspools under the theme “Memory Weaves the Future”, will present 42 films from around the world, host high-profile industry events and tributes, and continue its mission to foster cross-cultural dialogue from its unique Aegean setting.

Held annually on the island of Kastellorizo, Beyond Borders is dedicated to historical and sociopolitical themes, foregrounding stories that explore memory, identity and global human rights. As artistic director Irini Sarioglou underlined: “Beyond Borders celebrates a decade of bridging past and present, tradition and innovation, the local and the universal. It honours Greece – a place where history and culture are constantly interwoven, like threads on a primeval loom.” Opening the festival will be Johatsu - Into Thin Air [+see also:
interview: Andreas Hartmann, Arata Mori
film profile] by Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori (Germany/Japan), while Astéroïde Hunters by Guillaume Lenel and Thomas Marlier (France) will bring it to a close.

A record-breaking 907 submissions from 92 countries were received for this anniversary edition, with 42 titles ultimately selected for the competition sections. Of these, 35 are Greek, international or world premieres. The programme is split into three strands: the Main Competition (18 medium- and feature-length documentaries, including four Greek titles), the μicro Competition (24 short films, with three Greek entries) and the Panorama section, which this year trains the spotlight on Greek documentary cinema. The two competitive sections will hand out a total of ten awards.

In the Main Competition, feature-length films will be vying for the Golden, Silver and Bronze Megisti Wreaths, accompanied by cash prizes of €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000, respectively, sponsored by ERT. This year’s selection includes Death Plan for a Dog and a Man by Christos Karakepelis (Greece), Exam on the Edge of Time by İlkay Nişancı (Turkey), Hawar, Our Banished Children [+see also:
film review
interview: Pascale Bourgaux
film profile] by Pascale Bourgaux (Belgium/Switzerland), Letters from Wolf Street [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Arjun Talwar (Poland/Germany), Lo by Thanasis Vassiliou (Greece), Mountain of Gold by Roland Edzard (Belgium/France), The Night Recedes by Timon Koulmasis (Greece), On Melting Snow by Mojtaba Bahadori (Belgium/Iceland) and Sculpted Souls by Stavros Psillakis (Greece).

Rounding off the line-up are The Gateway by Nikita Popkov (Russia), Das Deutsche Volk [+see also:
film review
interview: Marcin Wierzchowski
film profile] by Marcin Wierzchowski (Germany), The Longer You Bleed by Ewan Waddell (Ukraine), The Lost Season by Mehdi Ghanavati (Iran), The Tirana Conspiracy by Manfredi Lucibello (Italy), To Use a Mountain by Casey Carter (USA), Welcome to Babel by James Bradley (Australia), Welcome to the Orchard of England by Louis Norris (UK), and Wild Women of Anatolia by Sedef and Aslı Özoğuz (Turkey).

Greek filmmaker Tassos Boulmetis will preside over the Main Competition jury, joined by ARTE commissioning editor Claudia Bucher, Sorbonne associate professor Eugenia Giannouri, director Jobst Knigge and filmmaker Maria Louka. Michaela Kolster, programme director of ZDF/PHOENIX, heads the μicro jury, which includes Bruce Clark, Alex Sakalis, Gilles Perrin and Vasilis Loules.

The Critics’ Corner initiative will return, with FIPRESCI members leading public discussions on the previous day’s competition films each morning. This year’s event marks the 100th anniversary of FIPRESCI and will be held on 29 August. Key industry professionals will lead master classes, including Claudia Bucher (ARTE), Silvia De Felice (RAI Documentari), Angelos Kovotsos (Hellenic Documentary Association) and Gilles Perrin (École Alsacienne). The Panorama will also feature the event “The Future of Documentary”, where Jobst Knigge will screen and discuss Ending Wars and Making Peace, followed by a panel on trends, innovation and the role of documentary in shaping global narratives.

This year’s honoured institutions include Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper, Italy’s RAI, the GrecDoc – Greek Documentary Festival in Paris and the École Alsacienne. The festival is also launching the Beyond Borders Podcast Series, featuring exclusive interviews with guests and professionals from the global audiovisual sector. Additionally, in collaboration with the Hellenic Center for Cinema, Audiovisual Media, and Creation (EKKOMED) – Creative Greece, the festival will host a dedicated event focused on the audiovisual sector outreach programme.

The Beyond Borders Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival is organised by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME) in collaboration with Paris-based Ecrans des Mondes, and is supported by public broadcasters and institutions including ERT, ZDF, ARTE, the BBC, RAI TV, Phoenix, IDF Prague, Movies that Matter and FIPRESCI.