The seventh edition of the International Documentary Festival Beyond Borders is due to run from 21-28 August on the idyllic island of Castellorizo. Once again this year, the Aegean island will turn into a hub where documentaries will meet history and culture. The festival includes a selection of Greek, European and global productions from the last five years, as well as workshops, parallel events and master classes.

Beyond Borders’ objective is to promote the most important documentary productions from all over the world that focus on history, culture, politics and other social issues. From the beginning of the year and until 30 April, the festival has the pleasure of inviting documentary filmmakers to submit their works. Eligible films are short, medium-length and feature-length documentaries from anywhere in the world, and the application form can be found here.

Irini Sarioglou, Beyond Borders’ artistic director, underlines: “Beyond Borders, the International Documentary Film Festival of Castellorizo island, was founded in 2016 by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME) with the aim of highlighting the rich cultural heritage of Castellorizo and promoting documentary film. A place of idyllic beauty, it is an ideal meeting point where documentary meets history and culture. At the crossroads between East and West, very close to the coast of Lycia, the festival seeks to become a reference point for the cinematographic and cultural collaboration among documentary filmmakers internationally.”

As for the preselection committee of Beyond Borders, this year, it is made up of distinguished professionals and includes Jean-Christoph Caron, head of documentaries at PHOENIX; Markus Nikel, senior advisor for international co-productions at RAI; Alexia Papakosta, member of the National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME); Natasha Bozini, a screenwriter and journalist; Jean Louis Gonterre, a documentary director; Ruggero Calich, a curator and critic; Tasos Giapoutzis, a filmmaker and lecturer; Guelfo Ascanelli, a programming officer at the Cinémathèque française; Veronika Fidrmuc Dvořáčková, manager of the East Silver programme at the Institute of Documentary Film, Prague; Cyril Lafon, a professor at the University of Bordeaux; Sherif Fathy Salem, a film producer and director; and Giorgos Mantas, a filmmaker.

Beyond Borders is organised by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME), in collaboration with Paris-based Ecrans des Mondes and the Society for the Restoration of Megisti in Sydney, and it will be held once again under the patronage of HE the President of the Hellenic Republic, Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou.