Planning to unspool in July on two Greek islands, the Aegean Film Festival is returning with a tenth edition to celebrate and promote independent cinema and storytelling. Organised by a diverse team based in 20 different countries, the aim for this edition is to provide a rich programme of acclaimed films and a series of industry discussions, along with the Echoes environmental conference and various summertime events.

Film submissions for the festival are open until 25 May, for feature-length or short fiction and documentary titles. The festival’s jury, which will be announced soon, will grant three awards: Best Aegean Short Film, valued at €3,000; Best Greek Short Film, which is accompanied by €1,000; and the Jury Special Mention. Furthermore, the audience will pick their favourite fiction and documentary features. All information and submission-related terms and conditions can be found here.

Also, the festival supports the mission of the Echoes environmental programme, and has joined forces with WaterBear Network, the first interactive streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet. Together, under the auspices of Unesco, the American College of Greece and NBC Universal are launching a script competition called ReScript the Future. The competition invites young people to create inspiring environmental documentary ideas. Two winners from both age categories, 13-18 and 19-24 years old, will have the opportunity to produce their scripts into two short documentaries with a budget of up to €25,000 each. These will premiere at the 11^th Aegean Film Festival in 2022 and will be distributed to global audiences through WaterBear. In addition, four winners will win paid internship opportunities in London, Athens, Amsterdam and Bristol, while all finalists will join the jury and the festival guests on the islands this summer. The deadline for the competition is 20 June, and all information can be found here.

The exact dates of the festival, along with the complete line-up of the selected films, will be announced soon.