Aegean Film Festival

Calling all filmmakers 🎬 Submit your films on FilmFreeway and be part of this year’s official selection at the Aegean Film Festival. Feature Fiction Film, Feature Documentary & Environmental Documentary submissions close on May 8. Short Film submissions close on May 15. We look forward to welcoming your projects at the 15th edition of the Aegean Film Festival. #aegeanff #filmfreeway #featurefilm #documentaryfilm #environmentaldocumentary #shortfilm #filmfestival

Wild Parties for Rewilding 🌱 With your support, 300 native trees and plants were introduced on Patmos, contributing to ecosystem restoration and erosion prevention. Funded through the tickets of the AegeanFF’s parties, the initiative is rewilding Koumas Hill with @communityoftrees2012 , with native forest species sourced from Vasilakos Nursery. A heartfelt thank you to our partners and team members: Lea, Alexis, Babis, @communityoftrees2012 , Municipality of Patmos and Mayor Nikitas Tsabalakis @tsabalakis , @pernera_vegan_patmos , I. Kokonis and Dynamic Transport, @billis_patmos_rental , Odysseas, Glen and Angela, Eleni, Ouranos and many more. Join our mission and help us reach a target of 3000 trees planted in Patmos by 2030. We need your help! Please visit aegeanff.com/housekeeping/ Με τη στήριξή σας, φυτεύτηκαν 300 αυτόχθονα δέντρα και φυτά στην Πάτμο, συμβάλλοντας στην αποκατάσταση του οικοσυστήματος και στην πρόληψη της διάβρωσης. Η πρωτοβουλία χρηματοδοτήθηκε από τα έσοδα των εισιτηρίων των πάρτι του AegeanFF, και αποσκοπεί στην επαναφύτρωση του λόφου Κουμάς σε συνεργασία με το @communityoftrees2012 , με αυτόχθονα δασικά είδη που προέρχονται από το Φυτώριο Βασιλάκου. Ευχαριστούμε θερμά, τους συνεργάτες και τα μέλη της ομάδας μας: τη Lea, τον Αλέξη, τον Μπάμπη, το @communityoftrees2012 , τον Δήμο Πάτμου και τον Δήμαρχο Νικήτα Τσαμπαλάκη @tsabalakis , το @pernera_vegan_patmos , τον Ι. Κοκόνη και τη Dynamic Transport, το @billis_patmos_rental , τον Οδυσσέα, τον Glen και την Angela, την Ελένη, τον Ουρανό και πολλούς άλλους. Συμμετάσχετε στην αποστολή μας και βοηθήστε μας να επιτύχουμε τον στόχο των 3000 δέντρων που θα φυτευτούν στην Πάτμο έως το 2030. Χρειαζόμαστε τη βοήθειά σας! Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες επισκεφθείτε την ιστοσελίδα aegeanff.com/housekeeping/ #WildPartiesForRewilding #Plantatree #RewildingPatmos

We are beyond proud to see members of the Aegean Film Festival family shine at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival: Our board members: Alexander Payne – serving as President of the Jury Elizabeth Woodward –executive producer of ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ in competition Thanassis Karathanos – co-producer of László Nemes’ ‘Orphan’ in competition And our 2025 Best VR Seahorse Award winner Boris Labbé (Ito Meikyū), now serving on the Venice Immersive Jury. What an honour to see our community shaping the future of cinema on the world’s biggest stage. Congratulations to all of them for being part of this year’s Venice Film Festival and also to the winners! #AegeanFilmFestival #Venezia82

The Aegean Film Festival concluded its 14th edition, which took place from July 18 to 25 in Patmos. More than 3000 people attended the screenings and events of this year’s film celebration, having the opportunity to watch 8 programmes, featuring 66 films and including Greek premieres, Q&As, and other parallel events. The programming team, with the valuable assistance of the Advisory Board, curated 10 feature films, 7 documentaries, and 48 short films. Moreover, this year, the festival continued its commitment to support immersive storytelling with a new VR & Immersive Competition Programme, showcasing virtual reality as an emerging form of cinematic expression. The competition programme featured six distinctive works in their Greek premiere, competing for the AegeanFF VR Seahorse Award. The Echoes Environmental Programme was once again part of the festival for the eighth year in a row, featuring 2 feature documentaries, 6 environmental short films and several parallel events. The 14th Aegean Film Festival has once again celebrated exceptional talent and powerful storytelling, bringing together filmmakers, industry professionals, and audiences in a vibrant cultural exchange. The festival team thanks everyone who contributed to this year’s success and look forward to continuing this journey. Mark your calendars—the festival will return from 18 to 25 July 2026. Submissions for the next edition are now open, and we invite filmmakers from around the world to share their stories with us on FilmFreeway. #AegeanFF

14th Aegean Film Festival ended a few weeks ago but we are grateful to everyone who has supported us, from our sponsors to our volunteers, from our audience to the amazing Patmian community who has welcomed us once again and made us feel right at home. Let’s now look back together to some of those amazing moments and stay tuned for our upcoming activities! #AegeanFF

Grateful to our event partners and sponsors for hosting our events, guests and team members throughout the festival in Patmos! #AegeanFF

We thank to our hospitality partners and sponsors for making everyone feel right at home throughout the 14th Aegean Film Festival in Patmos!

Best VR/Immersive Seahorse Award: ITO MEIKYŪ In this 2025 immersive selection, one experience stood out for its unique art direction and its ability to offer audiences a new and radical form of audiovisual storytelling—using space itself as a narrative structure. Inspired by classical Japanese literature and traditional hand-drawn animation, this work invites the viewer into a mysterious labyrinth of memories, sensations, and dreamlike architecture. The first Aegean Festival Prize for Best Immersive/VR Experience was awarded to ITO MEIKYŪ by Boris Labbé. Audience Awards - Documentary - KATWE by Nima Shirali In the Ugandan town of Katwe, a long-abandoned salt factory stands as a symbol of broken political promises and deep-rooted corruption. Despite pledges to lift the community out of poverty, profits from the salt lake vanish into the hands of powerful middlemen. Amid political manipulation and religious devotion, locals like Abooki struggle to survive—she supports her three daughters by harvesting salt, her livelihood tied to every grain she can sell. The film paints a vivid portrait of exploitation, resilience, and daily hardship in a post-colonial context. Audience Awards - Fiction - ANYWHERE ANYTIME by Milad Tangshir Our audience voted for Anywhere Anytime by Milad Tangshir as their favourite from this year’s selection. Issa, a young undocumented immigrant from Senegal living in Turin, loses his job and begins working as a food-delivery rider for “Anywhere Anytime,” finding brief freedom and control in his new role. However, when his bike—bought with all his savings—is stolen, his fragile stability shatters. Desperate, Issa scours the city to recover it, in a modern-day homage to Bicycle Thieves.

Best Greek Short Film presented by @ertofficial : FATBARDHA Delicate and respectful yet never shying away from the harshness of the daily life of an elderly couple, the director shows her talent in creating an emotional bond as well as remarkable cinematic skills, both in terms of framing and of editing. The award for the Best Greek Short presented by ERT was awarded to FATBARDHA directed by Kitty Kentezi - @kitty_kentezi Greek Short Film - Jury Special Mention: ALL THE GAMES This year’s jury faced difficult decisions, as several films stood out with unique voices and strong directorial vision. One film, in particular, lingered with them. For these reasons, the jury’s Special Mention accolades went to ALL THE GAMES by Miltiades Christides.

Best Aegean Short Film presented by ERIS PRESS @eris.press : VIRUNDHU (Intl. Title: THE FEAST) For its visual and narrative mastery, the strength of its actors’ performances, and its ability to tell an original story that reminds us of our deep emotional connection to the natural world — and all that we lose when we destroy it — the jury awarded the Best Aegean Short Film award to The Feast (Virundhu) by Rishi Chandna. Jury Special Mention: DIE LETZE WETTE (Intl. title: THE LAST BET) For its very precise mise-en scène, its dark humour and upbeat pace, The Special Mention for the Aegean Short Film was awarded to DIE LETZE WETTE directed by Meike Wüstenberg. Sustainability Award, given by the festival team: Trinitario - On the Edge The Sustainability Award honours a work that not only highlights environmental issues, but also uplifts stories of resilience, wisdom, and connection. This year’s recipient does exactly that, with beauty, honesty, and care. It is a film that offers a grounded, empowering narrative about sustainable living and shows how generational knowledge and harmony with nature can shape not only the future of farming, but also the future of community. Upvoted by our festival team, the Sustainability Award was given to ‘Trinitario – On The Edge,’ a documentary short by Denise Speck @bydenisespeck .

🪸 Last day of the festival! 🪸 Join us at the Starfish Cinema at Patmion Cultural Centre for the re-screening of winner of the audience award Katwe 8:30 and then at 11 PM for the winning shorts! You can also join us from 6 PM onwards for our VR & Immersive Programme at Patmion VR Hall! #AegeanFF

14th Aegean Film Festival merchandise - designed by @bob.studio . Pass by our box office to get your tote bags, t-shirts and merch from previous years’ editions today! Photos: @mariasofiasegala #AegeanFF