The Aegean Film Festival has the mission to explore, discover and promote films, ideas and
stories that further our kindness and tolerance, our understanding and sensitivity towards each other and towards the environments that surround us. For this reason we strive to present bold new voices from all over the globe, to educate and support the next generations of filmmakers and over all to host a unique celebration of cinema. The Festival team is honoured to invite filmmakers to the islands of Patmos, Paros and Spetses in order to present their work to both international and local audiences.

Programming:

The selection of the AegeanFF programmes is carried out by three 3 independent teams.

A. The judging team, consisting of a diverse group of 20-25 people from more than 10
countries including experienced and emerging filmmakers, artists, film critics, past festival team members as well as cinema students.

B. The advisory board, contributing with suggestions and ideas for invited shorts and
features.

Advisory Board Members:

Alexander Payne (Film Director, Producer, Script Writer)
Alin Tasciyan (Deputy General Secretary, FIPRESCI)
Elizabeth Woodward (Film Producer, Willa Productions )
Frederic Boyer (Artistic Director, Tribeca Film Festival, Les Arcs Film Festival)
Jesper Jack (Documentary Producer, House of Real)
Joanne Sawicki (Journalist, television producer)
Marco Frazier (Industry Executive)
Nicolas Brown (Documentary Director)
Robert Dick (Festival Development, Sundance Film Festival)
Sam Sutaria (Conservationist, Photographer, Head of Strategy Waterbear Network)
Thanasis Karathanos (Film Producer, Twenty Twenty Vision )

C. The AegeanFF programming team, working also in international film festivals like
RotterdamFF, LondonSFF, TampereFF, BerlinFF and more.

Babis Tsoutsas (Festival Director)
Stavros Markoulakis (Head of Programming)
Maya Sfakianaki (Shorts Programmer & Programming Coordinator)

History:

In 2010 the Aegean Film Festival was founded on the island of Patmos as a way of bringing together filmmaking communities while introducing a meeting point and celebrating independent cinema in the heart of the Greek summer.

Since 2010, the festival has grown from 6 to 12 days, has taken place on three islands and hosted more than 1600 special guests. We screened our programmes to more than 80.000 spectators, in 14 custom built cinemas, presenting more than 1000 films, documentaries and shorts many of which in Greek or European premieres. Following the screenings, we organised numerous events including seminars, panel talks, art exhibitions, galas, Pop-Up screenings and parties.

Furthermore, we created 3 innovative storytelling workshops and introduced the environmental
programme “Echoes”. Since 2016, “Echoes” has been fostering a dialogue about environmental protection, sustainability, and the role of cinema. It brings together filmmakers, experts, activists, policymakers, and audience members to amplify the voices of those working towards solutions on both global and local levels.

Following the success of this programme, we have established the “ReScript the Future competition” with the goal of featuring the projects to come. We invite young storytellers to share their ideas for a short film documentary looking into a sustainable future. In partnership with WaterBear Network we have awarded 10 prizes to young filmmakers worth 85.000 euros.

In 2017 we introduced the juried competitions and established the:

Best Aegean Short Film Award
Best Greek Short Film Award
Audience Award for Fiction Feature
Audience Award for Documentary Feature
Special Mention

AegeanFF Winter Editions have also been running since 2017, providing free access to schools and residents of the islands to watch documentaries and shorts focusing on pressing issues, diversity and human rights.

As the festival kept growing, we decided to join forces with international film festivals, introducing the “Festival Alliance for the Climate” in 2022, with the goal to make our industry more sustainable and amplify the impact of environmental films.

With the same goal in mind, we are proud to announce our Sustainability Award coming into force in 2023.

We are looking forward to meeting you on the islands and celebrating storytelling and new bold voices!

Awards & Prizes

Awards:

Best Aegean Short Film:
Jury Award € 3000,00*

Best Greek Short Film:
Jury Award € 2000,00*

ReScript the Future - Environmental Short Script Awards (ages 13-24):
Grand Award: €25.000
Impact Award: Internship programmes with the Aegean FF and WaterBear.
Runner Ups: Perks including AegeanFF Guest Passes and discounts to attend the festival.

Audience Award for Favourite Fiction Film

Audience Award for Favourite Documentary

AegeanFF Sustainability Award

Perks:

All Selected filmmakers in the competition programme also receive:

1. Accommodation for three nights (single occupancy).

2. Festival Guest Pass providing access to all screenings, seminars and events.

3. Access to dedicated industry seminars and the “Filmmaker’s Brunch” – a series of networking events presented by industry experts.

4. Promotion for the films and press focus covered by the Festival’s Media Sponsors.

5. The option for their films to travel and be screened as part of curated programmes with affiliated festivals.

6. AegeanFF Partners Offers including discounts up to 30% on ferry tickets, restaurants, bars, rentals, hotels.

7. Festival Pass 40% discount for plus ones to accompany the filmmakers to the islands.

Jury:

2023 Jury will be announced in Spring 2023.

2022 Jury:

CLAIRE DENIS - Filmmaker | Chocolat (1988), Beau Travail (1999), Stars at Noon (2022)

PETER VAN HOOF - Film Programmer | Cinema de Balie, Into The Great Wide Open

THANASIS NEOFOTISTOS - Film director, Writer, Head Programmer | DISFF

NIHAN SIVRIDAG - Selection Committee Member | Berlinale Shorts

2022 Awards

Best Aegean Short Film:
No Signal by Adrien Genoudet

Best Greek Short Film:
From The Balcony by Aris Kaplanidis

Jury Special Mention:
Party Poster by Rishi Chandna

Feature Fiction Audience Award:
You Resemble Me by Dina Amer

Feature Documentary Audience Award:
Nothing Compares by Kathryn Ferguson

*******

Rules & Terms

The Aegean Film Festival is a non-profit organisation supporting artists and filmmakers from around the world.

The 12th edition of the Aegean Film Festival takes place during 12 days on the month of July on the islands of Spetses and Patmos in Greece.

Eligibility:

1. The submissions of the Aegean Film Festival are open to films of different genres, techniques, production types and budgets as long as they are completed (premiere) after the 1st of January 2022 ( 18 months before the event date).

2. The accepted running times of the films differ according to the category submitted:

Feature Documentaries & Fiction Films – minimum 50 minutes
Short Films – maximum 30 minutes

3. The Aegean Film Festival has no premiere status rule but reserves the right to reject works that are available online or widely distributed.

4. The primary contact submitting the film to the festival must have full authorisation to do so, including permission from the film’s distributor, sales agent and representing body.

Data Protection:

5. Film and personal details are available to Aegean Film Festival and will not be shared with other organisations outside the festival.

6. The Festival reserves the right to keep the submitter's data in order to share news, future news or events.

7. The Festival accepts full responsibility for protecting the copyrights for the period of time that the films are in the Festival’ s possession, and will act to ensure that no theft or breach of copyright will occur.

Notification Date:

8. All applicants will be notified about the selection or rejection of their film on the 1st of June 2023.

Digital Submissions:

9. Aegean Film Festival accepts submission via the Aegean Film Festival website and FilmFreeway. The following platforms will then ask for an external online link such as Vimeo in order for the selection team to review the film.

10. The Festival may, but is not required to, permit certain selected films to be screened in alternative formats. The cost of shipping prints/hard drives to the festival must be met by the applicant. The Festival will pay for one-way shipping of all prints/hard drives, by forwarding them to their next destination, within two weeks of the conclusion of the festival. Any customs or duties charges will be the responsibility of the producer / distributor. The festival does not pay screening fees for films submitted through the submission platforms.

11. The applicant is responsible that the submission file is in full working order.

Foreign Language Films:

12. If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the film is not English, the preview and screening copy must be subtitled in English, unless this is at variance with the filmmaker’s intention.

Selection Process:

13. Each film submitted will be reviewed by at least three members of the selection team. Based on their average score, the top shortlisted films are reviewed again by the whole programming team and the programmes are curated after this second selection stage.

14. The festival will not provide comments on the films prior to the submission deadline. However if workload allows, we are happy to provide applicants with feedback after the completion of the festival.

Screening Formats:

15. An exhibition quality screening version of the film (Quicktime ProRes 422 HQ and/or DCP-24) should be available once the film is selected.

Further Screenings:

16. The applicant authorises Aegean Film Festival to file their film in the festival archive, where it may be made available for further screenings or events promoted by the festival itself, solely for cultural and not for commercial purposes. The festival will always request permission and give reasonable notice before proceeding with any further screening. The festival will never allow any third-party access to the film without the submitter's permission.

17. The Festival, as part of its year-round initiatives, reserves the right to include submitted films, regardless of their selection status, to screen at the AegeanFF Winter Editions, for the benefit of the local population of the islands, the volunteers and team of the festival and the promotion of independent cinema. Those screenings will have free admission and will be open to the public.

Publicity:

18. Information provided including film details, stills and contact information for all selected films, will be published in the Festival Catalogue, which will be made available to the Festival delegates, the AegeanFF website and other online platforms for the promotion of the Festival and its program as well as it may be reprinted in future editions of the catalogue and/or newsletters.

19. The applicant of a selected film agrees that up to three minutes of their film may be used by the Festival in promotional activities including screening a clip on television and/or on the festival website, and/or on the screens at the Festival venues (trailers included).

20. All films chosen to be part of the Aegean Film Festival must agree to use the “Official Selection” laurels of the Aegean Film Festival on all publicity.

Agreement:

21. In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the regulations, the interpretation of the festival will take precedence.

22. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in the submission being disqualified.

23. These regulations are subject to change without prior notice.

24. The applicant agrees that they have secured all necessary rights for both picture and sound, and exhibition will not violate or infringe upon any rights including but not limited to music, images, and content.

25. Submissions may not be withdrawn from the Festival once they have been selected and after the notification date of the applicants, except at the sole discretion of the Festival.

26. By agreeing to proceed with your submission you are agreeing to these regulations and your application can then be processed. Entry of a film is binding and implies acceptance of these regulations.

Attending the Festival:

27. The Aegean Film Festival encourages all selected filmmakers to attend the festival, and offers accompanying guest passes for the crew members of the selected films.
Email hospitality for further assistance on discounts and information:
hospitality@aegeanff.com

Contact:

28. For all other inquires please contact: submission@aegeanff.com

8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Aleksandr Vinogradov

    Was happy to discover the festival with my short queer film in the summer 2021. It was great to go to the Greek island in the middle of July and to present the movie, also to meet different film directors and cinephiles. The wonderful and professional team of the festival was doing their best, and of course was a pleasure to meet them for drinks at the afterparty.

    February 2022
    Helpful
  • ANTHI DAOUTAKI

    Had a wonderful time in the festival! Beautifully curated short film programme, nice vibes and cool people that love cinema ❤️Glad we got the special mention !

    February 2022
    Helpful
  • Thanasis Tsimpinis

    Thank you for having me in the 2021 edition! It was a great experience overall, with meetings and screenings on some extraordinary sets (aka Bouboulina's Mansion), along with an amazing program with carefully handpicked films. Until next time, cheers!

    February 2022
    Helpful
  • Nikos Vittis

    The whole organisation, the movies, the places they chose for the projection and the parallel events, the organising team and the island itself made the festival unforgettable

    August 2021
    Helpful
  • Costa Kalogiros

    I was there with my film in competition. A great experience, laid back, relaxed and funky when it had to. Thank you !

    July 2019
    Helpful