THE FILM FESTIVAL OF PATMOS IS EVOLVING
On our side in this new direction, to reach wider audiences and present our program to other Aegean islands as well, we have our established partners and sponsors, our loyal Patmos team and some new international friends that will guarantee that we can continue to educate, entertain, and bring together filmmakers from around the world to this celebration of cinema.
The international Aegean Film Festival – AFF – on its 2017 edition will take place in Patmos, from the 25th to the 30th of July under the auspices of UNESCO, Greek National Tourism Organization (E.O.T.), Greek Film Center (E.K.K.), with the continuous support of our principal sponsors COSMOTE TV, SundanceTV, Fischer Beer, the co-production of the Municipality of Patmos as well as the local businesses and hotels.
We are honoured to present an international program of more than 80 films, documentaries and shorts with more than twenty premieres and guest filmmakers to present their work.
Films:
The Big Blue
Drama/Romance • 132’ • France • 1988
The rivalry between Enzo and Jacques, two childhood friends and now world-renowned free divers, becomes a beautiful and perilous journey into oneself and the unknown. Δείτε το trailer
Roza of Smyrna
Romance/Drama • 97’ • Greece/Turkey • 2016
Smyrna 1922: In her youth, Roza, a descendent of a wealthy family, is married in haste. Athens 1987: Roza lives with her granddaughter, carrying a closely guarded secret. A collector discovers in a Turkish antique shop a vintage wedding dress stained with blood that leads him to the enigmatic Roza, and the unveiling of a love story from the tragic past. Δείτε το trailer
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Adventure/Comedy/Drama • 101’ • New Zealand • 2016
Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh new start in the countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec and their dog Tupac. When tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their differences and survive as a family. Δείτε το trailer
My Life as a Zucchini
Stopmotion Animation • 66’ • France/Switzerland • 2016
Courgette is an intriguing nickname for a 9 year old boy. Although his unique story is surprisingly universal. After his mother’s sudden death, Courgette is befriended by a kind police officer, Raymond, who accompanies Courgette to his new foster home filled with other orphans his age. Courgette struggles at first to find his place in this strange, at times hostile, environment. Yet with Raymond’s help and his newfound friends, Courgette eventually learns to trust, find true love and at last a new family of his own.
Park
Drama • 100’ • Greece/Poland • 2016
Gathering in the parched concrete wasteland of Athens’ crumbling Olympic village, a group of teenagers engages daily in boisterous horseplay. The eldest of them, doe-eyed Anna (Dimitra Vlagkopoulou) and timid Dimitri (Dimitris Kitsos), begin courting and soon become a couple. Coming alive in each other’s company, they explore the attractions of a seaside tourist resort with gleeful curiosity and juvenile excitement. Yet with the passing of time, their relationship goes from summery bliss to autumnal anguish, and the impact of the social body on the individual is keenly, painfully felt. Δείτε το trailer
RED DOG: True Blue
Comedy/Drama • 89’ • Australia • 2015
When eleven year old Mick (Levi Miller) is shipped off to his grandfather's (Bryan Brown) cattle station in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, he prepares himself for a life of dull hardship, but instead finds myth, adventure and a friendship with a scrappy, one-of-a-kind dog that will change his life forever. Δείτε το trailer
Rock N Roll
Comedy • 123’ • France • 2017
Guillaume Canet is told by a young co-star that he's no longer Rock'n' Roll and can't sell films anymore. He then tries to prove her wrong and gets help from his girlfriend, Marion Cotillard. Δείτε το trailer
Centaur
Drama • 89’ • Kyrgyzstan/France/Germany • 2017
Centaur is a quiet, small and modest man, a loving father of a little boy that has never spoken a word and the husband of young, deaf-mute Maripa. Together they lead a simple life in a small village of Kyrgyzstan. Centaur is above all a respected man among his neighbours, a man beyond any suspicion, but he has a belief deeply rooted inside him. He still believes that Kyrgyz people once united and invincible thanks to their horses, have been punished by Heavens for misusing that power to achieve their mercenary goals. Beyond any suspicion, Centaur becomes a horse thief, as he thinks only a genuine racer riding at night and praying for forgiveness can write off the curse. But his well-hidden secret cannot be kept for long. When the truth shines, he will need to decide the destiny of his family, co-villagers and his own. Δείτε το trailer
Free and Easy
Black Comedy • 98’ • Hong Kong • 2017
A middle-aged man walks around virtually empty streets; it’s unclear whether they’re empty because it’s the middle of freezing winter, or if the decrepit town really is as abandoned as it looks. He tries to sell his wares to the few passers-by. Encouraged to sniff the soap he carries in a suitcase, they get a big surprise: Most immediately fall to the ground, unconscious, allowing their money and valuables to be pocketed by the devious salesman. If they fail to pass out, or otherwise create a problem, he’s got a handgun to encourage cooperation. Δείτε το trailer
A United Kingdom
Drama • 105’ • Czech Republic/UK/USA • 2016
A United Kingdom is based on extraordinary true events. In 1947, Seretse Khama, the King of Botswana, met Ruth Williams, a London office worker. The attraction was immediate: she was captivated by his vision for a better world, he was struck by her willingness to embrace it. Both felt liberated by the social upheaval that followed the war - Seretse sensed the opportunity for change as the Empire weakened, Ruth saw the possibility for a “bigger life” as women pushed for independence and equality. Δείτε το trailer
Oscillating Fan
Oscillating Fan
At the Aegean Film Festival we felt we could not ignore the current debate about classic versus new forms of online distribution and the way the latter is affecting the film festival world. In the midst of this heated debate we have decided to partner up with Napflix to bring you something that will cool you down, a Napflix original, the Oscillating Fan.
Hell on Earth: the Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS
Documentary • 99’ • US • 2017
“When you’re fighting people ... who really don’t care whether they live or die ...when you reduce someone like that to tears, you have created a generational problem and we’re seeing that now in Syria.” — Sebastian Junger, Hell on Earth Δείτε το trailer
Spectres Are Haunting Europe
Documentary • 99’ • Greece/France • 2016
The daily life of refugees (Syrian, Kurdish, Pakistani, Afghani, and other) in the camp of Idomeni.People waiting in queues for food, tea and doctors; waiting to cross the border between Greece and Macedonia. One day, Europe closes its borders for them once and for all. The "residents" of Idomeni decide, in their turn, to occupy the train tracks, blocking the trains that carry goods across the border. Δείτε το trailer
Dries
Documentary • 90’ • Belgium/Germany • 2017
For the first time Fashion Designer Dries Van Noten allows a filmmaker to accompany him in his creative process and rich home life. For an entire year Reiner Holzemer documented the precise steps that Dries takes to conceive of four collections, the rich fabrics, embroidery and prints exclusive to his designs, as well as the emblematic fashion shows that bring his collections to the world and have become cult “must sees” at the Parisian Fashion week. Δείτε το trailer
Meteor Street
Drama • 84’ • Germany • 2016
Mohammed is 18. Having fled from the war inLebanonto Germany, he is now trying to find his way in a world of men: there is the gruff boss of the motorbike garage where he helps out; the co- worker who tells stories of his experiences in the Foreign Legion; and above all Lakhdar (27), his eccentric and reckless brother. The two live without their parents in the dilapidated former family home in Berlin Tegel. Planes constantly thunder overhead. Between a precarious work situation and the hope for an apprenticeship, between heroic stories about comradeship from his co-workers and his own memories of war, between the good and increasingly mad ravings and words of advice from his brother, the young Palestinian has to ask himself the question: what does it actually mean to be a man? Δείτε το trailer
Shingal, Where Are You?
Documentary • 99’ • Turkey/Greece • 2016
In 2014, the Yezidi city of Shingal in northern Iraq was conquered and destroyed by IS. The terror group murdered thousands of men and kidnapped 3000 women and girls, who are still being kept as slaves. In a deserted coal mine on the Turkish border, thousands of Yezidi refugees wait for a safe return. Through the eyes of an older man, a teenage boy and a family, Shingal Where Are You?illustrates the burdens and dilemmas of this persecuted religious minority. Hanging around ruins and fishing pools, children discuss shockingly adult topics, such as the chances of another genocide taking place, and how much better life would be in Europe. In the meantime, the Havind family desperately tries to understand what has happened to them. Inconsolable, they talk on the phone with their daughter who reports from the slave camp. They try to buy her freedom through a chain of intermediaries and get close to the IS lines. The suffering is made all the more palpable when the family visits their city of Shingal, which has been reduced to rubble. Δείτε το trailer
Into the Centre of the Wheel
Documentary • 78’ • Greece • 2016
Into the Centre of the Wheel is an eyewitness account of the spiritual journey of RODA’s non professional actors through the art of theatre. We see the daily routine of a statistics teacher in class, a roof builder, a mother, and a delivery man. They share the unusual experiences that they had in the past whilst performing as actors. 24 hours before a performance, all the painful process of the preparation unfolds step by step until all members of RODA storm out on stage. From that point on, the experience becomes a personal quest for truth into the darkness of the theatre’s backstage. Δείτε το trailer
Machines
Documentary • 75’ • India/Germany/Finland• 2016
Moving through the corridors and bowels of an enormous and disorientating structure, the camera takes the viewer on a descent down to a dehumanized place of physical labor and intense hardship. This gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India might just as well be the decorum for a 21st century Dante’s Inferno. In his mind-provoking yet intimate portrayal, director Rahul Jain observes the life of the workers, the suffering and the environment they can hardly escape from. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality, oppression and the huge divide between rich, poor and the perspectives of both. Δείτε το trailer
It’s Not Yet Dark
Documentary • 77’ • Ireland • 2016
It’s Not Yet Dark is a feature length documentary telling the story of Simon Fitzmaurice, a talented Irish Filmmaker who is living with Motor Neurone Disease. He was diagnosed at the age of 34, after his short film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His wife was expecting their third child and they were left shocked and reeling. Simon refused to give up and started to work on the script for a feature film - My Name is Emily. Now, five years later, the father of five children, he is completely physically incapacitated. Narrated by Colin Farrell, and using extracts from Simon’s best selling memoir, we follow Simon as he embarks on the direction of his first feature film through the use of the last physical attribute he has control over - his eyes. Δείτε το trailer
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas
Documentary • 80’ • Sweden/Germany/Finland • 2017
Around the globe, there is a massive commercial rush for farmland – the new green gold. One of the most profitable new spots for farming is Ethiopia. Hoping for export revenues, the Ethiopian government leases millions of hectares of allegedly unused land to foreign investors. But the dream of prosperity has a dark side - the most massive forced evictions in modern history, lost livelihoods of small farmers, harsh repression and a vicious spiral of violence. Contributing to this disaster are the EU, the World Bank and DFID, providing billions of dollars in development money. Δείτε το trailer
Undune
Environmental Documentary • 83’ • Germany • 2015
Undune is a documentary about Terra Preta, Feces & Mars. Terra Preta: a way to create a fertile, black soil out of our feces. Yes, feces, turds, poop, number 2, whatever you want to call them, they're inevitable and – strangely enough – valuable. In a mixture of fiction and documentary, the Berlin filmmakers GregorPieplow and Dennis Rätzeltackle this everyday taboo – and dare to ask: are we wasting our waste when we flush? Δείτε το trailer
Guardians of the Aegean
Documentary • 85’ • Greece • 2016
This documentary depicts the 5 years odyssey of filmmaker OmirosEvangelinoswhile sailing on board a former fishing caique «the Odyssey» through the islands of the Cyclades , looking on the matter of overfishing and the struggle of artisanal fishing communities throughout the Aegean Sea. This voyage takes place in the enchanting but rather chaotic archipelago of the Aegean Sea, where a state of anarchy and disobedience towards any existing legislation has led to illegal “pirate” methods being the norm in these waters. Δείτε το trailer
Thalatta
Documentary • 50’ • Greece • 2015-16
The sea from the antiquity has been a symbol of freedom for man and at the same time a broad field that no one ever sowed but everyone seeks to harvest. An independent group of biology students decide to take action and bring the matter to the public. Δείτε το trailer
The Islands and the Whales
Documentary • 82’ • United Kingdom/Scotland • 2016
In their remote home in the North Atlantic the Faroe Islanders have always eaten what nature could provide, proud to put local food on the table. The land yields little, so they have always relied on harvesting their seas. Hunting whales and seabirds kept them alive for generations, and gave them the way of life they love; a life they would pass on to their children. But today they face a grave threat to this tradition. Δείτε το trailer
Dear Aunt Lena
Documentary • 80’ • Greece • 2016
A documentary on Antigone Metaxa, the much-loved Aunt Lena of children in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. A legendary figure and the most important educator in Greece who gave the country and Greek country and children the “Children’s Theatre”, the first permanent theatre organization for children in Athens, writing and staging performances for children from 1933 to 1942. From 1939 to 1966 she also presented 4500 radio shows for children broadcast by the National Broadcasting Corporation, the most popular of which were “Aunt Lena to Little Children” and “Good Morning Children”. She also wrote 53 books (including the well-known children’s encyclopaedia and the mythology encyclopaedia) and was the first to present a series of vinyl records with fairytales and songs as well as the first television programs for children. In 1965 she received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Athens.
In the Footsteps of Apostle Paul
Documentary • 80’ • Greece • 2017
Paul is born between 5-15 A.D in Tarsus, Cilicia. After completing his studies, he departs for Jerusalem and returns after the Resurrection of Christ. In Damascus he is visited by Ananias. He travels to Arabia, where he remains for two years. During that period he is devoted to prayer and has divine visions. Δείτε το trailer
Bar Engage
Documentary • 45’ • Greece • 2016
Bar Engage is the story of ten french mixologists in central Greece, Thessaly and mostly in the city of Larissa. It’s a journey of discovery as they uncover local monuments, the local culture, spirits and wines of the area as well as local foods and products. They interact with the people and exchange ideas and stories. This is their travelogue. Δείτε το trailer
IrineosGalanakis - A Peaceful Revolutionary
Documentary • 45’ • Greece • 2016
IrineosGalanakis: priest, bishop, metropolitan - a spiritual leader with groundbreaking social initiatives. His life was a century full of faith, struggle and giving. A Cretan ascetic whose peaceful revolution surpassed the narrow boundaries of his island. Believing deeply in the ideals of peace, democracy and freedom, he resisted political extremes like the Nazis and the Junta. The documentary unfolds known and unknown aspects of his life. Δείτε το trailer
Surprise Film
In the festival we trust
Films of Friends of Patmos
A selection of films of friends of Patmos
Best of Europe
A selection of the best European short films
Screenings Pass - Cost: €30
Passes are available for purchase at the ticket offices and online at the Festival’s website. Each Pass is valid for one person only and is non transferable. Each Pass holder gets 6 tickets to any screening of their choice. Tickets must be issued with the Pass’s number either online on www.aegeanff.com or at the Festival’s ticket offices. Additionally, Pass Holders are allowed entry to any non-Sold Out screenings, if there are available seats, 10 minutes before the start of the screening. Tickets issued using the Screenings Pass may not be returned or exchanged.
Additional Benefits:
- Complimentary Beer or Soft Drink & Pop Corn at one screening
- Complimentary Festival Catalogue*
Festival Pass - Cost: €200
Passes are available for purchase at the ticket offices and online at the Festival’s website. Each Pass is valid for one person only and is non transferable. Each Pass provides one ticket to any non-conflicting screening. Tickets must be issued with the Pass’s number either online on www.aegeanff.com or at the Festival’s ticket offices. Additionally, Pass Holders are allowed entry to any non-Sold Out screenings, if there are available seats, 10 minutes before the start of the screening. Tickets issued using the Festival Pass may not be returned or exchanged.
Additional Benefits:
- Invitations to Opening & Closing Parties
- Invitations to Galas
- Invitation to Filmmaker’s Dinner
- Complimentary Beer or Soft Drink & Pop Corn at one screening
- Complimentary Festival Catalogue*
- Complimentary Festival T-Shirt*
- Complimentary Festival Tote Bag*
- Access to “Member’s Page” of Aegean FF Website with exclusive content
Member’s Pass - Cost: €1200
Passes are available for purchase at the ticket offices and online at the Festival’s website. Each Pass is valid for two people and is transferable. Passes allow unlimited access to two people with guaranteed reserved seating until the start of the film. Tickets are not required for entry at each Screening, however, cards must be shown to gain entry.
Additional Benefits:
- Invitations to Opening & Closing Parties
- Invitations to Galas
- Invitation to Filmmaker’s Dinner
- Complimentary Beer or Soft Drink & Pop Corn at any screening
- Complimentary Festival Catalogue*
- Complimentary Festival T-Shirt*
- Complimentary Festival Tote Bag*
- Access to “Member’s Page” of Aegean FF Website with exclusive content.
- Credit on Website as Patron of the Aegean FF
- Membership in the Aegean FF advisory board
See you on the island!
The team of the Aegean Film Festival