1st Kalamata International Short Documentary Festival

The 1st Kalamata International Short Documentary Festival will take place from January 27th to 30th, 2023, at the "Theodoros Aggelopoulos" amphitheatre, organised by the Kalamata Creative Documentary Centre and the Municipality of Kalamata. The programme includes all-day screenings of dozens of Greek and international producers, workshops, seminars and unique educational programmes, aiming to keep the Kalamata residents' and visitors' interest in the specific film genre high. After all, this is what the long tradition of the Peloponnese International Documentary Festival dictates.

At the same time, fans of the genre from all over Greece can watch the films digitally at kalamatashortdocs.com, where all the festival films will be available, as well as the unique programme for schools throughout the year for access from remote Greek areas.

The films are shown with subtitles in Greek and English, with special audio description subtitles for the hearing impaired in Greek.

Those interested can find the films' summaries and trailers on the Festival's website.

The festival's goal is to bring the Greek public even closer to this film genre called documentary and introduce it to all its ways of expression. At the same time, through continuous participation in the evaluation process, viewers are pushed to a deeper reading of the creators' way of expression and communication.

Both the subject and the artistic approach of the films chosen to be presented to the viewers have no clear boundaries. Starting from the experimental and flirting with video art, they end up in the classical narrative, research and ethnological documentary. Themes on the environment, equality, gender discrimination, history, politics, society and the arts travel together to broaden the viewers' perspective.
Of the 90 films that make up the programme, 68 are pan-Hellenic premieres. The participation of Greek and Cypriot creators in the festival is also significant. With 40 films, Greek creators will have the opportunity to communicate effectively both with the public and with the international participating creators and guests, presenting their work, exchanging views and creating conditions for networking and creative cooperation.

Among the films are six documentaries by students and professional directors on the invasion of Cyprus. As part of the dedication, on Sunday, January 29th at 6 p.m., there will be an online talk by Themos Dimitrios (Civil Engineer, Member of the Refugee Reconstruction and Resettlement Council), who will preface and speak about the topic. The directors and members of the production of the films "38 Days", "Unmatched Socks", and "Argyro's Wedding Dress" - the films of the tribute - will also be present.

The Festival supports young creators by giving them the opportunity to present their work and distinguish themselves through the three special awards that will be awarded. The programme includes 30 first-time directors' films, most of which are students' or students' productions.

The "leading" role of education at the Short Documentary Festival

Special care for the participation of students and teachers has been given in the planning for the 1st Kalamata International Short Documentary Festival by the Organising Committee.

In particular, within the framework of the Festival, a seminar entitled "Introduction to Oral History" will be held with historian Tasoula Verveniotis as its speaker, aimed at both teachers and the general public. The technical part of the seminar has been undertaken by the president of the Greek Cinematographers Union GSC, Giorgos Fredzos and the artistic director of the festival Kyriakos Liarakos.

The Festival also includes a unique programme aimed at school students as well as a hands-on workshop on making documentaries by students. Besides, the festival's priority is to bring the young audience in contact with the documentary by giving them the trigger to engage actively and creatively with their productions.

Seminars and actions in schools will continue throughout the year by the Creative Documentary Centre and the Peloponnese International Documentary Festival.

The prizes

Two leading Audience Awards for Best Greek and Best International Documentary will be awarded, as well as a Director's Award from the Society of Greek Directors, a Director's First Film Award from the Association of Hellenic Documentary Filmmakers, a Photography Award from the Association of Greek Cinematographers GSC, Best Greek and Best International Student Documentary Awards, as well as Editing and Sound Awards from the Department of Sound & Visual Arts of the Ionian University.

The Festival

The Kalamata International Short Documentary Festival started in October 2021 with an innovative, for Greek standards, way of selecting films.

Every month it gathers the films submitted and selected in the first phase by a committee of filmmakers and presents them to the public in a free public screening. The committee that selects the films in the first phase comprises directors, producers, festival partners, and students from Greek film schools.

Films are rated by the audience, and the top-rated ones advance to the festival's annual programme. So far, twenty screenings have been successfully held at the Kalamata Creative Documentary Centre, proving the love of the city's viewers and the need for more cultural activities in the region.

The festival accepts submissions of short documentaries up to 30 minutes long throughout the year. Applications are submitted, free of charge for Greek and Cypriot creators, through the film freeway platform, and all interested creators are invited to continue submitting their films for the following year.

The entire programme and activities of the festival are free to the public.