Interview of
Irini Sarioglou,
Artistic Director
of the Castellorizo International Documentary Festival
to Dimitris Polymeros.
The Castellorizo International Documentary Festival was completed in 2020 with great success for the fifth consecutive year on the island, marking a great celebration of culture, history and cinema.
Kastellorizo, the southeasternmost tip of Greece.
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The island that until the Asia Minor tragedy (1922) exuded an air of love and love for the island.
ousmopolitanism and great prosperity, imitating the ‘great lady of Ionia’, Smyrna
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Kastellorizo, the place where until 1922 it had more than 12,000 inhabitants and 3,000 students at the Santrapia School, donated by the Santrapé family.
In this pivotal island for the history of Hellenism, the International Documentary Festival of Castellorizo takes place in the last week of August. “Beyond Borders”, which is organised by the Hellenic Foundation for Historical Studies (H.H.I.S.ME.). This year (2021) is under the auspices of the A.E. of the President of the Hellenic Republic.
We spoke with Irini Sarioglou, Artistic Director of the Festival:
-Kyria Sarioglou, what inspired you to take this initiative and create the festival?
It all started five years ago, when our desire to screen in Castellorizo the then latest production of the IMSME. for the island, led us to the idea of establishing an International Documentary Festival. It was a volume and a historical documentary dedicated to Castellorizo. The documentary even won the First Prize for Best Historical Documentary in London.
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Our desire was to be shown on the border island, which finally led us to the idea of establishing the International Documentary Festival of Castellorizo “Beyond Borders”, in order to help the island find its rightful place in the cultural scene
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And I stress this word because few people may know the culture that the island had until the Asia Minor tragedy. It has always wanted to resemble the great lady of Ionia, Smyrna… and that is why the Kastellorizians always brought the best products to their island… From methods of learning French without a teacher to Ceylon shawls! Our aim is to bring the whole world, Greeks and foreigners to Kastellorizo and to bring the history and culture of Kastellorizo to the ends of the world. And for this reason, upon its completion, the Festival travels every year to Greece and abroad, screening its award-winning films.
-It is impressive, however, the fact that during a pandemic, a record number of participants took part…
In 2020, in the aftermath of quarantine and incarceration, the selection committee chose 24 documentaries (out of 304 entries) from 18 different countries to compete for the 7 awards of the Festival. These are mainly documentaries of historical content.
-How was the festival received by the local community?
It was embraced from the very first moment, as extremely interesting activities take place, such as educational programs for the children of the island, concerts, photography and sculpture exhibitions, free diving lessons, shadow theater, etc.
After 110 years, we brought professional theatre back to the island. Yes, sir,
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at a time of intense provocativeness, the holding of the Festival on the island carries a strong symbolism
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In last year’s parallel events, the photography exhibition “Kastellorizo, where time stops” by Christos Simatos, the sculpture exhibition by Alexandros Zygouris and the musical intermissions with the World Music Ensemble caused a special sensation. Oscar wind blew in Castellorizo, with the screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Honeyland” by Lyubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska.
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As our conversation comes to an end, Mrs.Sarioglou, perhaps the best conclusion would be to share with us, if you wish, a particular moment from a previous Festival that has been etched in your memory…
They are many and extremely moving … but there is one moment that I can’t forget … I think it was at the end of the third edition of the festival, a young Castellorizian boy, Nikolis comes up to me and tells me with great excitement and great anxiety that he had made his decisions about the career he would like to pursue when he grows up. He would like to be a historian! When I was surprised and asked why, Nikolakis’ answer was ready, ‘but to organize a documentary festival, Mrs. Irene…!
The Hellenic Foundation for Historical Studies (H.I.S.ME.) aims at the preservation and recording of the modern history of Hellenism and the utilization of historical relics and primary sources.
The long tradition of the cultural activity of Greek associations and especially the work of the Hellenic Philological Association of Constantinople (H.F.S.K.) was the source of inspiration for the creation of the H.I.S.ME. The logo of the H.H.I.S.E., inspired by the historical logo of the H.F.S.K., was designed by a group of its collaborators.
The Hellenic Foundation for Historical Studies(www.idisme.gr), organizer and initiator of the International Documentary Festival “Beyond Borders”(http://beyondborders.gr/) was founded in 2008 by a group of historians and today has more than 49,000 members throughout Greece.
Among its activities are the publication of scientific and literary books, the creation of historical documentaries (with multiple awards in Greece and abroad), the implementation of educational programmes in schools, institutions and secondary and higher education schools (from Orestiada to Castellorizo) in order to disseminate knowledge to young people and to teach unknown – mainly unknown – aspects of modern Greek history.
To become a friend of IDISME no financial contribution is required. Our publications and historical documentaries are the best way to support our work and contribute to our vision, which is to make young and old alike love history!
Irene Sarioglou
Irini Sarioglou, researcher and historian, was born in 1972 in Istanbul. A graduate of Zappeion High School, she initially studied French Language and Literature at the Universities of Marmara and Grenoble. She completed her postgraduate studies with a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation and the ICF at the University of Birmingham, UK – Department of Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies. In 2004, part of her doctoral thesis on “The influence of Turkish policy on Greek education in Istanbul 1923-1974” was published by ELIA in English and in 2011 by the Hellenic Foundation for Historical Studies (H.I.H.S.ME.) in Greek. He has published scientific studies and articles and has edited historical documentaries which have been awarded in Greece and abroad (Zappeio Parthenagogue of Constantinople, Letters without a recipient – Aivali 1922, In Exile – Erzurum Asklee 1942, The Silent School – A retrospective on the history of I.The Silent School of the Halki School of Theology, Imbros – Tenedos: Of Memory and Oblivion, The East Has Set, etc.). He has taught Ottoman and Turkish history at the University of Athens and the National Centre for Public Administration. She is Assistant Professor at the Department of Modern Greek Studies of the University of Istanbul and co-founder of the Hellenic Foundation for Historical Studies (H.I.H.S.ME.).
