9th BEYOND BORDERS
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL CASTELLORIZO
25 AUGUST-1 SEPTEMBER 2024
Under the auspices of the A.E. of the President of the Republic,
Katerina Sakellaropoulou
This year’s 9th Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival Castellorizo started with a large crowd, enthusiasm and joy.
In the crowded Heros Square of the beautiful island of Kastellorizo, visitors from Greece and abroad, young and old who live on the island and guests from the film industry from all over the world, enjoyed the official opening of the festival, the moving opening film and had fun until late with favorite songs.
All the speakers stressed the importance of preserving human values and relationships and the need for cooperation and the need to nurture hope through and by the 7th art of cinema. Beyond Borders’ Strategic Partner is PPC, the leading energy company in Southeast Europe that actively supports arts and culture.
As an integral part of the social and economic fabric of the country, PPC strengthens the dialogue with culture and art, supporting everyone and everything that leads us to the future, a better future for all, where culture has the first word.
Welcoming people to the 9th edition of the festival, the artistic director of the festival, Irini Sarioglou, explained that the reason why Kastellorizo has been chosen as the venue for the festival is that it brings together the characteristics of Greek culture, soul and way of life.
It cares for the community and the good of the whole and shares, without self-centeredness and narcissism.
This caring wants to be reflected in our memory and behaviour and Beyond Borders, with an insistence on the value and cultivation of people, said Ms Sarioglou, while she concluded with a reference to George Seferis’ speech at the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm, about man’s search for man in an ever narrowing world, for man as the only solution to every problem. 
Michel Noll, founder of Ecrans des Mondes and artistic advisor & International Development Director of Beyond Borders, said that our planet is on fire, we have very serious socio-political and environmental problems, violence and wars, but documentary is the tool, the weapon to create hope for a better world.
No country can overcome such big, global issues alone, we need to unite, work together and fight for the solutions.
Our job as filmmakers is to look deeper than the mainstream media at the historical roots, causes and solutions, said Noll.
The makers of the films screened at the festival have worked hard, for months and years, to get their films this far and inspire their audiences. “Some people feed wars, we are privileged to feed hope because the means exist to solve problems,” concluded Noll .
It should be noted that Michel Noll founded six years ago GrecDoc, which brings Greek documentary filmmaking to Paris every year and which has recently spread to other cities such as Nice, Marseille, Lyon and Rennes.
In her welcome address, Myra Mrogianni, Secretary General of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representing the Prime Minister, spoke about the value of documentary filmmaking and the well-established institution of Beyond Borders and also referred to the Greek Homogeneity and this year’s Honoured Country, Australia, with which we have strong historical and homogeneous ties, as one of the largest Greek communities in the world lives and flourishes there, with the Castellorisians occupying a special place in this community.
The General Secretariat for Hellenism Abroad & the General Secretariat for Hellenism Abroad Public Diplomacy in 2020 established the Special Award “Odysseus”, which is awarded to creators from the Greek Diaspora, in an effort to highlight the work of homegrown creators who work and excel abroad in the field of audiovisual production.
Alison Duncan, Australian Ambassador to Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, also referred to the strong long-lasting ties with Australia, as 80,000 Castellorisians emigrated to Australia and still maintain their relationship with “this little paradise, Castellorizo”, which is why the Embassy has supported the festival since its early years.
He described the festival as “good practice” for bold documentaries that give the big picture and illuminate lesser-known aspects of history, a “platform” for passionate filmmakers that also facilitates networking between people.
Ms Duncan expressed her delight that Australia is this year’s honoured country and spoke of the eight Australian documentaries featured in various sections, Mitzi Goldman and Penelope Mc Donald who are on the juries, the Australian filmmakers present, and the very important Australian Film School which this year for the first time is participating in the Film Schools Network.
Present at the opening ceremony was the Mayor of Megisti, Nikolaos Asvestis, while the Deputy Mayor of Culture, Stratos Amygdalos, in his speech referred to Kastellorizo, its old naval power and the effort to “revive it from the ashes”, but also to its global glory, as it is a major reference point for Greece and Europe with all the responsibility it bears for the people of the island. The place offers fertile ground for the realization of the greatest cultural event, Beyond Borders, which is enriched every year with new initiatives and actions and we look forward to a very successful continuation, Mr.
Elena Christopoulou, Head of Public Relations and Communication of PPC Group, strategic partner of the festival, in her address to the audience, expressed her enthusiasm for the active participation of PPC through the support of the “amazing films and multifaceted actions of the festival”.
“Cinema is an open window to different worlds and Castellorizo, as the southeasternmost tip of Greece, is an ideal meeting point for documentaries and history, making all of us fellow travellers on a great cinematic journey,” said Ms Christopoulou. 
At the opening ceremony, mention was made of the upgraded festival awards, which were further enhanced by the generous support of
Michael Marks Charitable Trust, bringing the total amount to 27,500 euros. A total of 11 prizes are awarded in the two competition sections: The Gold (Grand Prix) andthe Silver Wreath of Megisti (10.000 euros and 5.000 euros respectively) sponsored by the Michael Marks Charitable Trust Foundation, and the Bronze Wreath of Megisti (3.000 euros) sponsored by ERT, for the best film dealing with historical events and personalities, current socio-political issues and the promotion of human rights in any form and in any way.
The Best Greek Documentary Award (€2,000), co-sponsored by ERT and the Hellenic Film Centre, for the best documentary by a Greek director.
The Special Award for Mediterranean Friendship (500 euros), sponsored by EKOME for the best documentary promoting common values and peaceful dialogue between the peoples of the Mediterranean. The “Odysseus” Award (2.000 euros), with the initiative and support of the General Secretariat for Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy and the sponsorship of Lady Marina Marks and Alex Sakalis for the best documentary by a Greek diaspora filmmaker.
The #ThisisEU Award (1,000 euros, sponsored by ERT) of the Representation of the European Commission in Greece for the documentary that best promotes contemporary European values and the FIPRESCI Award (1,000 euros, sponsored by ERT) for the best film selected by the International Federation of Film Critics.
The Gold, Silver and Bronze Palms (1,250, 1,000 and 750 euros respectively), sponsored by Phoenix TV, for the best short documentary film by an emerging director.
This year’s Main Competition Jury is composed of Mitzi Goldman (President, Producer, CEO Documentary Australia), Valerie Kontakos (Director, Producer), Alan Gilsenan (Director, Producer), Bruce Clark (Writer, Journalist), Shuibo Wang (Director).
The micro Jury consists of: André Singer (President, Director, Producer), Agapi Kefalogianni (Program Director Nova Greece), Elif Akçalı (Academic), Penelope McDonald (Director, Producer) and Marco Gastine (Director, Producer), while the FIPRESCI Jury includes film critics Marina Kostova, Peter Kremski and George Papadimitriou.
In his videotaped message, the
Klaus Eder, Secretary General of FIPRESCI said “Documentaries offer their viewers an excellent opportunity to learn more about the world. The small island of Castellorizo offers us the opportunity to meet, talk and discuss: about cinema, about life and politics. We can all benefit from these advantages. I wholeheartedly wish the wonderful Irene Sarioglou and her excellent team every success”. The film that officially opened the festival was Beethoven‘s Nine: Ode to Humanity of the award-winning Larry Weinstein, one of the most important documentary filmmakers on music.
As the director said in a video greeting, it was a great honor to have his film selected for the Beyond Borders launch.
In difficult times for cinema and the world, the festival is an ode to humanity and joy, Weinstein said, noting that the festival presents films beyond borders and dogma, highlighting humanity.
The film began as a documentary about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and his love of freedom.
However, world events and the war in Ukraine and the recent major conflicts in the Middle East led the director to do something more deeply personal, as the war directly affected his family.
Beethoven’s Nine is ultimately a documentary about music, but also about war and hope.
It follows nine people, including Ukrainian musicians, a deaf composer, a Polish rock star, a best-selling author, a legendary cartoonist, and Weinstein himself, as they seek to better understand the legacy of Beethoven’s Ninth, the struggles of the composer himself, the inspiration music can provide, and how humanity continues to search for hope even in the darkest of times.
With an impressive entrance singing acapella a song from Asia Minor, the concert began with Zacharias Karounis who with his magical voice moved and stirred the audience with his favourite, well-known songs, traditional songs taught by his teacher Domna Samiou, from great theatrical performances, from his collaborations with great composers such as Stavros Xarchakos and Mikis Theodorakis, as well as his own compositions.
He is accompanied by the distinguished composer – piano soloist and principal conductor of the Stavros Xarhakos Orchestra, Neoklis Neofytidis. ” Beyond Borders is a handmade festival and this moves me very much, because it brings out human relationships,” said Zacharias Karounis.
The festival starts today as usual with its competitive sections and special screenings at Panorama, with premieres from all over the world, masterclasses by renowned filmmakers, the promising Co-Production Forum, the Audiovisual Pitching Lab, the Beyond Storytelling Film Workshop and the Critics’ Corner, the Network of Film Schools with students involved in many of the festival’s activities, with book presentations, exhibitions, shadow theatre, film workshops, dance and music for children and beyond.
