PRESS RELEASE

(c) Evert Albers - Streeff.nl

The first Crossing Borders Film Festival offers a mix of short films, documentaries, video-art and music with one common thread: it presents individuals who seek to overcome personal, political and psychological borders, in search of themselves and a different, better life.

The Festival takes place from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 July at the Meropion Charity Foundation, an amazing venue right next to the Akropolis in Athens. Movies will be shown inside the elegant Hall. There is a canteen in a charming adjacent courtyard, where live musical and theatrical performances will be held. Entry is entirely free of charge. 

                                                                              

 Collaborators

Movie directors have agreed to screen their work for free. Amongst them are some new names for Greece: the up and coming Israelian Paris-based director Tamara Erde, the engaged, award-winning Indonesian filmmakers Vivian Idris and Nia Di Nata and the French documentary director François Théry (ARTE channel et. al.). Also, the filmmaker and programmer of the Greek Short Film Festival of Drama, Simos Korexenidis, has kindly agreed to compile a selection of Greek short films which all deal with the theme of Crossing Borders. Art curator Vassiliki Vayenou proposes a selection of video art, crossing the borders of cinema as an art form. 

Nia di Nata

Guests

The festival has the pleasure to include Tamara Erde, François Théry, Vassiliki Vayenou, and possibly a guest from Indonesia as its distinguished guests. More names of guests will be disclosed soon.

The Video Art programme, iself an art form that crosses borders, includes a selection of Greek artists such as Efi Fouriki, Steios Dexis and Myrto Vounatsou. 

The wonderful courtyard serves as canteen where you can listen to live acoustic music early in the evening.

Tamara Erde

It should be noted that all artists and organisers work on an entirely voluntary basis. Our foreign guests even agreed to cover their own travel costs, as they very much believe in the message the Festival conveys.

Presentation, venue, background

A presentation of the programme, in the company of the festival guests, is scheduled on Thursday 25 July, 7pm, at the Meropion Foundation. Check here for programme details

The Meropion Foundation kindly offers the wonderful venue, as well as a team of enthusiastic volunteers managed by Director Mr George Gioldasis, who also acts as co-organiser. 

The idea for the festival comes from co-organiser Ruard Wallis de Vries, a philhellene Dutchman and EU Commission official, who is currently on an extended sabbatical. He works as a freelance journalist on Greek events, and also as an organiser of cultural events. This summer, he co-organises the Samos-based Summer Island Movie Festival for the second consecutive year, which operates on the same principles as Crossing Borders: a mix of movies and music, offered for free on voluntary basis (article on SIMF2012)

François Théry in Korea

The Crossing Borders Film Festival is currently discussing possibilities to become a "travelling festival" - there are promising contacts with Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The organisation can provide you with more information on the event, the guests and the artists involved.

for more information: crossingborders.athens@gmail.com

Festival Message

Culture knows no boundaries, they say. All the same, we all grew up in our own cultural 'box'.

Sometimes we take a look over the edge and see what others are doing. This fascinates us - to see others go about their business. Sometimes it amuses us, at other times it scares us. One thing is sure, when we look at other cultures, we always learn something new - for instance this: ignorance and lack of interest are the roots of many unnecessary conflicts.

And the funny thing is that the more time you spend out of your own box, the more you learn about yourself.

We are all humans, no matter what some of these humans say.

Have a wonderful festival!

The organisers