12th International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest
20-25 May 2024
Greek Film Archive
26 May 2024
Olympia, City Music Theatre “Maria Callas”
A prolific programme with 61 films from 22 countries
The 12th edition of AGON International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest is approaching. The organisation, which this year celebrates its 28th anniversary, is very happy to announce that the Selection Committee has selected the films to be included in this year’s programme. From 20 to 25 May, 61 films from 22 countries will be screened at the Greek Film Archive shortlisted among 1,250 entries from 100 countries. The 12th AGON International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest is held under the auspices of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Specifically, this year’s programme includes films from the UK, Egypt, Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, USA, India, Iraq, Iran, Spain, Italy, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. The difficult task of film selection was entrusted to the five members of the Selection Committee, consisting alphabetically of:
– Dr. Anastasia Gadolou, General Director of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, archaeologist
– Peggy Lagiou, producer
– George Mouzakitis, film director, producer
– Zeta Xekalaki, archaeologist, editor at ‘Archaeology and Arts’ magazine
– Georgia Salambasi, film director
For another year, the AGON Festival invites old and new friends to enjoy watching, apart from archaeological films, a wide thematic range of films, including documentaries, reportage, fiction, animation, research, and educational films, among others, always with a focus on the human being. This year’s films are recent creations (from 2019 onwards) that will take us not only to excavation sites in Greece, Egypt, Pergamon and Mesopotamia, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan, India… but also to Trikala. We will also learn about forbidden love stories of antiquity, the Stone Age in Sweden, the mysteries hidden at the bottom of a lake in Turkey, the secrets of Louis XIV, the life of horsemen in pre-Christian Siberia, the legends of the Castle of Mytilene, and for the first time a prehistoric woman, Lady Sapiens, will ‘narrate’ her story. All are films that bring the science of History, Archaeology, and Folklore Studies closer to the art of cinema. Through these films we witness the quests of the scientific community, the juggling between digital and analogue documentation in scientific research, the challenges of excavation in adverse conditions, the joy of discovery, and slowly fading traditions that are captured by the cinematic lens.
The 61 films of the AGON International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest will compete for 9 awards: Grand Prix, Director, Archaeology, Screenplay, Educational Film, Photography, Original Concept, The ‘Micros’ of AGON, and Audience Choise Award. The Awards Ceremony will be hosted at the Olympia, City Music Theatre ‘Maria Callas’ on Sunday 26 May and will conclude with a concert by the renowned performer George Dalaras, whom the AGON Festival honours this year.
The AGON Jury is international and comprised by:
Emeritus president of the Jury
Manos Zacharias, film director
Members (in alphabetical order)
- Dimos Avdeliodis, film director
- Marc Azéma, archaeologist, film director, director of the RAN – Rencontres d’archéologie de la Narbonnaise (RAN) Film Festival (France)
- Tony Coe, film director and producer (UK)
- Dario di Blasi, director of the FAB! – Festival dell’ Archeologia di Bacoli (Italy)
- Nikolaos Kaltsas, archaeologist, former director of the Museum of Cycladic Art and the National Archaeological Museum
- Thanasis Lalas, visual artist, author
- Lada Laura, director of the MFAF – International Archaeology Film Festival in Split (Croatia)
- Anna Dalaras, publisher, concert producer
- Dionysis Petroutsopoulos, photographer and cinematographer
- Memi Spyratou, film director, president of the AGON Festival
The 12th AGON International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture.
With the support of: Greek National Tourism Organisation – VisitGreece / Region of Attica / Municipality of Athens / Acropolis Museum / National Archaeological Museum.
Find the AGON Festival on social media:
Facebook: https://bit.ly/Agon_FB
Instagram: https://bit.ly/Agon_IG
YouTube: https://bit.ly/Agon_YT
Website: https://bit.ly/Agon_WebSite
