The international film festival that began in Patmos
The idea for a film festival in Patmos was born in 2010 by a group of friends who realised there was no cinema on the island. Imagine them setting up the first screen of the International Film Festival of Patmos on top of a shipping container, on an old pier at the port, with the sea stretching out before them and the projector’s light breaking the darkness of the summer night. The film that inaugurated the event was the romantic comedy "Opa", filmed entirely on the "Island of the Apocalypse".
As years passed, the festival was renamed the Aegean Film Festival, grew, and evolved. It now awaits you during the last ten days of every July, spreading its magic not only to Patmos but also to other islands, such as Serifos, Spetses, and Paros.
The venues in Patmos are numerous and invite you to discover them step-by-step: from the Andreas Kalantzis gallery in Chora to the Patmion Cultural Centre, and from the Skala Primary School to the Old School of Chora. At open-air cinemas and the pop-up air cinema at Tarsanas, located next to the traditional shipyard, you will be swept away by the magic of the moving image right by the sea.
The festival provides the opportunity to discover significant films that have made an impact at major international festivals, such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and the Tribeca Festival, as well as short films, innovative VR works, and documentaries.
The screenings are always accompanied by a rich programme of parallel events: photography, painting, and ceramics exhibitions, creative workshops, and evenings with traditional dances that fill the squares with music and movement.
A special place is held by the Echoes Programme, an initiative that invites you to explore the relationship between cinema, nature, and sustainability through documentaries, discussions, and actions that highlight the fragile environment of the Aegean.
As years passed, the festival was renamed the Aegean Film Festival, grew, and evolved. It now awaits you during the last ten days of every July, spreading its magic not only to Patmos but also to other islands, such as Serifos, Spetses, and Paros.
The venues in Patmos are numerous and invite you to discover them step-by-step: from the Andreas Kalantzis gallery in Chora to the Patmion Cultural Centre, and from the Skala Primary School to the Old School of Chora. At open-air cinemas and the pop-up air cinema at Tarsanas, located next to the traditional shipyard, you will be swept away by the magic of the moving image right by the sea.
The festival provides the opportunity to discover significant films that have made an impact at major international festivals, such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and the Tribeca Festival, as well as short films, innovative VR works, and documentaries.
The screenings are always accompanied by a rich programme of parallel events: photography, painting, and ceramics exhibitions, creative workshops, and evenings with traditional dances that fill the squares with music and movement.
A special place is held by the Echoes Programme, an initiative that invites you to explore the relationship between cinema, nature, and sustainability through documentaries, discussions, and actions that highlight the fragile environment of the Aegean.
