The Greek Film Archive in collaboration with ARTWORKS presents the new competition section, "Reframing Images", within the context of the Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival. ARTWORKS through support from Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), offers the ARTWORKS Best Film Award, amounting to 5,000 euros, supporting filmmakers who innovate and experiment with moving image, contributing decisively to the evolution of modern cinematic art. The jury of the competition section consists of SNF ARTWORKS Moving Image Fellows, Neritan Zinxhiria, Christina Koutsospyrou and Kostis Charamountanis.
ARTWORKS was established in 2017 through the founding grant from the SNF and its mission is to strengthen the Greek art scene. To date, it has supported 390 young artists working in the visual arts, in moving image, dance and curating. Through public events, collaborations with cultural institutions and international residency programmes, it has created a dynamic support network that is still active. The new programming activities of ARTWORKS focus on the strengthening of extroversion and the interconnection of the Greek art scene with the international cultural landscape.
The newly launched Competition of AAGFF, “Reframing Images”, aims to showcase artists and filmmakers who explore new forms of storytelling and cinematic form. Regardless of duration or genre, the section presents, in Greek premiere, debut or second feature films, as well as medium-length and short films. Ranging from 2 to 85 minutes in duration and coming from 27 different countries, such as Argentina, Nigeria, Cambodia, Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon, the 26 films in this year's programme comprise a selection of fiction, film essays, creative documentaries, as well as experimental and artists’ films.
Exploring innovative aesthetic tendencies, the programme aims to present how filmmakers use and experiment with stylistic devices to convey their connection to the contemporary world. Combining essay style with the use of archival material, some of them explore the ways in which the intimate and political content of images can act as a space for reflection. Others examine the legacy of colonialism as well as its contemporary postcolonial implications, while some seek to give form to experiences of exile, migration and social marginalisation. With a strongly sensory approach, some films attempt to capture personal and collective experiences of oppression and violence, such as the patriarchal culture in Iran, the 2019 popular uprising in Chile, the war in Palestine and militarisation in Lebanon. Composing visual landscapes with a dreamlike mood, other films explore the imaginative potential of landscapes, whether natural or man-made, and their coexistence. Following a diary film practice, some filmmakers collect fragments of everyday life to reconstruct them in a poetic and contemplative way.
Film selection: Nepheli Gambade, Jacob Skenderidis
Introductory text: Nepheli Gambade
Synopses: Jacob Skenderidis
