Patmos Film Festival Still Going Strong, Kicks Off on July 23

St. John Monastery, Patmos

The 5th International Film Festival of Patmos (IFFP) kicks off on July 23 with some of the finest cinematic offerings as well as workshops and masterclasses.

To run through to July 29 on the Dodecanese island of Patmos, the film fest aims to serve as a platform for the creative exchange of ideas between Greek and foreign filmmakers and a forum for international partnerships and co-productions.

Besides film screenings, this year it will feature workshops, masterclasses, seminars and photo exhibits. Workshops will focus on pitching a screenplay, casting and producing.

One of the highlights of the event will be a Q&A session with popular American writer Sheryl Strayed after the screening Wild, based the semi-biographical Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.

“Under the given circumstances, we decided a week ago to continue with the festival tapping into our own forces now without taking away from the quality of the events,” IFFP chairman Babis Tsoutsas said during a press conference presenting the events, adding that organizers have shortened the number of film, short films, children’s films and documentary screenings due to the current financial situation in Greece.

In the meantime, 10 of the finalists for the short screenplay competition organized by OTE TV will also be announced.