Organised by the Athens Film Society, the 15th Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights will bring the best of international cinema to the Greek capital. For 11 days, from September 16 to 27, the heart of cinema will beat in Athens. Highlights of this year’s festival include two important openings for Greek cinema, a collection of 20 rare cult films and specials dedicated to two of the greatest contemporary film pioneers, Danish director Jørgen Leth and Polish filmmaker Zbigniew Rybczynski.
The festival was first launched in September 1995 and continues with great success until now. The movie theatres accommodating the festival are the Attikon Cinemax Class, Apollo Cinemax Class and Danaos 1 & 2 theatres.
Cult Films
For its 20th anniversary, the 15th Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights will present 20 rare gems that have achieved cult status. Lost in time, the copies of the off-beat and bizarre films comprising our cult films specials are something like the Holy Grail for festival staff who have combed through old collections, universities and forgotten production companies to locate them.
European Pioneers
The 15th Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights is proud to present two of the most diverse European artists working today. Jørgen Leth is an anthropologist, jazz critic and poet, but we will get to know him through his groundbreaking documentaries, screened as part of the Jørgen Leth Special at this year’s Opening Nights.
Also, the 15th Athens International Film Festival will present a selection of Polish director’s Zbigniew Rybczynski’s finest films. Rybczynski, who received an Academy Award for his 1981 short animation, Tango, is considered one of contemporary cinema’s greatest pioneers.
Festival Sections
As always, the 15th Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights will include two competition sections.
In the International Competition section, young directors will compete for the Golden Athena Award and the extremely popular Music & Film Competition section, whose winner will receive the Golden Athena.
Regular sections of the 15th Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights include:
Panorama, a hand-picked selection of last year’s productions;
Midnight Movies, whose late night screening times are not the only thing that will give you chills;
Premiers, the chance to be the first to watch some of the coming season’s best features;
Cinema on the Edge, for those not afraid of films taking it to the extreme;
Documentaries, because life is often more engaging than fiction; and
Short Stories, because a cinematic experience can leave a mark irrespective of its length.
Note that in Greece, foreign films are not dubbed; they just carry subtitles in Greek, therefore you can watch them in their original language.
Don’t miss in this year Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights contemporary film pioneers, Danish director Jørgen Leth and Polish filmmaker Zbigniew Rybczynski, the presentation of 20 cult films and all the regular sections of the Athens International Film Festival. All this at the Attikon, Apollo and Danaos movie theatres.