Films about the Middle East, Thessaly, Education and the disabled were this year’s winners 11th AegeanDocs International Documentary Festival.

  • Best Foreign Film Award

The best foreign film award goes to Zohar Wagner’s “SAVOY” for its comprehensive account of the deadly operation to free hostages in a Tel Aviv hotel held by PLO Fedayeen gunmen and its artistically honest recording of the protagonists’ characters and their contradictions. The award is given with the hope that filmmakers in Israel and Palestine will continue to work for peace and human dignity.

  • Best Greek Documentary Award

The award for Best Greek Documentary, which is presented by the Hellenic Film Center, is divided equally between:

  1. in the documentary “My Dad’s Photo Studio” by Kalliopi Legaki because with the cinematic rescue and dissemination of Takis Tloupa’s photographic and film archive, he highlighted his artistic talent, but also created a document about Larissa and its plain, from the time when Carla was a living lake until it was drained and then partially restored. The prize is also awarded as a symbolic expression of solidarity of the islanders from the North Aegean towards the affected Thessalians.
  2. in the documentary “End of Time” by Loukas Paleokrassas for the perfect cinematic result of a painstaking and demanding cinematic observation.
  • “Lakis Papastathis” New Creator Award

The “Lakis Papastathis” New Creator Award, which AegeanDocs established, starting this year, in memory of the great creator, is awarded to Paulina Sikora for the film “Down to Earth” on the grounds that the new director served the principles of creative documentary, with consistency and bravery after documenting her family’s most painful moment, the father’s excruciating end.

Honorable mentions

  1. The jury awards an honorable mention to director Saim Kerem Soyyilmaz for his film “Searching for Rodakis”, honoring his contribution to the restoration of communication links in the Aegean between the peoples of Greece and Turkey.
  2. In the movie “A Symphony for a Common Man” by Jose Joffily, because the director perfectly and sensitively portrayed the efforts of his countryman, the Brazilian ambassador in Baghdad, to avoid the war in Iraq.
  3. The jury also awards an honorable mention to Nicolas Moissakis for the film “Musically Different” for highlighting the talent of artists chronically suffering from mental illness.
  4. To the director Marina Stamatis for her film “Extension/100” for her dedication to the principles of “observational documentary”.
  • Honorary Distinction

The jury awards the highest “Honorable Distinction” to the creators of the film “The Laughing Boy”, Alan Gelsenan and Theo Borgen for the emotion they gave the audience with their work, which highlights the universal value of Mickey’s music Theodorakis.