EL 
EN 
At the 10th Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival, awards were presented to films covering a wide range of topics, from social justice and gender equality to ecology and politics. The winners stood out for their quality of storytelling, their cinematic language, and their ability to provoke thought and discussion.
The awards of the 10th Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival
Gina Petropoulou, Artistic Director of the 10th Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival
The festival awards, as announced during the closing ceremony on Sunday, December 1st, are as follows:
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Best International Documentary: A Day, 365 Hours, by Eylem Kaftan.
Three young women are joined by their shared experience of being abused. Their unexpected meeting forms a strong bond which gives them both the strength to take on their abusers in court and to help other young women to seek justice.
Best Greek Documentary: Belkî Sibê, by Alexis Ntaloumis
Belkî Sibê is a volunteer soldier's film. It unfolds an 18-month journey through war and revolution, in Rojava Kurdistan NE Syria, during the advance and victory of the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS, including the story of the International Freedom Battalion, where the director was primarily deployed. It depicts the military life and battles on the front-lines, as well as the civil life at the rear and the social transformation attempted by the Autonomous Administration. In both fields, the role of women's liberation and empowerment is prominent. The film follows a timeline from July 2016 (battle of Manbij) until the end of 2017 (liberation of Raqqa and demise of the Islamic Caliphate), but also includes flash forward updates from late 2021, at the end of each chapter.
EQUALITY AWARD “ALEXANDRA SKORDAKI”
Nina Backer-Røed - Announcement of Equality Award - Alexandra Skordaki
Jurors: Nina Backer-Røed, Niovi Anazikou, Menos Deliotzakis
«This documentary has significant social impact: It raises awareness about issues such as child marriage and gender inequality, advocating for the rights and education of young girls and addressing class discrimination.
Watching this documentary brings to mind other unrepresented minorities where small societies maintain “customs” like dowry, early marriage, prohibiting divorce, and preventing girls from completing their education; practices that violate rights and constitute gender-based violence.
The Equality Award goes to a film that highlights the challenge faced by young girls caught between tradition and desire of self-determination. The film underscores the importance of education and empowerment to break the cycle of oppression and supports cultural evolution that respects individual rights, giving visibility to underrepresented communities.”
The Jury has decided that The Equality Award goes to: “Children of the Mist”
The jury also awards an honourable mention award to the documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by director Anna Hints.
The film, through the traditional smoke saunas of Estonia, transports us to a sacred space where women find a safe haven to share their experiences. Through a sense of "therapeutic isolation" in nature, space-time takes on new meaning, serving as tools for spiritual cleansing and empowerment. With profound respect for the female experience, the director's lens captures the solidarity and trust that sisterhood fosters. The use of close-up shots and natural lighting, combined with the story’s progression, creates an intimate connection between the audience and the women. It highlights themes of sisterhood, healing, and collective self-awareness, delivering allegorical messages such as "you are not alone" and "we believe you." The naked female body, freed from objectification, becomes a symbolic narrator of the scars of patriarchy while also showcasing the resilience and empowerment of survivors. The film establishes a safe space for expression, deepening the audience’s empathy and honoring the essence of cinema as a medium for empowerment.
BEST GREEK DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Letta Petroulaki-Sofikitou, (founder of the Experimental Stage of Kalamata) and Anne Kjersti Bjørn (award-winning director). Fotini Oikonomopoulou, accepting the award for Best Greek Film for the movie 'Grief, Those Who Remain' by Myrto Patsalidou and Maria Louka.
The jury, consisting of Ingo Starz, Anne Kjersti Bjørn, and Letta Petroulaki-Sofikitou, has awarded the Best Greek Documentary Award to the film Grief - Those who remain, by Mirto Patsalidou and Maria Louka.
Grief - Those who remain talks about three murdered men, Shahzad Luqman, Pavlos Fyssas and Zak Kostopoulos. They became victims of racism, homophobia and violence from right-wing extremists and the police in Greece. The documentary gives voice to the bereaved and impressively shows how grief drives the search for justice in a slow-moving legal system. It is moving when the mother and the two fathers talk about the peacefulness of their brutally murdered children. The fight for justice becomes a ray of hope for a more humane coexistence. The documentary Grief is a strong plea for a tolerant and diverse society, an encouragement to civic action.
The jury also bestows an Honorable mention to the film “Panellinion” directed by Spyros Mantzavinos and Kostas Antarachas.
A safe haven outside the busy everyday life, where people seems to be normal. What is real, they ask? In this place they feel safe, meeting other obsessed nerds living out their passion. Poetic. Moving. Greek philosophers everyone of them. In our view a real documentary where we are not told, but allowed to experience through the characters. Chess, friendship and Greek coffeehouse. As the directors first documentary, we find it promising
SOCIAL AWARNESS AWARD
As part of the undergraduate course in Directing and Acting in the Department of Audio and Visual Arts at the Ionian University, taught by Assistant Professor Dr. Iakovos Panagopoulos, a group of students was formed to select the award for the best Social Awareness Film.
Statement from the student group: The documentary "Name Me Lawand" by Edward Lovelace, was selected as the winning full-length documentary at the Peloponnese Documentary Film Festival, thanks to its profound social awareness. The film tells the story of a deaf boy who, along with his family, seeks a new beginning as a refugee in the United Kingdom. Through the director Edward Lovelace's skillful choice of shots, camera work, and sound design, the challenges of migration, the struggle for acceptance, and the need for communication are captured, highlighting the power of community and empathy. The documentary is extremely timely, given the growing global discussions around the rights of refugees, social inclusion, and support for vulnerable groups, especially at a time when the migration crisis remains a central issue. The film has been praised for its ability to raise awareness about issues of diversity and social exclusion, offering a valuable dialogue on inclusion and the rights of people with disabilities.
Group coordinator: Despina-Athina Matsinopoulou
Group members: Evaggelia Adam, Panagiotis Afouxenidis, Triantafyllos Dimas, Georgia Kapagiannidi, Andreas Kaplanaras, Marina Aikaterini Ktenidaki, Eleni Kyriazi, Harikleia Maria Lekka, Giorgos Mavidis, Angeliki Tzoras, Michalis Fesakis, Christodoulos Cheilakeas, Thanos Hondrogiannis
BEST ECOLOGICAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD
The 3rd-year students of the Digital Arts and Film Department at the University of Athens evaluated the following ecological documentaries: Citizen Nobel, Between the Rains, The Illusion of Abundance, Songs of Earth, The Keeper of the Salt Pit, That Day, Lagunaria, and consider the best ecological documentary, among the other very interesting ones, to be Songs of Earth directed by Margrethe Olin and produced by Liv Ullmann and Wim Wenders.
As third-year student Evangelia Bourloka wrote, it is "a dialogue of love between human and human and human and nature, an existential journey from the childhood of the film's narrator to the present day through magical shots of the place that 'gave birth' to the narrator-father, the director-daughter, and love. This place is Oldedalen in Vestland, Norway. In addition to the aforementioned, the way poetic shots are created using drones and underwater cameras is a lesson for us all."
«CITIES OF THE WORLD” TRIBUTE AWARD
Jury: Niki Kavoura, Dora Kehagia, Evita Meimariidou, Syriani-Anna Menaya, Meropi Papastergiou, Christina Tsioulou (University of Peloponnese, School of Arts, Nafplio)
We followed the submissions with great interest, found them all remarkable, and the level exceptionally high. We were impressed by the diversity of themes and the different approaches of the creators, both in form and content. Nevertheless, we have singled out the following three, which received the highest scores:
The Invisible Contract by Luciana Kaplan - Mexico
This film deals with the inhumane working conditions faced by cleaners in Mexico. It stood out for the sensitivity and attention with which it approached the subject, simultaneously addressing class, social, and racial issues. We see the city through the eyes of the cleaners and the job insecurity they experience due to the lack of formal employment contracts (Invisible Contract) and unions. An analysis of how a person can systematically become invisible. Particularly interesting in terms of its cinematic form, it managed to balance narration and cinematography, poetry and realism. The use of black and white photography, combined with a rhythm that kept the interest alive without tiring, was also very effective, allowing for emotion without forcing sentimentality.
Kaugere: A Place Where Nobody Enters, by Stephen Dupont - New Zealand
A contemporary ethnographic documentary that, through the personal story of Albert Muri and his family, records the daily life of the residents of Kaugere who are forced to live in conditions of absolute economic deprivation that drive them to crime. At the same time, we see the Dani rugby team, which serves as the only escape from this crime. It realistically presents the problems faced by the people of the settlement. The two stories - of sports and living conditions (absolute impoverishment) - intertwine very dynamically and organically. It brings violence into the picture both literally and figuratively. The detached white viewers come into contact with a raw, absurd violence, so present that it is considered normal by those who suffer it. The fact that this violence and the living conditions are a result of colonialism is evident throughout in a way that makes the viewer question without pointing fingers or becoming didactic.
Lagunaria, by Giovanni Pellegrini - Venice
The daily life and problems of the inhabitants of Venice are presented in contrast to the myths and rumors that exist about the most famous city in the world. The narration from the future helps to highlight the causes of Venice's possible disappearance, which are none other than climate change and the alteration caused by excessive tourism and the change of the city by Airbnb. We see the "other" side of Venice, the "normal" city with "normal" people, centers of resistance, children coming into contact with their past, their culture, researchers of the fauna - images that as tourists we will never see. A climate of concern and anxiety about the future of Venice - a city that is literally and figuratively sinking - prevails, but this contrasts with the poetic and atmospheric narrative that recalls a modern fairy tale. A film that explores the city through myth, allowing us a glimpse into the "mythical", transcendental side of life. A very interesting find for the work to balance between realism and poetry, giving us an original and unique documentary where the dreamlike intertwines with the subversive, the legend with the resistance.
A general observation about all three films. We chose - perhaps instinctively - three films that have in common a respect for the people they use as protagonists. By respect, we mean that the protagonists are not loaded with any kind of attractive characteristics for the sake of impressing and moving or for the sake of the script. They are not alienated to serve the theme of the film or the purposes of the creators. They are presented in their pure and true form in all their dimensions and that is perhaps why they manage to impress.
The statuettes for the awards were crafted by the Messinian sculptor, Christos Riganas.
