Kalamata ShortDocs 2024

Breathe

Director: Zac Norrington

The documentary "Breathe" tells the story of Julie Ridge, a clinical social worker diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 35. Julie, using long-distance swimming, found a way to cope with the challenges of her mental health. The film explores her relationship with swimming, how the water helped her manage difficult times, and how this experience led her to help others with similar problems. ...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 17:00
Duration: 16 MINUTES

Like a king

Director: Evangelia Koumantsioti Country: Greece

The documentary follows Giannis, a former sailor now living on the streets of Athens. Collecting cables and recyclable materials from the garbage, Giannis struggles to survive, battling poverty and social marginalization. The film documents his daily life, his conversations with other homeless people, his memories of his seafaring years, and the dignified life he once had. The harsh images o...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 17:16
Duration: 12 MINUTES

Earth gods

Director: Rui Cacilhas Country: Portugal

The documentary "Earth Gods" is an aesthetic cinematic study of life in an Indian village in 2019. The film primarily uses visuals and sounds of nature, avoiding dialogue, to create an atmosphere of serenity and mystery. We observe the daily lives of the villagers, their work, and their religious customs, with images that alternate between community life and nature. The focus is on rituals d...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 17:28
Duration: 13 MINUTES

The Future Of Clay

Director: Konstantinos Potamianos Country: China

The documentary "The Future of Clay" focuses on Zhong Ming, a talented Chinese potter searching for his personal voice in his art. The film follows his attempts to combine the traditional Chinese ceramic tradition of Rongchang with modern, Western influences, documenting the challenges he faces. Zhong Ming must balance the demands of the market with his artistic expression. The film explores...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 17:39
Duration: 10 MINUTES

Platedes

Director: Taxiarchis Yiovani Country: Greece

The documentary "Platedes" explores the history of an abandoned settlement, Platedes, in Ikaria. Through testimonies from residents of the village of Maratho, who are descendants of the former inhabitants of Platedes, the tragic story of the settlement's desertion during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is revealed. The narration presents the image of a settlement since overtaken by nature. The...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 17:49
Duration: 9 MINUTES

Sticks & Stones - The Truth of Cyberbullying

Director: Georgios Goris Country: Australia

The documentary "Sticks & Stones - The Truth of Cyberbullying" explores the serious consequences of cyberbullying on adolescents. Through interviews with experts and personal testimonies, the film highlights how social media shapes young people's perception of reality and their self-esteem. The film emphasizes that the online world is not separate from the real world but rather an integr...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 18:00
Presence of the Director
Duration: 30 MINUTES

Suitable for students: COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_ELEMENTARY COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_HIGH_SCHOOL COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SENIOR_HIGH_SCHOOL

In the Greek countryside, groups of pastoral nomads with their herds move from the plains in the winter to the mountains in the summer since the Middle Ages. But not only humans are nomads… The last Egyptian vultures of Greece are fighting for their own survival. Starting their journey from Africa and travelling 5,000km every spring, they arrive in their breeding spots in Greece, w...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 18:35
Duration: 13 MINUTES

Arkadia

Director: Andra Ion Country: Spain

The documentary "Arkadia" tells the story of Victor, a young shepherd who follows the traditional nomadic lifestyle, moving his animals between mountains and plains. The film explores the challenges he faces in our time, where modern farming is unsustainable and contributes to the increase in wildfires. The inability of young people to buy or rent land in Europe led him to choose this tradit...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 18:48
Presence of the Director
Duration: 9 MINUTES

CONNECTING BODY

Director: Chrysanthi Badeka Country: Greece

During the pandemic, a mixed group of adults with or without visual or/and hearing disabilities, communicate through the sound of their movement. The fully accessible documentary captures the personal experiences of the participants attending a workshop of the inclusive method Connecting Body. The method brings together social groups that rarely or never communicate using a non-verbal sound-...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 19:00
Duration: 29 MINUTES

25km

Director: Eliane Pauline Roumie Country: Greece

The documentary "25km" is a site-specific project inspired by Eleusis, a city historically linked to the elevation of the spirit and the destruction of nature. The film follows four women who walk silently for 25 kilometers, retracing the steps of ancient Greeks who participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. The walk is a study of human endurance, connection with nature, the need for catharsi...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 19:30
Duration: 12 MINUTES

An artist and a surgeon meet. The artist, has an idea: to draw on velvet by removing its pile. She ends up tearing the velvet. The surgeon gives her a surgical instrument and it works. The short essay film by Semeli Safou, explores separation through her personal experience as a child of separated parents. Having been inspired by Ascesis: The Saviors of God, by writer Nikos Kazantzakis, the ...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 19:42
Duration: 8 MINUTES

Extra time / 102

Director: MARINA STYLIANOS STAMATI Country: Greece

The documentary "Extra Time / 102" is an anthropological record of a 102-year-old man's life, focusing on his daily routine and his gradual withdrawal from active life. Following the principles of observational cinema, the film invites us to reflect on the nature of time, aging, and mortality. Living alone, with almost no contact with the outside world, the protagonist is in a transitional p...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 20:00
Duration: 28 MINUTES

Vale is on the verge of the last match of her career as a professional boxer. Since she was a child she has always been very pugnacious, up to when she had to fight for the right to assisted suicide for her life long partner Fabiano, who became blind and quadruplegic after an accident. Now, as she fights on the ring, her words tell us the unpredictable shock of two lives, the sacrifice durin...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 20:28
Duration: 20 MINUTES

Hantush - a fairytale

Director: Alexia Tsouni Country: Greece

"Hantush - a fairytale" tells the story of Salha, a 14-year-old Palestinian refugee girl living in a tent in the Abu Hindi valley. Salha confides her secret: she has a magical sheep, Hantush, who can fly. Together, they escape the harsh reality of occupation, where her father is imprisoned and Israeli soldiers have turned their land into a shooting range. Through her imagination, Salha trave...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 20:48
Presence of the Director
Duration: 6 MINUTES

"Monologue" tells the story of Mom Heyam Encü, a Kurdish mother who lost two sons. Sivan died during a Turkish attack on Robozik in 2011, and Sinan in a car accident a few years later. Through a heartbreaking monologue, the film captures the mother's pain and loss, as well as the daily life of the Kurdish community living under the constant fear of attacks. The mother's monologue denounces t...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 21:00
Presence of the Director
Duration: 18 MINUTES

The documentary "Dust Never Settled" documents the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh War in Armenia and Artsakh. Through interviews with soldiers, medical personnel, and displaced families, the film portrays the struggle of individuals to rebuild their lives following this tragic event. The film gives a voice to those who otherwise wouldn't be able to share their stories. The testimonies of woun...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 21:25
Duration: 20 MINUTES

Open Wings

Director: Taxiarchis Deligiannis, Vassilis Tsiouvaras Country: Greece

A small finch is forced to leave his homeland, which is in a state of war. As soon as he arrives in a foreign country, he witnesses an accident: a car hits the leader of the wild pigeons. The small finch immediately helps the large pigeon. The other pigeons chase him, believing he is stealing their food, while he is simply carrying food for their injured leader. The leader of the pigeons has...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 21:45
Duration: 8 MINUTES

We are the models. We hold the pose to be depicted, for our bodies to originate images and works of art. Naked, we outstandingly catch the eye. We freeze to be observed for a long time and to be meticulously examined. And yet, we always vanish.
"Medusa's gaze" is a visual and poetic exploration of the art of live modelling. Through Ellénore Lemattre's performance, the film captures the ...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 22:00
Duration: 26 MINUTES

Omi-do

Director: Nickolas Papadimitriou Country: Greece

Approaching the eighth decade of his life, Dimitris Omiridis trains daily, claiming a healthy and fit body. At the same time, he is the owner of a fitness school in central Athens, where friends and students get acquainted with his singular philosophy and body training practice that he calls “Omi-do”. Filming Dimitris’ everyday life at the school, the film showcases the possibilities of resi...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Monday, 02 December 2024 22:27
Presence of the Director
Duration: 26 MINUTES

Thaleia, missing the "e"

Director: Thodoris Ioannidis Country: Greece

The short documentary "Thaleia, missing the 'e'" portrays the life of Takis Moschopoulidis in Prinos, Thasos. Takis, with glue-covered hands and a cigarette perpetually dangling from his lips, is devoted to his wooden creations, offering a glimpse into his world of alcohol and hard-earned life lessons. From seemingly mundane daily moments, stories from his past emerge: prison, the army, Thal...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 17:00
Presence of the Director
Duration: 30 MINUTES

RAJA BHAU is a sensitive heart-warming story of an Indian transman’s acceptance, by himself and his family. Merlin, born as a girl, felt right from his childhood that he was trapped in the wrong gender. But it took a lot of courage and determination for Merlin to transition to become a transman. With unflinching support from his mother who has stood with him through thick and thin, and accep...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 17:30
Duration: 25 MINUTES

Geosonic #1 Atlantic

Director: Andres Mahia Country: Spain

The ocean isn’t just the habitat of fish, cetacean, seaweed and other living creatures. It is the way of living of many villages and cities, a trade route, a space for leisure, a source of wealth and also of tragedy. The ocean is a lifestyle, an identity. The Atlantic many times determines us as Galicians, but it also has its own identity, and its own sounds. 'MMRRSSMM... (‘The Music of the ...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 18:00
Duration: 22 MINUTES

Rooms with a View

Director: Nickolas Papadimitriou, Nikoleta Paraschi Country: Greece

"Rooms with a View" documents the transformation of a building in the heart of Athens from a space traditionally occupied by goldsmiths into a luxurious boutique hotel. Through observing daily life on three different floors, the film presents three levels of coexistence: the goldsmiths who continue to work, the construction workers renovating the building, and the tourists staying in the com...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 18:20
Presence of the Director
Duration: 22 MINUTES

The Asia Minor Catastrophe

Director: George Chatzivasileiou Country: Greece

Animated short documentary about "The Asia Minor Catastrophe" in 1922. It presents in 10 min the big picture of the complicated, compact, and cosmopolitan history of Smyrna around 1922. The most tragic story of recent Greek history. The film was funded by the Municipality of Kalamaria that received a lot of refugees after the Minor Asia Destruction in 1922 (on the occasion of the 100th anniv...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 18:48
Duration: 9 MINUTES

The Entangled Forest

Director: Nick Jordan Country: United Kingdom

"The Entangled Forest" explores the intricate relationships between trees and fungi within forest ecosystems. Through the narration of ecologist Suzanne Simard and her groundbreaking research, the film highlights the "biological neural network" that creates a healthy community of interdependent species. The documentary focuses on cooperation, mutual aid, and the redistribution of resources a...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 19:00
Duration: 17 MINUTES

"Pepedrilo" portrays José's, also known as "Pepe" or "Little Crocodiles", unique connection with nature through his care of a crocodile sanctuary in Manzanilla, Mexico. The sanctuary, established in 1995 by a group of landowners, has become a nature reserve, providing shelter for crocodiles in need of protection and care. The film documents Pepe's daily life, his dedication to crocodile cons...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 19:18
Duration: 20 MINUTES

The documentary "The Ancient Olive Tree" tells the story of the oldest olive tree in the world, located in Vouves, Chania, Crete. Estimated to be 3,000-5,000 years old, the Vouves olive tree has been declared a Natural Monument. The film focuses on the value of ancient olive trees, emphasizing the need for their protection and respect for nature. It also presents the Olive Tree Museum of Vou...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 19:38
Presence of the Director
Duration: 12 MINUTES

La Lixeira - The Invisibles' Dignity

Director: Guido Galante, Antonio Notarangelo Country: Italy

The documentary "La Lixeira - The Invisibles' Dignity" depicts the harsh reality of life in the Maputo dump, Mozambique's capital city. Around 700 families, including men, women, and children, scavenge for food and materials amidst the garbage, struggling for survival. The dump, "La Lixeira," becomes a metaphysical landscape, an allegory of the modern world. Here, tangible and intangible was...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 20:00
Duration: 12 MINUTES

Carpenter

Director: Xelil Sehragerd

The short documentary "Carpenter" tells the story of Hussein Mahmood, an elderly Kurdish carpenter who crafts wooden prosthetic limbs for people who have lost their legs, likely landmine victims. The film captures the carpenter's dedication and skill as he uses simple tools and materials to create these prosthetics, providing mobility and dignity to those he serves. We witness the constructi...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 20:12
Duration: 13 MINUTES

On the fifth day of the Battle of Crete, Saturday 24 of May 1941, three Germans pass by the village of Kakopetros in the Municipality of Platanias, Chania, and approach the home of Antonis Loufardakis, located next to a creek below the central street. Without any reason at all, they enter their home and kill with automatic weapons five women and a two-year old child. Five-year old Maria witn...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 20:35
Presence of the Director
Duration: 15 MINUTES

After death

Director: Mahmood Ahmad

The documentary "After Death" tells the story of a man working as a blacksmith in Kobani, whose life was dramatically altered after the ISIS attack on the city in 2014. Searching for himself amidst the ruins and debris of war, he collects remnants of weapons and missiles and transforms them into works of art. Through his art, he strives to create hope and optimism, regenerating life from dea...

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 21:00
Duration: 11 MINUTES

IDE8L

Director: Aristarchos Papadaniel, Giannis Chlempakos Country: Greece

 Premiere nights and farewell screenings at the historic cine IDEAL. 102 years of continuous operation "suddenly fall silent". A cinematic mystique with the music of Mimis Plessas, the great Greek film composer, who this year ideally touched the eternal (1924-2024). 

COM_DOCUMENTARIES_TITLE_SCREENED: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 21:10
Duration: 8 MINUTES