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Australian première
Watch the very best Orthodox-inspired short-films from around the world, including Greece, Serbia, Lebanon, Australia and Finland. You will also have the privilege to watch several exclusive previews of Orthodox features coming to screens in 2023.
After the screening there will be a Q&A session with the filmmakers followed by the Award Ceremony for this year’s entire collection, both shorts and features.
Afterwards, join us for a drink in the cinema's bar.
ENGLISH spoken, some with subtitles.
Scroll down to see program and each film's synopsis.
SHORT-FILM PROGRAM
BURNISHED
A poem inspired by the unusual and powerful fifth century story of Saint Mary of Egypt. She is remembered in the Orthodox Church annually on the first of April, and on the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent. Her story of abandoning a life of sin for one of asceticism has inspired the Church for centuries.
Genre: Experimental
Country: Australia
Directors: Stephan & Andrew Robinson
Nominated for BEST SHORT-FILM and BEST DIRECTOR.
PANAGIA
Panagia is a short documentary film about the Orthodox monastic centre Panagia in Lammi, Finland. It was shot and edited in September 2018 as the filmmakers' contribution to aid the centre's efforts to bring the Orthodox monastic tradition of Mount Athos to Finland.
Genre: Documentary
Country: Finland
Directors: Jenni & Lauri Luhta
Nominated for BEST DOCUMENTARY.
ALEXANDER NEVSKY
About Saint Alexander Nevsky and the battle of the Neva River.
Genre: Animation
Country: Serbia
Director: Jakov Popov
Nominated for BEST SHORT-FILM and BEST ANIMATION.
LOUIE (KR.ONE) GASPARRO 5POINTZ
A short documentary featuring Louie (KR.ONE) Gasparro and when his love for graffiti was rekindled at the legendary 5Pointz graffiti mecca in Long Island City, New York. Louie reminisces about what 5Pointz means to him and to the wider graffiti art world.
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA
Director: Eirini Alligiannis
Nominated for BEST DOCUMENTARY.
BLESSINGS AND VOWS
An octogenarian villager, Mrs. Metaxia Anaplioti, kept her vow for 49 years, lighting a candle daily at the 11th century Byzantine church of Hagioi Theodoroi in Vamvaka, Mani, in Southern Greece. This act of piety contributes to her personal sense of identity as much as to the collective identity of the village by asserting the connection to the particular place, keeping alive customs of the village’s forebearers. A sense of historical continuity is sustained by memory, belief, imagination and narrative.
Genre: Documentary
Country: Greece
Director: Katerina Zacharia
Nominated for BEST SHORT-FILM, BEST DIRECTOR and BEST DOCUMENTARY.
MAGI
Three travellers journey across the galaxy, following a star to a tiny planet, for a small, hidden and yet cosmic event.
Genre: Animation/Sci-Fi
Country: Australia
Director: Stephan & Andrew Robinson
Nominated for BEST ANIMATION.
THE TOUCH TO PAIN
Love story about an old man struggling with his wife's Alzheimer's disease.
Genre: Drama
Country: Serbia
Director: Hadzi-Aleksander Djurovic
Nominated for BEST SHORT-FILM and BEST DIRECTOR.
SEEKING FOR AGOUSA
The “Seeking for Agousa” (agousa/ἄγουσα = the path that leads you somewhere) is documenting the “solid moves” which are insinuated within a mystifying atmosphere. Traveling around the Mediterenean, we are presented with the portrait of the creator - Hippocrates Tavlarios - who is returning to the start point the “Mother land”, seeking for the “Sacred” displaying the metamorphosis in the daily encounters but yet so distant, full of paradoxes, unknowing, yet so familiar.
Genre: Documentary
Country: Greece
Director: Tony Oikonomou
Nominated for BEST DIRECTOR and BEST DOCUMENTARY.
FATHER GABRIEL'S CHAPEL
Follow Father Gabriel as he goes to his tree chapel to venerate the holy icons and to pray to Lord Jesus Christ.
Genre: Animation
Country: USA
Director: Nicholas Tamraz
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Nominated for BEST ANIMATION.
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INTO THE MOVIE-VERSE
This is a short animation combining one of my favorite films with all of my other favorite films.
Genre: Animation
Country: USA
Director: Nicholas Shaheen
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Nominated for BEST ANIMATION.
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ZEIBEKIKO IN BEIRUT
On 4th August 2020 at exactly 18:10pm an apocalyptic explosion ripped the Lebanese capital Beirut apart. More than 200 innocent civilians died, over 6,500 were injured and 300,000 were reported homeless. The explosion that occurred at the port of Beirut at rush hour had a catastrophic effect and targeted also a small Greek minority that stills lives around the area. The film compares the state of Beirut to the Greek Zeibekiko dance.
Genre: Documentary
Country: Lebanon
Director: George Eid
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Nominated for BEST DOCUMENTARY.
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A ROMANIAN CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE STAR IS RISING UP
Traditional Romanian Christmas carol comes to life from iconography.
Genre: Animation
Country: Romania
Director: Simona Vladuca
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Nominated for BEST ANIMATION.
HIDDEN VOICE
A woman is walking by the sea. She wants to connect with the environment, feel the sun, breath the fresh air, when suddenly a strange sound disturbs her calm. The sound source is indefinite. The woman approaches the sea and the sound gets louder. The sound invites her.
Genre: Experimental/Drama
Country: Greece
Director: Ifigenia Dimitriou
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Nominated for BEST SHORT-FILM and BEST DIRECTOR.
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