If you ask Yiannis Sakaridis, Artistic Director of the Dramatic Short Film Festival, to describe the trends he is identifying from his position in domestic short films, he will of course refer to the ubiquitous “visual films”, he will talk about “big risks”, which several directors have gone for (with scenes to be discussed, as well as narrative and aesthetic revelations), and note that the new time is boldly tackling, sometimes out of experience, “big issues” such as woman abuse and diversity.

But first of all, Giannis Sakaridis will emphasize the following: “I think this year, for the first time,” he will say, “felt that filmmakers have been affected by the pandemic. In fact, these are the first films written and produced during this period. Last year, the year before last, we saw those that were written a little earlier. This trend includes several elements: capturing loneliness or, on a more technical level, “indoor movies”. Be that as it may, in recent years we have reached extremes and a great discovery of ourselves, and this is now also coming to the movies.

What is equally interesting about the festival is that since this year, as it has been updated even at the level of visual identity, it aims to amplify the new cinematic forces in two additional ways: first, by creating a new National Student Program. , which will complement the National Competition, the International Competition and the International Student Competition and will screen 20 films by Greek students from 15 different film schools around the world and Greece — “essentially we will meet the directors of tomorrow,” says Sakaridis; secondly, this year’s event begins with an eye on the Film School of Drama, the undergraduate department of the Hellenic Open University, which will operate from the spring semester of the new academic year – “its students will be in contact with the festival, either by presenting their projects or their films,” says Sakaridis , which is involved in shaping the academic program of the new body.

Of course, the “cosmopolitan” nature of the 45th Festival, which this year marks 28 years since its internationalization and premiere on Monday, is also tense: 148 films from more than 33 countries will be shown in all sections, and especially in the International Competition, the jury headed by Palme d’Or winner Vassilis Kekatos, includes films by multiple Lithuanian award winner Vytautas Katkus (Cherries), Spanish artist Hector Erte (Modern Love), as well as the animated film Terra Incognita, which is the result of a collaboration ten creators. Greek films in competition include Sophia Georgovasilis’ A Teenage Storm Memories, Evi Kalogiropoulos’ award-winning On the Throne of Xerxes, and Thanassis Trumpukis’ Under the Lake.

The rest of the program, culminating in the awards ceremony on September 11, includes a masterclass by Yannis Economides, a tribute to Pavel Pawlikowski’s documentaries (and a discussion with the director in the Film Therapy section of the Athens Film Festival). branch of the organization, September 17), a panel with Greek producers and representatives of the Cannes Film Festival and EKOME, the “International Animation” program competition “Short & Green”, a discussion that will be broadcast on TikTok, etc. Read more at dramafilmfestival.gr.