The one who, in his student years, not only stood outside, but also walked past the doors of the building at the intersection of streets. Academy and Hippocrates he will well remember the special charm of what was waiting for him inside.

Above the threshold is written “IRIS” and, having passed it, the girl of the same name is waiting. Iris, i.e. one of the most historic halls of Athens located in its building University club from the University of Athens. It’s not just the imposing nobility that exudes carved marble and red seats with gilded covers. Mostly those who are worried students who come in and out of it, and have been nurtured creatively for decades through the workshops, shows, exhibitions and events that have taken place there, thanks to P.O.F.A.P.A. that is, the Cultural Club of the University of Athens.

As regards the fate of the building in which most of the project is located, and the actions of individual sectors of POFAPA (cinema, photo, theater and dance), and also for House “Costis Palamas”, A little further afield in the Academy, strong unrest arose after Section 296 of the Department of Education’s “New Horizons in Universities” law, which considered the future of university clubs to be uncertain given the current facts.

So that’s when POFPA decided to get one great extraversion showcasing his work and highlighting the long history he has led since it began in the 80s. And what better way to do it than organize a festival?

That’s how I was born “Iris of Vision”. An idea that came to mind in the summer of 2022 and began to take shape as the school year began. It’s about “Days of Culture of the EKPA University Club 2022-23” as you can read on the poster of the festival.

Free admission not only for students

Anyone who has received weekly emails with new Iridia Visions events in recent months will understand that important work has been done here, which concerns not only the students themselves: photography exhibitions and workshops from renowned photographers music and dance events and basically, screenings of very good films greek cinema, presence of factors – this is the everyday life of “Irida Visions”. And all this, with duty-free import (do not forget, however, to reserve a place in advance).

It all seems even more impressive when you consider that all organization and execution is based on voluntary work of new and old members of the Group, who are students or art professionals who have taken their first steps in their fields. As the Irida Visions team itself tells me: “All these members devoted a huge part of their time to organizing the festival”, which, after all, is an ongoing project: “We certainly could not imagine the size that it would take all this and his duration as more and more of our members are mobilized and willing to participate, creating a great potential that supports, actively participates in decisions and manages processes in a festival that is constantly evolving.”

Officially, it all started back in November, with the opening of the curtain “King” from Nikos Grammaticos, at the anniversary screening of the film. Since then, several months have passed before even a small assessment of the Irida Vision was made. the answer to which exceeded expectations, as confirmed by the participants of the festival. A great victory that goes beyond Irida Visions itself, as was the original goal: “We are constantly receiving positive feedback on our initiative and with every event we feel that we justify the long history of POFPA and we confirm the urgent need to continue its work” – members of the Group tell me.

Support for the art world

The lion’s share of the believers of the festival, of course, students, but in this you will see people of all ages. Of course, nothing would have been possible for Irida Visions without his immediate and dynamic support. art world from the first moment.

It may seem difficult to organize such an event with a dense program and a large number of participants, however, as POFAA students explain to me, their approaches to potential event guests immediately paid off, as in all cases they immediately spoke positively about visiting the festival.

Asking the Irida Visions team to highlight a moment from their journey so far, it’s hard to come up with a definitive answer. And how easy it is to distinguish them when one night they can lead Irida on stage Jacqueline Lenjou And Sofia Kokkalis discuss it “Moon, 66 questions” and the other one George Gusis present last year’s phenomenal film “Magnetic fields”?

As the students themselves say at the end, “P.O.F.A.P.A. is a living organism, a creative wandering hive of people, and the festival itself, as part of it, develops as long as its people continue to live.”

So the next time you pass by the Academy and see the wells outside of Iris, ask “what happened”. It will definitely be something good.