The Jury
Christian Jeunec
Christian Jeune (Toulon, France) started at the Festival de Cannes as a local intern in 1983 while pursuing his studies, going on to join the Film Department at its Paris office in 1995. Since 1999 he has been the director of the same department, and in 2003 he became Deputy to the General Delegate, Thierry Frémaux. Under his position, he takes care of the selection process, in connection with the different players. He has also travelled widely for the last 20 years, mainly in Asia to scout films and visit members of the world industry. He has served on the jury of many festivals (Busan, Tokyo, Adelaide, Taipei, Bangkok, Macao…). He has also translated over 100 films from English to French, including three films in the Bourne series, the three Kingsman films, and many more.
Ada Solomon
Romanian film producer working in the film business for 30+ years and has credits on almost 100 films, including Golden Bear winners “Bad Luck Banging”, “Child Pose”, Venice Orizzonti & FIPRESCI winner “The New Year Tha tt Never Came” & European Film Academy winner & Oscar-nominated “Toni Erdmann”.
Her career is inextricably linked to the one of Radu Jude with whom she had made 20 films.
She has worked with prestigious filmmakers as Cristian Nemescu, Ivana Mladenovic, Alexandru Solomon, Răzvan Rădulescu, Tomasz Wasilewski, Hana Jusic, Drago Sholev and contributed to debuts of many European Filmmakers like: Belgian Marta Bergman, Moldavan Olga Lucovnicova, Norwegian Emilie Blichfeldt, Italians Chiara Malta, Federico Bondi, Adriano Valerio, Romanians Anamaria Comănescu, Paul Negoescu, Alina Șerban, Seb Mihăilescu etc.
She is the Chair of the Board of the European Film Academy, one of the initiators of the Pop-Up Residencies and a founding member of the Board of Romanian Alliance of Producers.
Ada is the recipient of European Film Academy European Co–production Award – Prix Eurimages 2013, Central European Initiative Award 2018 in Trieste IFF, Underground Spirit of Europe Award 2021 in Palic IFF as well as Czech Producer’s Association World Excellence Award 2022 in Ji.hlava IFF & was listed by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the Top 40 Most Influential Women in Film Business.
Thanassis Karathanos
Thanassis Karathanos studied Political Science and Economics in Athens and Berlin. He founded the film production companies Twenty Twenty Vision in Berlin (1998) and Pallas Film in Halle (Saale) (2003).
An internationally acclaimed producer, Karathanos has produced and co-produced numerous award-winning films, including the Academy Award-nominated Ajami, The Man Who Sold His Skin and Four Daughters. His selected filmography also includes Irina Palm, Clouds of Sils Maria, Elle, Centaur, Slack Bay, Sweet Bean, Ayka, It Must Be Heaven, The Gravedigger’s Wife, Mariupolis 2, Mediterranean Fever, More than Strangers, Orphane, All that’s left of you and Hen.
He is a member of the European Film Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
PROGRAMME ANNOUNCEMENT 2026
Press Conference • Screening • Party
Wednesday, 24 June 2026, at 20:30, at STOA Culture
ΠΡΟΣΚΛΗΣΗ
Το 15ο Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Αιγαίου σας προσκαλεί στην παρουσίαση του επίσημου προγράμματος, την Τετάρτη 24 Ιουνίου 2026, 20:30, στη ΣΤΟΑ Culture, το νέο χώρο πολιτισμού και δημιουργίας στο ιστορικό Μέγαρο Αρσακείου, Πεσμαζόγλου 5 (είσοδος θεάτρου Κάρολος Κουν), Αθήνα.
Η εκδήλωση θα ξεκινήσει με τη Συνέντευξη Τύπου, στην οποία θα ανακοινωθεί το πλήρες πρόγραμμα, η κριτική επιτροπή, τα βραβεία, οι παράλληλες δράσεις και οι διεθνείς συνεργασίες της φετινής επετειακής διοργάνωσης, που ανοίγει αυλαία, από τις 16 έως τις 24 Ιουλίου 2026 στην Πάτμο.
Στις 21:30 θα ακολουθήσει προβολή των βραβευμένων ταινιών μικρού μήκους της 14ης διοργάνωσης.
Μετά την προβολή θα πραγματοποιηθεί πάρτι με DJ set από τον Espeekay
INVITATION
The 15th Aegean Film Festival invites you to the presentation of its official program on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 20:30, at STOA Culture, the new venue for culture and creativity located in the historic Arsakeio Megaron.
5 Pesmazoglou Street (entrance via the Karolos Koun Theatre), Athens.
The event will begin with the Press Conference, during which the full program, jury members, awards, parallel events and international collaborations of this year’s anniversary edition will be announced. The festival will take place from July 16 to 24, 2026, on the island of Patmos.
At 21:30, a screening of the award-winning short films from the festival’s 14th edition will follow. Following the screening, a party will be held featuring a DJ set by Espeekay
Colours of Time
Directed by Cédric Klapisch
Cast: Suzanne Lindon, Abraham Wapler, Vincent Macaigne
Genre: Drama
Duration: 124′
Production Year, Country: 2025, France
Language: French
Subtitles: English, Greek
Rating: PG
Brought together by the unexpected inheritance of an abandoned house in Normandy, four cousins discover their past, which is as mysterious as full of surprises. As they trace their ancestors, both illustrious and unknown, they come across the path of the Impressionist masters and compare their contemporary views with those of the 19th century, in a game of back-and-forth between eras, in which every destiny changed.
Opening Film • Premiere
Friday, 18 July • 20.00 • Marianna Cinema
World Premiere: Cannes Film Festival 2025
Atropia
Directed by Hailey Gates
Cast: Alia Shawkat, Zahra Alzubaidi, Callum Turner
Genre: Drama, Comedy, War
Duration: 103′
Production Year, Country: 2025, USA, UK, Italy
Language: English
Subtitles: Greek
Rating: 17+ Parental advice: Film contains Violence & Gore
Welcome to Atropia, a hyperreal military training city built to simulate a Middle Eastern warzone — complete with fake marketplaces, scripted insurgencies, and aspiring actors like Fayruz, who plays a civilian with Hollywood dreams. When she falls for Abu Dice, a soldier cast as an enemy combatant, their genuine feelings threaten to upend both the fictional world they inhabit and the rigid expectations of the military-industrial complex. Set in the waning years of the Bush era, Atropia is a romantic, razor-sharp satire about performance, propaganda, and the blurry line between simulation and reality. With standout performances from Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner, and a stellar supporting cast including Chloë Sevigny and Tim Heidecker, Hailey Gates’ directorial debut is a bold, timely, and oddly tender exploration of love and war on a set where everything is make-believe—except the consequences.
World Premiere: Sundance Film Festival 2025
Awards: Grand Jury Prize, U.S. Dramatic competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
Sunday, 20 July • 19.30 • Tarsanas Cinema
Join us in Diakoftis for a special PopUp event including welcome wines by Patoinos or a glass of prosecco, a special buffet prepared by Tarsanas Restaurant and the premiere of Atropia in the magical set up inside Patmos Marine Boatyard.
Wednesday, 23 July • 20.30 • Secret PopUp Cinema
Ticket includes welcome drinks and invitation to the Closing Festival Party following the screening. Location of the venue to be announced 2 days before the event.
Colours of Time
Directed by Cédric Klapisch
Cast: Suzanne Lindon, Abraham Wapler, Vincent Macaigne
Genre: Drama
Duration: 124′
Production Year, Country: 2025, France
Language: French
Subtitles: English, Greek
Rating: PG
Brought together by the unexpected inheritance of an abandoned house in Normandy, four cousins discover their past, which is as mysterious as full of surprises. As they trace their ancestors, both illustrious and unknown, they come across the path of the Impressionist masters and compare their contemporary views with those of the 19th century, in a game of back-and-forth between eras, in which every destiny changed.
Opening Film • Premiere
Friday, 18 July • 20.00 • Marianna Cinema
World Premiere: Cannes Film Festival 2025
Dreamt In Patmos
Ceramics Art Exhibition by Maria Koubourli
Step into the world of Patmos-based artist Maria Koubourli, whose ceramic sculptures are both timeless and personal, untamed fragments of unearthed dreams. Raw, elemental textures, along with organic shapes, reflect a deep connection to the natural world and a dreamlike inner landscape. Each piece is hand-formed, cast and fired on the island of Patmos. Be there for the opening of this ceramics art show, where sculptures become an echo of Patmos’ land and dreams.
Exhibition opening, 19 July • 18.00
PATMION CULTURAL CENTRE
Open to the Public from 19 to 25 July
Ito Meikyū
Premiere • VR • 20’ • France, Luxembourg • 2024
Director: Boris Labbé
Language: No Dialogue
Subtitles: No Dialogue
Interior and exterior, transparency and opacity, exhibitionism and voyeurism, feminine and masculine; all these notions oppose or unite in the infinite cycle of a labyrinth with no exit. Life here is like a loom whose living weft is woven from a myriad of branching threads and paths.
Winner of Audience Award for Best Immersive film
Explore our VR Programme
Following our passion for storytelling combined with emerging technologies in art, this year’s immersive programme is an exciting collection of award-winning experiences.
The programme will feature six VR & Immersive experiences presented in Greek premiere, produced over the last 18 months competing for the new AegeanFF VR Seahorse Award.
AegeanFF Winning Shorts (4)
Join us on the final day of the festival for a special screening of this year’s award-winning short films! Watch the very best short movies of this edition: the winners of the Best Aegean Short Film, the Jury Special Mention, and the Best Greek Short, all selected by our esteemed Aegean Film Festival Jury. Also featured is the winner of the Sustainability Award, honoring the short film that most effectively explores ecologically relevant issues, chosen by our Festival Team and the Festival Nomads.
Friday, 25 July • 23.00 • Starfish Cinema • 110'
Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites
Premiere • Fiction • 19’ • Cambodia, France, United States • 2025
Director: Chheangkea
Language: Central Khmer
Subtitles: English
During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that her queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman.
Sappho
Premiere • Animation • 9’ • Brazil • 2025
Director: Rosana Urbes
Language: Portuguese
Subtitles: English
Sappho is an animated short inspired by the process of animation and the poetic fragments of Sappho (Lesbos, 600 BC), the first known female author in the Western world. Her connection to nature shapes the film’s aesthetic: natural inks, stop-motion with real plants, and layered lighting. The visual narrative echoes her poetic voice and the many interpretations of her legacy over time.
AEGEAN SHORTS COMPETITION A
Tuesday, 22 July • 20.30 • Starfish Cinema • 105'
The Jury
Bruno Munoz
With an extensive background in the film industry, including his work as a press attaché at Warner France, Bruno serves as Head of Short Films in the Film Department of the Festival de Cannes. Since 2013, he has played a key role in the selection and programming of short films, shaping one of the world’s most prestigious platforms for emerging talent.
Mathilde Henrot
Programmer and producer, Mathilde is a Selection Committee Member at the Berlin International Film Festival. She curates the Kinoscope programme at the Sarajevo Film Festival and is a co-founder of Festival Scope. From 2021 to 2024, she was the Adjoint Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival. Through her production company, Maharaja Films, Mathilde has produced works by Camille Henrot and co-produced films by Anissa Bonnefont, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, and Yorgos Lanthimos. A long-standing advocate for equity and inclusion in the film industry, she has been actively involved with Le Collectif 50/50 since its early days as Le Deuxième Regard.
Arnaud Colinart
Programme Lock: 16th of June
Submit your film on Filmfreeway to participate in the 15th edition and compete for one of the 7 Seahorse Awards:
Best Aegean Short, Best Greek Short, Jury Special Mention, Feature Fiction Audience Award, Feature Documentary Audience Award, Sustainability Award, Best VR & Immersive
The short films & VR competition jury will be announced soon.
PROGRAMME ANNOUNCEMENT 2026
Press Conference • Screening • Party
Wednesday, 24 June 2026, at 20:30, at STOA Culture
ΠΡΟΣΚΛΗΣΗ
Το 15ο Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Αιγαίου σας προσκαλεί στην παρουσίαση του επίσημου προγράμματος, την Τετάρτη 24 Ιουνίου 2026, 20:30, στη ΣΤΟΑ Culture, το νέο χώρο πολιτισμού και δημιουργίας στο ιστορικό Μέγαρο Αρσακείου, Πεσμαζόγλου 5 (είσοδος θεάτρου Κάρολος Κουν), Αθήνα.
Η εκδήλωση θα ξεκινήσει με τη Συνέντευξη Τύπου, στην οποία θα ανακοινωθεί το πλήρες πρόγραμμα, η κριτική επιτροπή, τα βραβεία, οι παράλληλες δράσεις και οι διεθνείς συνεργασίες της φετινής επετειακής διοργάνωσης, που ανοίγει αυλαία, από τις 16 έως τις 24 Ιουλίου 2026 στην Πάτμο.
Στις 21:30 θα ακολουθήσει προβολή των βραβευμένων ταινιών μικρού μήκους της 14ης διοργάνωσης.
Μετά την προβολή θα πραγματοποιηθεί πάρτι με DJ set από τον Espeekay
INVITATION
The 15th Aegean Film Festival invites you to the presentation of its official program on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 20:30, at STOA Culture, the new venue for culture and creativity located in the historic Arsakeio Megaron.
5 Pesmazoglou Street (entrance via the Karolos Koun Theatre), Athens.
The event will begin with the Press Conference, during which the full program, jury members, awards, parallel events and international collaborations of this year’s anniversary edition will be announced. The festival will take place from July 16 to 24, 2026, on the island of Patmos.
At 21:30, a screening of the award-winning short films from the festival’s 14th edition will follow. Following the screening, a party will be held featuring a DJ set by Espeekay