Ethnofest is being reconfigured, proposing new actions, educational activities and collective forms of cultural intervention, while maintaining its restless spirit and its desire to invent creative ways of connecting cinema with ethnography, and artistic inspiration with social research. The next chapter of Ethnofest arrives through a rich annual programme centred on the production and dissemination of knowledge, placing student initiative and creativity at its core.
Athens Summer School in Visual Ethnographic Practices | Summer Screenings
In collaboration with the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Ethnofest once again organises the Athens Summer School in Visual Ethnographic Practices 2026, an intensive programme dedicated to ethnographic, research-based and socially engaged audiovisual practices. This year’s edition will take place in Athens from June 29 to July 19 and will include three weeks of lectures, workshops, and hands-on practice. Students from around the world, under the guidance of the programme’s tutors, will have the opportunity to produce short films in various neighbourhoods of Athens.
Within this framework, Ethnofest launches a new cycle of summer screenings in Athens, presenting works by filmmakers connected to previous editions of both the Festival and the Summer School.
Through these screenings, our aim is to expand our public-facing activities, strengthen audience engagement and further enhance the outreach of the Summer School in Visual Ethnographic Practices by encouraging student participation. At the same time, we seek to create a summer meeting point where screenings are accompanied by discussions with the filmmakers.
ETHNOFEST XTENDED
Ethnography and Extended Reality | Immersive Cultural Experiences through VR
Ethnofest further strengthens the connection between education, research and digital innovation by expanding its educational activities to include new digital cinematic storytelling forms through virtual reality tools.
This autumn, our activities extend into the world of XR (Extended Reality), exploring ethnographic documentaries that adopt this narrative medium.
By utilising Extended Reality (XR) technologies, and particularly Virtual Reality (VR), audiences will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in ethnographically informed environments and narratives, encountering cultural practices, communities, and places beyond their own lived experience. The initiative proposes a new way of engaging with contemporary multimedia ethnography and creative documentary, transforming them into immersive digital experiences.
ETHNOFEST INITIATIONS – International Student Documentary Festival
After a rich and creative journey within the cultural landscape of Athens, we are moving towards a redefinition of our festival activities. As mentioned last December, we decided to reshape the framework of our events, choosing to adopt a more focused and meaningful form of intervention in the city. This transition also contains an essential return. It nods to the organisation’s early years, full of enthusiasm, by looking back to our roots: the support of emerging filmmakers and their fresh, research-driven perspectives.
We are therefore delighted to announce that, from this year onwards, the INITIATIONS section becomes an autonomous International Student Documentary Festival, taking the form of a three-day screening event every December.
Our focus once again turns exclusively to student films. We return to where we began, creating a new, focused space for expression, visibility, and dialogue for the filmmakers of tomorrow, offering them the platform they need at the start of their documentary filmmaking journey.
The award of the competition section will be accompanied by a cash prize of €1000, while further information regarding the open call for film submissions will be announced very soon.
Winter School | Athens Winter School in Visual Ethnographic Practices
With great excitement, we present Ethnofest’s new initiative: the Winter School in Visual Ethnographic and Research-Based Audiovisual Practice.
The Winter School is a hybrid, intensive educational programme functioning as a natural continuation and extension of the Summer School. Combining elements of a film lab and a training programme, the Winter School aims to support participants in developing or initiating research-based film projects, while also offering a structured environment for experimentation and practical engagement.
As a pilot initiative, the programme will adopt a focused and flexible format, allowing space for evaluation and future development. The Winter School will combine in-person sessions with optional extended participation and online feedback sessions, ensuring accessibility for international participants and working professionals alike.
The programme is addressed to participants with previous experience in filmmaking, visual anthropology, or artistic research, including alumni of the Ethnofest Summer School and emerging professionals wishing to deepen their practice. Participants may join either with an existing project or by using the lab to develop and realise a new idea from scratch.
Ethnofest opens a new cycle of activities, returning to its core values while redefining its role and form of cultural and social intervention. Through a new, more focused and outward-looking annual programme, it invests in supporting emerging filmmakers, disseminating knowledge, and cultivating communities of dialogue and artistic exchange in Athens and beyond.
The detailed programme of activities and screenings, along with all information regarding applications, open calls for film submissions, and educational programmes, will be gradually announced through Ethnofest’s official communication channels and website.
Contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]