Archive

*7 days of screenings & activities
*8 Sections
*More than 75 movies
*2500 tickets
*2 round tables
*1 masterclass
*1 art exhibition
*Collaborations with other cultural & educational organisations [Erasmus+, Panteion University, TaF (The Art
Foundation)]
*16 guests from abroad
*1 party

Ethnofest was held this winter in the centre of Athens celebrating its tenth anniversary. In this anniversary edition, the programme was expanded, the duration was increased and the activities were enriched.
Ethnofest 2019 got in touch with other forms of art and it was more festive than ever.

Through the renewed sections of its programme (Student Films, Panorama, Filmic Experiments in Ethnography, Initiations, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Special and Anniversary Screenings), Ethnofest managed to bring out the fascinating present as well as the vigorous future of the ethnographic cinema, establishing that this kind of cinema is much closer to the public than we thought.

Through the new section “Initiations”, we were happy to watch the first attempts of young creators in ethnographic documentaries, which have emerged from Summer Schools, academic programs and educational seminars.

This year’s Themed Section “Contested gentrification in times of change” was curated by the Festival Team coordinated by our academic advisor, Pausanias Karathanasis and aimed to explore the various local manifestations of gentrification in Europe and the rest of the world.

The section was implemented under the Operational Program “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning” and its co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek National Funds. The screening of the films included in the tributes was free for the public, subtitled in Greek and accessible to the disabled.

With a constant interest in the role of the documentary in the emerging field of the intangible cultural heritage, Ethnofest presented the special tribute “Epirus through the documentary. Music, song, dance and managing mechanisms for the cultural heritage”. Discussion panels and special screenings brought us closer to the sense of human as an active subject, a carrier of culture and multiple identities while emphasizing the way in which nature and the environment determine human existence. The tribute was supported by the Greek Music Center “Phoebus Anogianakis”.

On the occasion of the anniversary edition of the festival, the section entitled “9+1 moments / 10 years of Ethnofest” included a selected film from each year of Ethnofest.

As part of the special screenings, we had the opportunity to watch the now classic film Rivers of Sand (1974) by the great filmmaker and anthropologist Robert Gardner.

Ethnofest hosted again, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Sports and specifically with the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage, morning screenings for groups of elementary school and high school students, aiming to familiarize students with the concept of intangible cultural heritage through ethnographic cinema.

Isaac Marrero discussed with the audience the process of producing an anthropological film in a unique masterclass entitled “Cine-inquiry: thinking through making anthropological films”.

For the first time, in collaboration with Panteion University, Ethnofest organized a panel discussion on Gentrification, on the Panteion campus and gave the opportunity to academics and distinguished professionals to share their experience with students and the public.

Within the Erasmus+ educational program entitled “ENCOUNTERS through art, ethnography and pedagogy”, together with the University of Agder (Norway), the University of the Aegean (Greece), the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), the art institutions Arts Cabinet (United Kingdom) and Raketa (Sweden) Ethnofest organized the inaugural event, a student art exhibition at the TaF complex in the centre of Athens.