Ευρωπαϊκή Συνάντηση Νεανικής Οπτικοακουστικής Δημιουργίας
One more Camera Zizanio festival was successful! This may sounds typical, but is not.
In fact, the implementation of the 14th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People and the 11th European Meeting of Young People’s Audiovisual Creation – Camera Zizanio (December 2-10, 2011) was a real achievement.
If we take into account that the Region of Western Greece and the Municipality of Pyrgos decided to fund the Festival just 20 days before its official opening, and with a budget in 1 / 3 of last year, things were not easy.
But despite this, we managed to organize such a festival because there was so much passion, so much energy from everyone who took part in it and especially young people.
So the festival highlighted again it’s youthful impulse and was, as always, innovative and inexhaustible in ideas. That’s why everyone agreed that this was the best festival of all.
We feel that we’ve won a great battle. And this makes us very optimistic about the future, even though we’re facing an even more difficult reality that includes with more pay cuts and attacks on culture and art. The struggle continues.
Screenings of Camera Zizanio at Conference Hall of Pyrgos
For a whole week Pyrgos, the capital of Ilia Prefecture as well as other towns and villages were overcrowded with filmmakers and film fans from 6 to 86 years old from all over the world. More than 10,000 spectators, children and young people up to 20 years in the vast majority, watched 327 movies in 7 cinemas.
Intense, even if was limited compared with previous years due to economic reasons, was the presence of foreign guests. More 60 children, escorts, and film professionals traveled to Pyrgos from Italy, Serbia, USA, Canada, Hungary, Lithuania, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Finland and Russia.
Impressive but also massive was the presence of students from other parts of Greece who came to the Pyrgos, attended the screenings and participated in workshops. Some of them had a long and exhausting trip like children from Kavala, Parga, Preveza and Livadia. Many of them came from Athens and from other cities from Peloponnese from High, Secondary and also Elementary schools.
“Apollon” theatre and the Conference Hall of Pyrgos, Cine Cinema in Amaliada, Municipal Cinema in Gastouni, cinema “Astron” in Lehena, the Elementary School in Zacharo and the Elementray school in Koutsochero, and 16 more places hosted the events of the festival.
In the total screening program, 43 films from 26 countries competed in the 14th Olympia International Film Festival, 15 films were presented in the parallel screenings and 269 films from Europe and the world, of which 71 were Greek entries this year, competed in the 11th Camera Zizanio.
About 200 people attended the film workshops and 50 children participated as Jury members.
Thousands of students from 63 schools of Ilia prefecture attended the screenings of the festival and 500 more students -in other 15 schools- participated in various events (film workshops, theatrical performances, author visits, etc.) organized by the festival there.
Apollon theatre, Pyrgos, Closing Ceremony
Impressive was also the number of the volunteers- this year surpassed the 100 people, and with one way or another helped in order to organize the Festival.
Amazing was the help provided by the group of students from Computer and Mass Media Department and other students from the High Technological Education Institution of Patras in Pyrgos.
Crucial for the success of the festival was also the help provided, as far as workshops are concerned, by our friends from abroad, Media Education Center from Serbia, Avisco from Italy, the great team of the Dutch National Film Festival for Students (NFFS – Nationaal Film Festival voor Scholieren), and also by cinema professionals from Greece.
A big thanks to all of you!
Κάντε κλικ στην εικόνα
Camera Zizanio 