CINEphil_101 is back

Following the great success of its inaugural edition, the CINEphil_101 International Philosophy Film Festival returns for a second year, taking place in Heraklion, Crete, from May 3 to May 10, 2025. Unique among film festivals in Greece – and one of the few worldwide that highlight the close relationship between contemporary cinema and philosophical thought – the festival will once again transform the city into a vibrant meeting point for filmmakers, academics, and the wider public over the course of eight days.

The central guest of this year’s edition, as part of the Filmmakers Meet the Public section, is acclaimed filmmaker Jacqueline Lentzou, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Greek cinema, whose work has been presented at major international festivals including Cannes, Berlin, and Locarno. She will present and discuss her debut feature film Moon, 66 Questions, starring Sofia Kokkali. Two of her short films, Fox and Hector Malot: The Last Day of the Year, will also be screened.

The Philosophers Meet Film section will host distinguished professor Pavlos Kontos, who will introduce the landmark film The Return by Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev. The film, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2003, is widely regarded as one of the most important works of 21st-century cinema.

The Festival’s Competition Section features five feature-length fiction films from Europe and around the world, exploring pressing ethical and social issues. These films were selected from more than 600 submissions received through this year’s open call. Further details about the selected films will be announced soon.

Out of competition, the program includes the documentary Love In My Grandmother’s Time (2024) by Zoe Stavridi-Michalopoulou, presented in collaboration with WIFT GR (Women in Film & Television Greece) and supported by the Gender Equality Office of the Region of Crete. The film tenderly and humorously captures the stories of elderly women who grew up in Greece in the 20th century, reflecting on love, relationships, and their place in society.

This year also marks the launch of the new Young Talents section, dedicated to showcasing emerging filmmakers and highlighting new cinematic voices from Greece and abroad. At the same time, the Heraklion Shorts section returns, presenting new short film productions by local creators and underscoring the vitality of the city’s film scene.

In this year’s Festival program, a new section titled Philosophy Talks is introduced in collaboration with the Hellenic Photographic Society of Heraklion. It features Scott Walden, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Nassau Community College in New York, who will speak on the ethics of photographic portraiture from a Kantian perspective, foregrounding responsibility and respect as essential dimensions of photographic artistic practice.

The Festival’s educational programs, supported by the Gender Equality Office of the Region of Crete, are addressed to primary and secondary school students. Through screenings and guided discussions with educators and professionals, these initiatives use cinema as a tool to foster critical thinking and empathy, focusing on human rights, gender equality, and social justice.

In collaboration with Onassis Culture, students will have the opportunity to watch Girlhood by Vania Turner and Maria Sidiropoulou – a coming-of-age story following three teenage girls navigating the transition to adulthood – and take part in a discussion with Dr. Margarita Gerouki, educator and member of the Scientific Committee on Sexual Education of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS).

In addition, the ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival collaborates once again with CINEphil_101, presenting a curated selection of award-winning animated films from France, Spain, and Poland, addressing themes such as war, displacement, memory, and loss. The discussion with students will be moderated by Vassilis Karamitsanis, President of ANIMASYROS and Secretary General of the International Centre of Films for Children and Young People (CIFEJ).

As part of the educational program, the CINEMATHERAPY initiative of the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center (HFAC), in collaboration with CINEDU, will also be presented. This innovative program uses cinema as a tool for psychosocial empowerment, based on film therapy methods. The award-winning short film Greek School Prayer by Thanasis Neofotistos will be screened, followed by a discussion led by psychotherapist Denise Nikolakou.

The Fil(m)osophy for Children program will also take place this year, aimed at students in the 5th and 6th grades of primary school, in collaboration with Philosynthesis and with the participation of philosophy teachers trained in the P4C (Philosophy for Children) method.

Finally, as part of CINEphil_101, the 2nd Student Competition “Young CINE-Philosophers”, was held in collaboration with the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center (HFAC) and the Panayotis and Effie Michelis Foundation. With free will as this year’s central theme, students were invited, over the course of the school year, to creatively explore and express their thoughts on the motivations that shape human choice, the relevance of the ideal of inner freedom and autonomy, and the challenges involved in realizing these ideals in the today’s world. The students’ films will be presented during the Festival.

The aim of CINEphil_101 is to bring philosophy into the public sphere through the critical lens of independent cinema, creating a vibrant hub of art and ideas. Cinema becomes an invitation to think, question, and to better understand both the world and ourselves – an open starting point for dialogue.

For a second year, Heraklion becomes a meeting point for philosophy and cinema. “Phil_101” means “Introduction to Philosophy”—and CINEphil_101 is its cinematic celebration!