5th International Documentary Festival
23-30/8 2020 | CASTELLORIZO, Greece

This year 2020 will be remembered for its most unpredictable pandemic, global and unfortunately, fatal for too many citizens. It is too early to have already meaningful documentaries about it in this year’s programming, but no doubt, the next edition of Beyond Borders will offer a wide range of films dealing with this extraordinary phenomenon. It reaffirms with all its strength that, from now on, all important matters hitting our lives will
be beyond borders. Many of the significant cultural, social and political events will be classified into “pre” and “post” – Covid-19, turning 2020 into a major mile stone of globalization. Will we manage to learn from this worldwide crisis? Will we understand what went wrong, and why? In the future, will we offer more trust to what whistleblowers might alert us to? Will we pay more attention to the findings of scientists and artists as opposed to the affirmations of politicians seeking votes, or lobbyists seeking profits?

Nothing is certain in this respect. But what we can do as members of the Documentary community is to improve our researching, to better our storytelling, to strengthen our narratives and to increase the relevance of our films in this contemporary world. Meeting regularly during festivals, and exchanging our experiences, debating, sharing and enjoying our
mutual visions will most certainly help us to move forward. The uniqueness of Castellorizo as the venue for our “Beyond Borders” festival is a proud asset you can count on.