TRAVELING WITH MY DOCUMENTARY FILM
The 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is for a fourth year the starting point of Chania Film Festival’s initiative “Traveling with my Documentary Film.” Twelve (out of the almost hundred) documentaries that have been created in the last few years through Chania Film Festival’s educational programs “cineLessons” and “True Stories / CreDoc,” are presented as a concrete program in three units, in the screening platform of the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
On the paths of Verekynthos
Script-Director: Film making club of Souda’s High School
Duration: 14.53"
Production Year: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Unit: Local and Oral History
With an intangible sense that art can offer healing for the inner world of man, a group of teenage students, accompanied by their teachers, wander the paths of the artistic village "Verekinthos" in Souda, Chania. There they discover the love of the people for their art and the value of cooperation, friendship and partnership.
Buried Secrets
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of Pazinos Elementary School
Duration: 14:25
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Organization of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
The film explores the caves of Crete, which, beyond their exceptional geological interest, often present historical, folkloric, paleontological, religious, and, of course, aesthetic significance! The filmmaking club of Pazinos Elementary School spoke with scientists as well as knowledgable individuals who are familiar with the caves, and of course, they explored them firsthand as well!
"Children…Playing, Walking" - A Journey on E4
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of the 2nd High School of Kissamos
Duration: 13:18
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
A group of children from Kissamos, Chania, hikes through the gorge of Polyrrinia, accompanied by Giannis and Hermione. As they enjoy the beauty of nature, they learn valuable information from Giannis about the European path E4, while Hermione shares her experience of crossing Crete’s E4. A marvelous world unfolds before their eyes.
Kandanos... Crucial Moment!
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of Kandanos Vocational High School
Duration: 15:39
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
Kandanos was razed to the ground with fire and explosives by the Nazis under the orders of Colonel Kurt Student because it dared to resist, voluntarily and without state command or assistance. The residents of Kandanos along with the residents of Selino fought against the heavily armed Third Reich! This documentary is dedicated to the Holocaust of Kandanos by the German occupiers during World War II. Two of the last surviving eye witnesses share their stories.
The teacher and the village... as roommates
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of the Two-Grade Elementary School of Anopoli, Sfakia
Duration: 11:24
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
In the film "The teacher and the village... as roommates," the students of the two grade elementary school, interviewed and spoke with elders and residents of the village about the history of the teacher’s house. They searched for past teachers who lived there. A lot of former students and teachers recall their school years and the educators who lived in the village, experiencing the hospitality of the people of Sfakia. Old photos, traditional music -like rizitika songs- encapsulate the amazing story of the teacher’s house, which began a new chapter after its renovation in 2023.
The School of Our Hearts
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of the 1st General High School of Chania
Duration: 13:05
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
Following Chania’s educational community's turmoil over the potential school closures or mergers, a need arose to redefine and answer the question of; what a school truly is and why are neighborhood schools worth defending? To answer that question we gravitated between two pillars of the concept of school. On one hand, school as a social condenser, as the heart and foundation of a neighborhood, and on the other hand, school as a reference point in the lives of its students and alumni, as a school engraved in their hearts.
The Ten who got executed in Sternes, Akrotiri
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of the 1st Experimental High School of Chania and of the Sternes Elementary School
Duration: 11:44
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
The ten people who got executed in Sternes of Akrotiri in the Chania region, were the victims of the second civilian execution in Chania in 1940. Those people were innocent and beyond suspicion. Their execution humiliated and pained the local community of Sternes. For many families of the victims, the event was a painful secret, and it was believed that only through silence and forgetting would the evil fade. When teacher Manolis Chalkiadakis came to the village in 1987, the execution was placed within its historical context and taught to children alongside the tragedies of Viannos and other martyred towns. Eighty-three years later, the 1st Experimental High School of Chania and the Sternes Elementary School uncover and shed light on aspects of a story that was never clearly told.
Spyros Kayales – A Flag of His Size
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of the Sternes Kindergarten
Duration: 7:35
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
The statue of Spyros Kayales – Kayaledakis is a daily companion for students and teachers at the Sternes Elementary and Kindergarten. On February 9, 1897, at the Akrotiri military camp in Chania, the mast of the Greek flag broke under bombardment by the warships of the Allies. The hero Spyros Kayales did not hesitate to use his body as a mast, keeping the flag flying high! This was a monumental act and a glorious moment in the struggle of the Cretans for Freedom and for the union with Greece, which everyone should know.
Come Back
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of the 22nd Kindergarten of Chania
Duration: 10:08
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
What does an archaeologist do?
Which sculptor created the famous sculptures of the Parthenon?
What does the lone Caryatid in the British Museum think? How can we bring her back home?
My Sunshine
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club of Alikianos High School
Duration: 11:56
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
The film gathers some of the brightest moments of the school students and showcases them.
The children at times draw notes, listen to music, interpret the shapes of clouds, chart routes on world maps, recall their own places, travel through books, race on wheels, schedule a date with love, share what they have, plan fishing trips, and chase a ball or try their luck in colorful board games. They pet Buzz, and get wet by the crisp cold water!!...When the stars appear in the darkness, they sing to them, because tomorrow will bring the same sunshine that they have created themselves!
Playing Karagiozis…
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club "The Besties" from the 2024 Chania Summer School of the Chania Film Festival
Duration: 8:42
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
The life and art of Chania’s shadow-puppeteer Nikos Blazakis. Nikos Blazakis speaks about the origins of shadow theater, the techniques behind crafting the figures, his beginnings in the art, and his personal contributions. He explains why we still identify with the characters of "Karagiozis," and who is the most misunderstood figure, and answers whether the art of Karagiozis shadow theater remains relevant today.
If the Olive Tree Could Speak
Script & Direction: Filmmaking Club "Olive Troublemakers" of the 2024 Chania Summer School of the Chania Film Festival
Duration: 12:16
Year of Production: 2024
Production: Cultural Society of Crete / Chania Film Festival
Thematic Section: Local and Oral History
Through personal narratives, the film brings to life the history of the monumental olive tree in Vouves, Crete, aged 3.000 to 5.000 years. It highlights its connection to the local community, its resilience, and the inspiration it offers to visitors and artists. The olive tree, a symbol of continuity and tradition, stands as a monument of nature and culture.
