Rhodes Events

The third Ecocinema Festival was held on Rhodes from September 9 to September 14, 2003. This thematic festival, which is the only known thematic film festival of its kind in the Mediterranean, showcased growing ecological concerns from around the globe. Directors from 30 countries presented their films which were all dealing with environmental problems and their influence on life. The festival gave seven awards, a special prize by the public and some tributes. Round-table meetings were attended by known artists and scientists. The festival was organized by “Cinema and Environment”, a non-profit, independent organization.

To mention some of the awarded directors, Patric Jean from Belgium won the first prize in the best feature length film category for his film “Might is Right” which portrayed the life of immigrants in Europe where the person and not the issue of poverty is criticized. The second prize went to the “Window of the Soul” by Joao Jardim and Walter Carvalho for depicting how being visually challenged affects a person¢s personality. The prize for the best Greek feature length film was awarded to Demetres Anagnostopoulos for “Divers of the Blue”, about how changes in the environment have made it impossible for sponge-divers of Kalymnos to carry out their underwater work.