http://www.ecofilms.gr/http://www.healthfilmfestival.gr/Greece's healthiest film fest kicks off
The first ever international film festival on health issues opens in Kos islandAuthor:
Elias VergitsisThe girl’s a rolling stone… She just doesn’t stop. Renowned Greek film director
Lucia Rikaki and her team of dedicated collab
orators, are once again showing innovation and present Greece’s –and probably the world’s- first ever film festival dedicated entirely to health issues!
And what place is more fit to play host to that festival than the Greek
island of Kos, birthplace of
Hippocrates, the father of medicine. The first Ippokratis (Hippocrates)
International Film Festival on Health starts its virgin edition September 1 and runs for five days.For nine years, in nearby Rhodes island, Lucia has been very successful in organizing the
EcoFilms Festival, which has grown to be a recognizable and respected international event. Ecofilms last edition drew curtains last June. Now, the team sails to Kos to use their expertise and connections to create a brand new international institution. Ippokratis Festival will include a great number of health-related films that are produced each year, but unfortunately do not make it through the international film distribution networks or TV channels. Thus, the new festival serves as a natural harbour for these projects, which put forward questions of medical ethics or humanitarian issues, and brings them to as many viewers as possible. The festival is also aspiring to be a meeting point each year for the members of the international medical and health communities, artists and cinema goers, who will be able to mingle, watch films, discuss and appreciate creative audiovisual works on health and prevention.The new festival follows the obvious structure of most international competitions, therefore its backbone is the competition section, which embraces the films that line-up for the awards. Highest prize is the Golden Ippokratis, followed by a Silver and Bronze respectively, all of which will be decided by international juries. Needless to say that there will also be special tributes to specific health issues, through screenings of feature films and documentaries by famous directors.Screenings of the 77 films from 25 countries will take place at the two
Orfeas cinemas of the town of Kos -one indoors and the other in the open-air. Parallel ActivitiesThroughout the festival there will be open lectures on popular science by specialists addressing local audiences and answering questions in a simple and comprehensive manner: from cardiovascular diseases to depression and from AIDS to healthy diets and homeopathic therapies. At the same time, medical teams will be giving free preventive check-ups with immediate results for those willing to be examined: blood tests for diabetes and cholesterol, or measuring blood pressure in collaboration with the island’s medical professionals, will be the word of the day.
Facts1/9/2009 - 6/9/2009admission free
Where
Orfeas Cinema Kos (indoors)Website25th March Street, Eleftherias Square, 85300 Kos town, Greece
Orfeas Cinema Kos (open-air) WebsiteVassileos Georgiou Street, Psalidi area, 85300 Kos town, GreeceT +30-210-7513402 6973-371601 F. +30-210-7293776 e-mail:
info@healthfilmfestival.gr,
lrikaki@otenet.grMunicipality of Kos-Cultural
Centre pkkos@internet.grOrganisation for the Cultural Developement of the DodecaneseWebsite1 Eleftherias Sq., 85100 Rhodes
opad@nad.gr"The English Surgeon" offers lesson on life and generosity (Kathimerini English edition, 12/5/2009)