#SIFF #SIFF2020 #symi #greece #festivals #films #art #COVID19 #coronavirus

Forget Netflx. Forget HBO. Forget Amazon. Forget the Beeb!

The best films that you can be seen today are being screened at film festivals across the globe. The Symi International Film Festival with its rugged commitment to 'aesthetic independence' is no exception.

As a member of the Judging Panel, naked in the early hours of morning with the temperatures a tad below the boiling point of mercury in high July, I am witnessing some extraordinary submissions from Iran, Argentina, Greece, France, India, China, Germany and countless other countries. What a privilege!

At the beginning of the month, I had an audience with the Mayor of Symi (Eleftherios Papakalodoukas) accompanied by a good friend of mine whose command of Greek is infinitely superior to mine

Very quickly became clear that the Mayor’s hands were completely tied re the Film Festival as the current rules laid down by the South Aegean Regional government prevented it, though there would be a review of the rules in August.

The Mayor shared his concerns about the opening up of the island. The lockdown of course was the easy part. Anybody who shows symptoms of COVID-19 will immediately be tested and put into isolation at a ‘clinical facility’ in Chorio. If the condition turns out to be life-threatening, they will be immediately taken either to Crete or Athens by helicopter. The Mayor also made the point that if the Festival did take place in September and individuals succumbed to the virus, SIFF would obviously be directly in the firing line. In short the Festival, even if it could go ahead legally, would be an unnecessary risk and distraction, even it was properly set up and marshalled.

It was a cordial and unrushed meeting (the local politics of last year surprisingly forgotten).

http://www.symifilmfestival.com/

Ian K.