2025 PUBLIC PROGRAM

Screened at then Gardenia Open-Air Cinema for the special Greek premiere of this standout contemporary Indian film was Bun Tikki, presented by acclaimed Indian film star Abhay Deol and writer/director Faraz Arif Ansari.
Hydra-raised local, executive producer Derek Colloredo-Mansfeld, and British director/screenwriter Doug Rao, and select cast joined us for a thought-provoking conversation and screening of Dirty Boy at the Gardenia Open-Air Cinema.

At The Pirate Bar in Hydra’s Main Port, ArtCinema hosted poetry readings with local and visiting poets including Hydra local Yiannis Gavalas & American Poet John Holgerson.
Transformation - The Art of Building Extraordinary Characters
An introduction to the work of the Drama Centre London that Giles uses with actors on many film and TV projects. Gain an insight into the laws of human expression that inform the creation of an extraordinary and surprising character.
We were thrilled to host acclaimed actor-writer-director and founder of the Giles Foreman Centre for Acting in London durting his visit to Hydra.
A VISCERAL ONE-MAN PLAY: A special and intimate performance of a new work in development.
As well as presenting his opening night film Dirty Boy, award-winning writer/director Doug Rao also treated a select audience to a 40-minute excerpt of his one-man play in development, A Veteran of Troy.
Reimagining the ancient Trojan War through the eyes of a modern soldier, A Veteran of Troy fuses Homeric myth with contemporary trauma to confront masculinity, grief, violence, and memory.
Part spoken-word performance, part shattered myth, the play merges the fury of Achilles, the cunning of Odysseus, and the pride of Agamemnon with the fractured psyche of a homeless veteran, wandering through the alleys of his own mind in search of himself.
“A poetic performance of mythic fire and mortal tenderness.”
ArtCinema hosted an evening of music, dance, celebration & cultural immersion with two screenings.
8PM: World Premiere of Hydra and Sophia: Echoes of a Dolphin
8:30-10:00PM:‍ A Taverna Dinner, accompanied by live music, dance, and fashion challenges
10:00PM: Boy on a Dolphin 4K restoration screening
Screened as a special surprise film. ArtCinema presented the award-winning festival film ‘A Poet’ - Directed by Simón Mesa Soto, Written by Simón Mesa Soto & Starring Ubeimar Rios, Rebeca Andrade & Guillermo Cardona (Spanish language; Greek subtitles).
This unique screening was presented by our guests, American poet John J. Holgerson and local Hydiot Giannis Gavalas, with a conversation after the film.

Guest were invited to hear more about the process of creating a unique piece of cinema from our opening night filmmakers, Faraz Arif Ansari (writer-director of BUN TIKKI) and Doug Rao (writer-director of DIRTY BOY). Hosted at The Pirate Bar in Hydra’s Main Port.
Kyran Daniel treated guests to an intimate live performance of his album ’Like the Night Itself’ at the iconic Old Carpet Factory.
18:30 - Souvlaki is served
19:30 - Incredible family-friendly short films co-curated with the Animasyros festival
20:00 - A special presentation of Malgosia Bela and Paweł Pawlikowski’s exquisite short film about the creative struggle, filmed at Old Carpet Factory
20:15 - Closing Family Film Screening: Pets On A Train
A special late night screening of Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Story at the Gardenia Open-Air closed our 2025 event.