The official dates for the Milano Design Film Festival Greece—Athens 2020 have been switched from March 20—22, 2020 to:
Opening Night Ceremony at Benaki Museum:
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Official Festival Launching at the Greek Film Archive:
Friday, November 6, 2020 — Sunday, November 8, 2020
Despite the amount of national and international attention that the Milano Design Film Festival Greece—Athens | First Edition has been receiving, and the high number of attendance already confirmed, after careful consideration of the aggravation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, and especially the recent outbreak in Italy and Greece, the direction and administration team of the Milano Design Film Festival Greece, in accordance with the Italian Embassy in Athens, Tempo Forte 2020, the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens, the Italian Design Day 2020, and our Guest Curator, Michael Anastassiades, have reached the decision to postpone this Athenian Launch planned in March 20—22, 2020. The new dates are: Friday, November 6 — Sunday, November 8, 2020.
We want to thank all of our partners, supporters, collaborators, participants, guests, and volunteers, for their commitment to the festival’s concept and format. If we choose to bring this whole situation from the darkness to the light, and look at it as an opportunity to revisit, reconnect, and respond to what is happening, then we can confirm that the Event’s programme for November 6—8, 2020 will be richer in content and stronger in spirit.
Furthermore, we are planning a series of spin-off activities, allowing the Event to keep growing as a living entity, till the grand Athenian launch on November 6—8, 2020.
Besides announcing the new dates of MDFF Greece—Athens, we would like to share with you some of our thoughts and concerns in relation to our decision for postponing the March 20—22 edition for November 6—8, 2020:
- The responsibility of the Milano Design Film Festival Greece—Athens is to guarantee the safety and the health of the general public, the guests, and participants, as well as each individual involved in the Event, no matter their extent of involvement. This decision, taken with prudence and common sense, takes into account the latest announcements by the World Health Organization, and the competent Greek authorities, of the coronavirus spread assessment. The safety of viewers, collaborators, supporters, as well as foreign guests, is undoubtedly a priority. The Event’s community-driven identity regards its current national and international community as the central part we need to protect and assure that the Event is and will be in their best interest.
- Milano Design Film Festival World Tour Greece aims to create a bridge between Greece and Italy, as well as promote cultural exchange between the two countries. More than twenty Greek, Italian and international guests have been invited to participate in this first edition. With the traveling regulations, and the constricted precautionary measures in place, it would be counterproductive to launch the event, without the attendance of the Italian audience, and without the peace of mind from the general Greek audience itself. Moreover, this, in consequence, could potentially compromise the entire programme in place.
- The decision was taken in order to secure the success of the Event, and to properly reward all the “players” involved, as well as pay respect to all the national and international participants and guests—designers, architects, researchers, professors, curators, entrepreneurs, artists, directors, journalists, institutional representatives, amongst others.
- This is not about postponing but about evolving and working around the situation as a collective. It goes without saying, that we are working in securing that the resources so far invested, the time, effort, knowledge sharing, and insights of all the guests, partners, participants, as well as the Benaki Museum and the Greek Film Archive, who have all supported the Event from its very beginning, will be used towards the realization of an even stronger edition in November.
- New invites for the opening night ceremony at Benaki Museum will go out soon, along with all the relative communication material, updates, as well as registration links for the Event’s general programme at the Greek Film Archive.
- Given the circumstances, MDFF Greece—Athens is forced to change the dates of its first edition, but this doesn’t correspond to a change of its core base, nor the month that the Event is correlated to—which is in March, within the frame of the Italian Design Day. In other words, the memory that persists is the original one, and the current events are an invitation to surf the change and transition in the smoother way possible by sticking to the precious variables that are part of it.
Thank you once again for your understanding, support, and belief in us.
See you on and off the big screen.
Annie Markitanis, Director of MDFF Greece & Cyprus, MDFF Partner for Greece & Cyprus
