The Aegean Film Festival has set the annual goal of driving measurable environmental change and educating future generations about the climate emergency. To support this mission, we introduced the Echoes Programme, an international summit where filmmakers, scientists, and environmentalists share compelling stories. Featuring documentary screenings, panel talks, workshops, re-wilding and other environmental initiatives, Echoes fosters the dialogue on sustainability, supporting emerging artists and benefiting island communities. 

Location Greece: Sustainability Standard

In 2025, the Aegean Film Festival will once again host the Location Greece: Sustainability Standard workshop, following last year’s successful launch. Created in collaboration with EKOMED (Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece), this initiative is shaping Greece’s first national guidelines for sustainable film production. The two-day workshop brings together audiovisual professionals, sustainability experts and public institutions to develop tools and standards to encourage low-impact production.

Project Housekeeping

Developed with the technical expertise of consulting company Fourthmore, the Project Housekeeping guides the Aegean Film Festival’s sustainability transformation through 2030. In 2024, the festival recorded its first full greenhouse gas emissions report and created an ESG-aligned roadmap selecting Sustainable Development Goals to focus its efforts. In addition, single-use plastic was replaced, PVC banners were upcycled into beach bags, and T-shirts and tote bags into a new, sustainable collection. 

Rewilding Project

During its 13th edition, the Aegean Film Festival launched a reforestation project in collaboration with the local environmental non-profit organization Community of Trees, reflecting its dedication to addressing environmental issues impacting local communities. During the initial phase of the project, supported by donations gathered during the festival, 300 native trees, shrubs, and aromatic plants were planted to create a self-sustaining local ecosystem that prevents erosion and restores ecological balance, deepening the connection between the community and its natural environment. 

Track Record

Since launching its environmental focus in 2017, the Aegean Film Festival has evolved into a platform for sustainable storytelling and climate action:

2017 – Echoes environmental programme launched with seminars, screenings and an expanded advisory board including BAFTA and Emmy-winning director Nicholas Brown, as well as leading marine conservation ecologist Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara.

2018 – The festival expanded across the islands of Patmos and Paros over 12 days, with Echoes becoming an official part of the programme.

2019 – First 4-day edition of Echoes held at the Environmental & Cultural Park of Paros

2021 – Echoes received the auspices of UNESCO; Rescript the Future launched with Adobe, WaterBear and NBCUniversal as a script competition for young storytellers, offering up to €25,000 in production support for bold, visionary ideas.

2022 – Presentation of the Festival Alliance for the Climate, an international network enhancing the distribution and visibility of environmental films and promoting sustainable practices in the film industry

2023 – Launching of rewilding efforts in collaboration with the Community of Trees

2024 – Location Greece: Sustainability Standard workshop introduced with the support of EKOMED and the WaterBear Network to shape Greece’s first guidelines for sustainable film production

2025 – Focused on Posidonia Oceanica in mediterranean ecosystems, planted more than 300 trees, completed the ban on plastic and continued the workshop Location Greece: Sustainability Standard. 

For its 2026 edition, the Echoes Environmental Programme aims to reinforce connections between environmental advocacy and the creative industries, emphasizing the interdependence of nature and the arts; enhance the Project Housekeeping, set a target for tree planting for 2030 and introduce new sustainability practices for the island.