Following the success of the 12th International Archaeological Film and Cultural Documentary Festival – AGON 2024, the organization of AGON 2026 is now a reality! The Festival will take place at the Greek Film Archive, featuring screenings of archaeological films from around the world. The theme of the Festival encompasses archaeology in its broadest sense: antiquity, the Middle Ages, folk arts and traditions, industrial archaeology, as well as cultural heritage, the creation of new cultures through migration and multiculturalism from antiquity to the present day, and the documentation of worlds
that are inevitably disappearing — today becoming the archaeology of tomorrow. The screening dates will be announced in due course.
The 13th International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest – AGON 2026 is held with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, under the auspices of the Region of Attica and the Municipality of Athens, with Archaeology & Arts magazine as media sponsor and supporter, and with the support of the Acropolis Museum.
Submissions will be open until December 30, 2025.
Regulation
Agon non-profit organization organizes the 13th International Archaeological and Cultural Doc Fest– AGON 2026. The Festival screenings will take place at the Greek Film Archive in May 2026.
The Festival
-The theme of the Festival embraces archaeology in its broadest sense: antiquity, the Middle Ages, folk arts and traditions, industrial archaeology, cultural heritage, the creation of new cultures through migration and multiculturalism from antiquity to the present day, the documentation of worlds that are inevitably disappearing — today becoming the archaeology of tomorrow.
-Films of all kinds are accepted — documentaries, fiction, animation, research films, educational films, etc. — regardless of length, provided they were completed in 2022 or later.
Film submission
Submissions are made electronically, either by completing the entry form available on the Festival website (www.agonfestival.com) or via the FilmFreeway platform (https://filmfreeway.com/AgonFestival), by December 30, 2025.
When completing the entry form, applicants will be asked to provide:
-Synopsis for the catalogue (up to 150 words)
-Full script (narration, dialogues) exactly as heard in the film, in the original language (for non-Greek films)
-English or French translation (for non-Greek films)
-SRT subtitle file in English or French (mandatory for non-Greek films, optional for Greek ones)
-4 high-resolution stills from the film
-2 high-resolution photos of the director
-Short biography and filmography of the director
-Film trailer for promotional use (mp4 file or embed code)
-Full contact details of the director, producer, and distributor
-Online screener link for the pre-selection process (preferably YouTube or Vimeo)
Important:
No submission will be accepted unless accompanied by the complete set of materials listed above.
-By submitting the entry form, participants confirm that they hold all copyright and intellectual property rights to the film or are acting with the consent of the rights holder.
-Participants must also provide the contact information of all film contributors. This personal data (name, email, address, telephone) will be collected and stored by the Festival Secretariat for organizational purposes only. Participants bear full responsibility for the accuracy of the submitted information and consent to the processing of their personal data for Festival use.
Film selection
-Films selected for AGON will be chosen by a Pre-selection Committee of experts. The Committee’s decision is final and irrevocable and will be announced to participants by email no later than February 28, 2026.
-All foreign-language films selected by the Committee will be translated and subtitled in Greek at the Festival’s expense.
-Digital screening files of selected films must be sent electronically to the Festival Secretariat via WeTransfer, or another equivalent platform, or shared via Google Drive / OneDrive.
Technical specifications:
-File type: mp4, mov
-Codec: H.264 (min 30,000 kb/s) or Apple ProRes
-Resolution: 1920×1080
-Clean copy without subtitles
-Separate srt subtitle file
Attention:
-Films not meeting the above technical requirements will be disqualified.
-If the script (narration/dialogue) and subtitle srt files are incomplete or do not match the screening file, the film will be excluded from the Festival program.
-The order of screenings and overall programming are determined exclusively by the Festival, according to each film’s length, genre, theme, and character.
-The Festival does not pay screening fees for films selected by the Pre-selection Committee.
Awards
-The International Jury of AGON is appointed by the Festival President and consists of experts in archaeology, history, folklore, and audiovisual media.
-The Jury will present the following awards:
- Grand Prix “Lena Savvidi”
- Best Archaeological Film
- Best Direction
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Educational Film
- “The Shorts of AGON” *
- Audience Award**
*films not exceeding 10 minutes
** granted to the film with the highest audience rating during the Festival
The Jury’s decision is final and irrevocable.
Festival promotion and publicity
-Promotional material (photos, texts, trailers, interviews, etc.) of the selected films will be used by the organizers for the promotion and publicity of the Festival.
-The promotion of the AGON Film Festival extends across all media — internet, television, radio, and print.
AGON on tour
After the conclusion of the Festival, the selected films will be screened at various non-profit post-festival events in Greece and abroad over a period of two years. The Festival reserves the right to set a symbolic admission fee to cover the organizational and promotional costs of each event.
For information and inquiries, interested parties may contact the Festival during office hours (9:00–15:00):
Festival Secretariat – Maria Zografini: +30 6981738149
Email: [email protected]
Participation in the 13th International Archaeological and Cultural Documentary Festival AGON implies full and unconditional acceptance of the terms of the present regulations.
