AGORA, the most active and vibrant documentary Industry Event of Southeastern Europe is returning with new synergies and awards, having consolidated its status as a meeting point and contact hub between documentary professionals from all over the world, offering support to the documentary genre throughout the different stages of production. The Agora of the 28th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival will be held from March 8 to March 12, 2026.
Agora enables the discovery of new cinema projects and supports their completion, as well as the process of reaching out to their audience. Moreover, it continues its efforts to make its actions greener, reducing its environmental imprint while it is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment encouraging a culture of respect and collaboration.
Agora is supported by the Creative Europe-MEDIA programme and is a member of and partners with DAE (Documentary Association of Europe). As an international meeting and networking event Agora offers a variety of networking and co-production opportunities for the global film industry. It’s a dynamic force in the European audiovisual sector, committed to fostering collaboration, innovation, and cultural exchange targets around 500 industry professionals: producers, filmmakers, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents, film consultants, festival programmers and financiers from all over the world, and focuses on innovative tendencies in documentary filmmaking of Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region while at the same time discovers and presents the worldwide documentary trends.
Agora’s goal is to support the film production in Greece and the wider region. This year’s Agora participants will discover films and projects, build networks with the filmmakers and keep up with the latest trends and tendencies through the Agora Talks. The TIDF Agora presents the emerging and established filmmakers participating in its programmes and activities. Specifically:
THESSALONIKI PITCHING FORUM
This year’s selection presents 14 documentary projects in development from 17 countries, including Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, KSA, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Syria, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The selection focuses on themes such as displacement, companionship, mental health, speaking truth to power and the unveiling of unspoken truths.
ASHES
Director: Da Ham Al Saad, Production: Bård Kjøge Rønning - Bel Studio, Alhomam Alasaad - Antibode Films, Co-production: Celine Nusse - Zadig production, Syria, Norway, France
THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED
Director: Seamus Murphy, Production: David Rane - Soilsiú Films, Co-production: Catherine Siméon - Faites un voeu, Heino Deckert - Ma.ja.de, Ireland, France, Germany
ENTR'ACTES
Director: Yuriy Shylov, Production: Olha Tuharinova - Kshtalt Productions, Co-production: Barbara Dyck, Maarten Bernaerts - Salto Productions, Ukraine, Belgium
THE LAST CLASS
Director: Michele Fornasero, Production: Alice Drago - Epica Film, Co-production: Francesca Portalupi - Indyca, Italy
MOMTSKI KAMEN - THE ROCK OF THE GIRL
Directors: Maria Sidiropoulou, Cloe Bruhat, Production: Maria Sidiropoulou - Thunderbird Productions, Co-production: Rebecca Obadia - Maison Femme, Greece, France
MY FATHER KILLED BOURGUIBA
Director: Fatma Riahi Production: Dorra Bouchoucha - Nomadis Images, Co-production: Lina Chaabane, Fatma Riahi, Omar Ben Ali - SVP Production, Tunisia, Qatar, KSA, France
NAVA MAMA
Director: Ana Vijdea, Production: Ana Vijdea, Ana Gheorghe, Cosmin Nicoara - Remora Films, Co-production: Louis Beaudemont - Les Steppes Productions, Romania, France
NO MOTHER'S LAND
Director: Wiktoria Szymanska-Davis, Production: Monika Braid - Braidmade Films, Co-production: Sonja Henrici - Sonja Henrici Creates, Poland, United Kingdom
OF THE TREES UNMOVED
Director: Nino Benashvili, Production: Tekla Machavariani - Nushi Film, Co-production: Eva Blondiau, Elmar Imanov - Color of May, Georgia, Germany
PIVOT
Director: Vasia Ntoulia, Production: Marina Danezi - Laika Productions, Co-production: Antonios Vallindras, Tasos Koronakis, Greece
UNWANTED PAST
Director: Thanassis Vassiliou, Production: Konstantinos Vassilaros - StudioBauhaus, Greece
VOICES
Director: Persefoni Miliou, Production: Persefoni Miliou - Per Se Productions, Greece
YOU LITTLE BOX
Director: Mert Kaya, Production: Enis Köstepen, Gizay Akdoğan, Mert Kaya - Loudcat Film, Co-production: Vincent Coen, Guillaume Vandenberghe - Glasgow, Türkiye, Belgium
WHO WE ARE
Director: Sophie Ataya, Production: Thomas Kaske, Marion Schmidt - Seera Films, Germany
AGORA DOCS IN PROGRESS
This year’s AGORA Docs in Progress selection presents 10 documentary films in post-production from 11 countries, including Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Kosovo*, Netherlands, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, USA. Drawing from rich personal and collective stories and archives, the selection explores urgent social inquiries of memory, preservation, resistance, queerness, family bonds, human-nature interdependence, music radio production, psychedelic therapy and more.
4PM TO 5PM Out of Competition
Director: Yorgos Teltzidis, Production: Onassis Culture - Christos Sarris (creative producer), Vassilis Panagiotakopoulos (producer), Greece
AIPOS
Director: Christos Adrianopoulos, Production: Antigoni Kapaka - Alipnoos S.A, Co-production: Despina Mouzaki - Breaking Wave Productions, Greece, Cyprus
ANATOLIA
Director: Jeanne Nouchi, Production: Maud Berbille - MB17 Films, France
CAREFUL WHERE YOU TREAD
Director: Smaro Papaevangelou, Production: Iro Aidoni, Mina Dreki - Marni Films, Greece
IMMORTAL FLOWERS
Director: Brian Logvinsky, Production: Harrison Jaffee - Catharsis Pictures, Co-production: Eugene Rachkovsky - Tabor Production, USA, Ukraine
K.
Director: Panagiotis Papafragkos, Production: Panagiotis Papafragkos, Stelios Mavrodontis - Dog Star Films, Co-production: Ondřej Zima - Film Kolektiv, Leenke Ripmeester - Eye Filmmuseum-Amsterdam , Greece, Czech Republic, Netherlands
LANDWARDS
Director: Rama Ayasra, Production: Asmahan Bkerat, Jordan
MATI 2307
Director: Marianna Kakaounaki, Production: Marianna Kakaounaki - Energeiaki Mesimvria, Greece
OUR SEEDS (WT)
Director: Erhan Arik, Production: Meryem Yavuz - Horovel Films, Co-production: Rea Apostolides - Anemon Productions, Manuel Rees - Paradoks Filmproduktion, Türkiye, Greece, Germany
STRATUM
Directors: Daniel Kötter, Marko Grba Singh, Production: Jelena Angelovski - Obol Film, Co-production: Eroll Bilibani, Veton Nurkollari - DokuFest, Serbia, Kosovo*
AGORA XR Lab
Across myth, memory, and lived experience, the five selected XR works unfold intimate journeys shaped by loss, exile, and resilience. Through immersive worlds, AI-mediated conversations, and fractured recollections of war and displacement, they reveal how the past inhabits bodies, places, and relationships—and continues to shape who we become.
A DANGEROUS JOURNEY
Creator: Lucija Stojević, Production: Andrés Bartos Amory & Lucija Stojević - Noon Films S.L.U., Spain
IDLE HANDS
Creator: Gregoris Rentis, Production: Mando and Myrto Stathi - BYRD, Co-production: Arnaud Colinart - Atlas V, Greece, France
LIFTA, A LIFE NOT FORGOTTEN
Creator - Producer: Sohail Dahdal - Fifth Wall, Palestine, UAE
NOTHING IS EVER REALLY LOST
Creator: Anna Szylar, Production: Pola Komarowa - Monster Mind Studio, Poland
MYSTIS
Creator: Tatiana Collet Apraxine, Production: Alina Mikhaleva - Less Media, Georgia
AGORA BOOST
This year’s documentary projects explore intimacy and resistance across vastly different terrains: from underground music communities fighting gentrification, to deeply personal family histories shaped by migration, memory loss, and technological reconstruction. The selection also spans iconic political love stories and intimate portraits of everyday labor, showing how personal lives intersect with larger historical and social forces.
HEARING NOISE
Director: Eirini Chatzi, Production: Eirini Chatzi, Co-production: Maria Dakanali - Art Yard Productions, Greece
MAKASI
Director: Danai Maria Samara, Production: Spiros Betsis - NOT A PROJECT, Greece
In partnership with the Greek Documentary Association - Hellas Docs
MOVING STILL
Director: Ioanna Tsoucala, Production: Elias Katsoufis - Hiccup Film, Greece
ORIANA & ALEKOS: CROSSFIRE OF LOVE
Director: Maria Giannouli, Production: Chronis Pechlivanidis - Onos Productions, Greece
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
