Panorama Film School Festival, Faculty of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.) (simply known as “Panorama”) is a self-organized student festival of the Department of Film Studies. It is organized and co-created every year by a group purely comprised of students from the department, aiming to showcase films made by various filmmakers – not exclusively from the department. It was founded back in 2012, had a short break for a few years, but has returned since 2019 and continues to achieve its goals.
At the start of the new academic year, an open call is made for new members within the student community of the department by the members of the previous team to take on the formation of the next Panorama. The Panorama team is self-organized and operates horizontally. There is no hierarchy, nor are there fixed positions within the team. Every decision is made by the general assembly of Panorama, and each member’s opinion holds equal importance. Each new team is called upon to co-create the new identity of the Panorama, using previous teams as a foundation and compass, while introducing new ideas and proposals for the upcoming event.
It always takes place in the spring semester, towards the end of the academic year. Our team aims to screen the films in a physical space, ideally in cinemas, to ensure the best possible quality and viewing conditions. Our event has been consistently held in Thessaloniki, occasionally also in Athens (but not always). Additionally, the screenings are always free of charge for the public.
The General section of the Panorama has the artistic pseudonym “Tobacco Warehouse” (Kapnomagazo) indicating where all those films originated from. Over the years, more than 150 films by our fellow students have been screened at the Panorama. We screen films from all academic years, regardless of genre, length, etc.
We could say that Panorama is a “festival”. However, we more often use the term Panorama, as it has no competitive nature. Instead, we aim to present, as representatively and inclusively as possible, the cinematic work we co-create as new filmmakers within our department. We accept the term festival not in the strict sense but redefined. For us, Panorama is a celebration among us, open to everyone, to sit down and enjoy our creative work in the art of cinema, without any competitive spirit, but rather with a spirit of communication and interaction among us.
The timeless goal of the Panorama is to screen films created within the School of Film Studies (and beyond) to as many people as possible, so they do not remain forgotten in some drawer, physical or digital.
Detailed timeline of our team: https://afsp23.netlify.app/chronicle
Our email: panorama.auth@gmail.com
Follow Panorama on social media:
Facebook: Auth Film School Panorama
Instagram: panorama_authfilmschool
YouTube: Auth Film School Panorama
Letterboxd: Panorama_AUTh
Spotify: Auth Film School Panorama
(https://linktr.ee/panorama_authfilmschool)
