The program welcomed Panagiotis Bazigos, secretary of the Messinian Amphictyony, to discuss the summer gathering of Messinians from around the world, held in Kalamata on 4 August. As Bazigos noted, this was the first time all 13 members of the organization’s board had attended. He also discussed the confederation’s recent activities, its ties with the Greek communities in Egypt and Uzbekistan, and the online Greek lessons offered by the Messinian Amphictyony for beginners and advanced learners.
Also joining the program was filmmaker Nikos Theodosiou, who spoke about the 6th Dropull International Short Film Festival (DIFF), taking place from 21 to 25 August 2026 in Dropull and Gjirokaster. He highlighted the festival’s role as a meeting place for Greek and Albanian artists in the Greek minority region of Dropull, which, he said, now shows clear signs of abandonment.
The festival was conceived by Kosta Zhonga, a Greek visual artist from Albania and the festival’s artistic director, to breathe “new life” into the area. This year, it is expanding to Gjirokaster.
The festival offers a varied program, including open-air screenings in the village of Goranxi, with English subtitles to attract tourists from the surrounding area. It also features a competition section, films from Greece’s Camera Zizanio, workshops and a tribute to Dhimiter Anagnosti, one of Albania’s most important directors, who was born in Vuno, Himara, in 1936 and died in September 2025.