The International Archaeological and Cultural Documentary Festival – AGON Comes to Cyprus
11-12.06.2026
The International Archaeological and Cultural Documentary Festival – AGON is being presented in Cyprus for the first time through an important collaboration among the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, the Association of the Friends of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia and the A. G. Leventis Gallery and the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK), bringing to Cypriot audiences one of the most significant international cultural institutions.
The AGON Festival was founded in 1995 by the filmmaker Memi Spyratou and remains the only film festival in Greece dedicated exclusively to archaeological and cultural cinema. With entries from around the world and collaborations with major international organisations and cultural institutions, AGON has evolved into an internationally recognised institution highlighting the relationship among cinema, history, archaeology and cultural heritage.
The Festival’s first appearance in Cyprus constitutes a particularly important cultural event that strengthens the dialogue among cinema, history and culture, while offering audiences in Cyprus the opportunity to discover award-winning and exceptional productions from different countries around the globe. The two-day screening programme, with free admission, will take place on Thursday, 11 June 2026 at the RIK Open-air Theatre and on Friday, 12 June 2026 in the amphitheatre / inner courtyard of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia.
The AGON team has prepared a special screening programme for the Cypriot audience, featuring films from Greece, France, Austria, Brazil, Iran and Cyprus.
As part of the event, the organisers will also honour the Cypriot director and filmmaker Paschalis Papapetrou in recognition of his important and long-standing contribution to Cypriot cultural documentary filmmaking.
Thursday, 11.06.2026
Start time: 17.00
Venue
RIK Open-air Theatre
RIK Avenue, Aglantzia 2120, Nicosia
Programme
17.00-17.52
Voltaire: à la recherche du corps disperse
Director: Dominique Adt (France)
Duration: 52΄
Producer: Mathieu Hucher (Matcha Prod / Capa Presse)
Philippe Charlier is a forensic pathologist and anthropologist. He became interested in the remains of Voltaire. The story of the philosopher’s body is as extraordinary as his life: a heart, an embalmed brain and a body that was secretly smuggled out of Paris in the dead of night to evade the religious authorities. The philosopher’s death indeed led to a true dispersal of his body, and his remains became relics. Dr Charlier sets out to track down each of them – most notably the philosopher’s embalmed heart. He also attempts to reconstruct Voltaire’s medical history and perhaps uncover the causes of his death. From the Quai Voltaire in Paris to Ferney-Voltaire, via the Comédie-Française and the Panthéon, Philippe Charlier travels to the key sites associated with Voltaire in search of the philosopher’s relics in order to analyse them.
17.52-18.44
Chauvet: voyage aux origins
Directors: Guy Padovani and Marc Azema (France)
Duration: 52΄
Producer: France TV Studio (Caroline Broussaud)
In December 1994 an archaeological wonder long hidden deep within an extensive limestone range in the Gorges de l’Ardèche was revealed to the modern world for the first time: the Chauvet Cave. Scientists immediately recognised its extraordinary significance. Sealed by a landslide over 20,000 years ago, it has been preserved in truly remarkable condition. How did this gem of cave art, with over 1000 depictions adorning its walls, withstand the test of time, allowing us to admire it after so many millennia? Who created it and how? And how can we safeguard it intact for future generations? Chauvet takes us on an archaeological, geological and artistic adventure, alongside the scientists who, for the past 30 years, have worked to understand and protect this unique cave.
18.44-20.10
Army of Lovers
Director: Lefteris Charitos (Greece / Austria)
Duration: 86΄
Producers: Rea Apostolidi, Yuri Averof and Heinrich Mayer
The documentary Army of Lovers brings to light the lost history of the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite military unit composed of 150 pairs of lovers who became some of the fiercest warriors of antiquity. As archaeologists unravel their legend, a forgotten chapter of our history emerges – one that speaks of love, war and the struggle for freedom – inviting us to redefine our understanding of heroism in ancient Greece. The film is a production of Anemon Productions (Greece) and Epo-Film (Austria), in co-production with ERT, ZDF, ARTE and ORF. It was produced in collaboration with SBS, Hearst Networks, History Italy and TV5 Québec, with the support of EKKOMED (Tax Rebate and Next Generation EU programme), Fernseh fonds Austria and Creative Europe. International distribution is handled by ZED.
20.10-21.02
Cités d’or, le grand maléntendu
Director: Joséphine Duteuil (France)
Duration: 52΄
Producer: Tournez S’il Vous Plaît
Five hundred years after the Americas were discovered, a team of French, Columbian and English archaeologists teamed up to gain a better understanding of the Spanish Conquest. Did the ‘Cities of Gold’ described by the conquistadors actually exist? Was gold as ubiquitous across the American continent as it was reported to be? And if so, where did it come from, how was it produced and what purpose did it serve in Pre-Columbian civilisations? Spanning from the Columbian mountains to the desert in Peru, the discoveries made in this archaeological investigation revolutionise our perception of gold and its role over the last 500 years.
21.02-21.24
Goussainville v2 – Village vieille
Director: Fabio Bola (Brazil)
Duration: 22΄17˝
Producer: Fabio Bola
This is an experimental mockumentary set in Goussainville, specifically in the Old Village, on the threshold between decay and renewal. The protagonist, Louis, a former resident in his seventies, returns after decades, while secondary characters – locals, architects, artists and public officials – move through the space following their own routines. The tone is contemplative and slightly melancholic, leaving room for ambiguity, with a focus on architectural details, environmental sounds, silences and small gestures, enhanced by the exemplary use of AI.
21.24-21.34
Shadow of the King
Director: Hadi Shariati (Iran)
Duration: 10΄
Producers: Hadi Shariati, Hossein Fathollahi and Hamed Taleshlar
The Qajar prince Zel al-Sultan built a castle in a hunting ground due to his interest in hunting animals. He inflicted a fatal blow on Iran’s environment, caused the extinction of the tiger and endangered leopards, red deer, ibex and other animals. Showing the past as a mirror of the consequences of human intervention in nature, the film highlights ecological concern in the most poetic way.
Friday, 12.06.2026
Arrival time – Welcome drink: 19.30-20.00
Venue
Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia
15-17 Ippokratous Street, Laiki Geitonia, 1011 Nicosia
Programme
20.00-20.20
Short event in honour of the Cypriot director and filmmaker Paschalis Papapetrou
20.20-21.33
Το νερό στην Κύπρο – Θύμησες άλλων εποχών / Water in Cyprus – Echoes of the Past
Director: Paschalis Papapetrou (Cyprus)
Duration: 73΄
Producer: Anadysis Films Ltd
From the oldest radio-dated water wells in the world (8400 BC) to the installation of the first water meters in households (1960): this is a documentary about the efforts of Cypriots, in a semi-arid geographical area, to divert water from riverbeds to irrigate their fields, ensuring production, as well as their struggle to exploit shallow aquifers by digging burrows (qanats).
21.33-22.25
Raphaël: Les secrets des reliques
Director: Dominique Adt (France)
Duration: 52΄
Producer: Mathieu Hucher (Matcha Prod / Capa Presse)
The film is a scientific investigation into the remains of Raphael. The documentary reviews the biography of this ingenious Renaissance creator before focussing on the scientific studies surrounding a specific painting, La Fornarina, and the artist’s tomb. Raphael Sanzio da Urbino, known simply as Raphael, died in 1520 at the age of 37 from an unknown cause after 15 days of fever. What did the famous artist die of? What were the causes of his death? What illnesses did he suffer from? It is a true ‘cold case’, presenting a new challenge for Philippe Charlier, forensic pathologist and anthropologist. Raphael is buried in the Pantheon in Rome. In 1833 his remains were exhumed, and a cast of his skull was made, which is preserved in Urbino. During this exhumation, some of his bones were collected. Dr Charlier has been granted permission to study these remains in order to reconstruct the artist’s medical history and will conduct toxicological, microbiological and proteomic analyses to detect any infections the artist may have suffered from. He will also meet with members of the Italian scientific team (University of Tor Vergata, Rome) who worked on reconstructing Raphael’s face and authenticating his remains in the Pantheon. From Paris to Rome and Urbino, passing through Montbovon, Philippe Charlier investigates the remains of Raphael, considered one of the greatest artists of all time.
Information & Reservations
Admission: Free
Reservations required: Reservations are required only for the tributary event
and the screenings on 12.06.2026 at the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia.
Contact:
Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia
Tel.: +357 22661475 / Email: rsvp@leventismuseum.org.cy
