The 31st edition of AIFF came to a close with glamorous guests, honorary events, and cinematic thrills.

On Friday, October 10, 2025, at the packed Olympia Municipal Music Theater Maria Callas—and under the auspices of the Irish Embassy—Oscar-winning screenwriter-director Neil Jordan (” The Crying Game,” “Mona Lisa,” “Interview with the Vampire”) was honored. With a career spanning more than four decades and a filmography that constantly renews the cinema of genres, the Irish creator greeted Athenian cinephiles shortly before the screening of his masterpiece, The End of the Affair (1999).

The artistic director of the Festival, Loukas Katsikas, spoke movingly about the world of “gods and monsters” created by Neil Jordan, alongside the elegant Irish ambassador Ciara O’Floinn and the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas.

Before the historic theater was filled with the heartbreaking performances of Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes, Roger Pratt’s cinematography, and Michael Nyman’s unforgettable score, Neil Jordan reminded the Athenian audience that the success of “The End of the Affair” during its first screening in our country was something unique on a global level for the film’s career. A film in which love and history, film noir and melodrama come together harmoniously.

Those who attended on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at the Alexandra Trianti Hall of the Megaron Athens Concert Hall felt the same sense of fulfillment. The audience had the unique opportunity to watch the world premiere (outside the US) of the latest addition to Daniel Day-Lewis’ filmography, the film “Anemone,” which he shot with his son, visual artist and director Ronan Day-Lewis. The plot of the drama revolves around the relationship between two brothers who are confronted with the traumas of the past but also with each other, through masterful scenes that intertwine dream with surrealism, the pictorial representation of nature with the cinematic quality of two powerful monologues (one of which, according to Daniel Day-Lewis, was improvised) by the three-time Oscar-winning actor. Ronan Day-Lewis, although making his film debut, delivered a mature work and character studies reminiscent of the best moments of New Hollywood in the 1970s.

However, it should be noted that both the great actor and his son appeared in the screening primarily to support the work of the Cerebral Palsy Greece/Open Door and Daphne Oikonomou. According to what Ms. Oikonomou shared with the audience, the Society’s relationship with Day-Lewis is a lifelong one, with the actor proving to be a steadfast, “eternal” friend to the children of “Open Door” with each visit to our country.

This is ample proof that Day-Lewis combines acting talent with a rare social sensitivity and proverbial humility, which prompts him to keep a low profile in all his public appearances.