From September 26 to 30, 2026, Georgia and its capital Tbilisi were the epicenter of global film tourism and film exploration, as it hosted the Art & Travel International Film Festival – ATIFF 2026, which was organized under the leadership of its President and Founder Irina Khanghoshvili, with the main purpose and goal to bridge cinema, contemporary art and international travel and at the same time to highlight Georgia as a leading global cultural destination. Oscar and Emmy Award winners, an International Jury, renowned media personalities and filmmakers from around the world gathered in Georgia to celebrate film tourism. The main events were hosted at the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, while key academic collaborations were hosted by the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. In addition, cultural trips to Mtskheta and the wine-producing region of Kakheti were organized, as well as a guided tour of the capital Tbilisi.
On the first day, September 27, the opening and groundbreaking industry-leading Sessions took place at the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts. After the official opening ceremony and the greetings of the International Jury and Special Guests, the following followed:
-Michaela Guzy (USA), documentary filmmaker, travel journalist and founder of OhThePeopleYouMeet, who led the workshop “Framing the Journey: The Art of Screen Tourism & Visual Storytelling”.
-Alberto Rocco (Italy), acclaimed cinematographer and European pioneer known as “Il Maestro”, who delivered a high-level masterclass on “AI Cinematography and the Next Era of Film”.
On the second day, September 28, the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts hosted the official Memorandum Signing Ceremony, followed by an exclusive animation masterclass, titled “Frames of Imagination: From Conception to Oscar Animation”, led by Oscar-winning Polish producer and director Zbigniew Żmudzki.
On the third and final day, September 29, the program included dynamic presentations and workshops. Specifically:
-Hussain Shiham (Maldives), Founder & CEO of Open Sky Group, presented his speech on “The Story That Sells the Destination: How Storytelling, Content Creation and Digital Innovation Are Shaping the Future of Tourism”.
– Parashakti Sigalit Bat-Haim (USA/Israel), producer and journalist (LA YOGA magazine), held the experiential workshop “Dance of Liberation: Storytelling Beyond Borders”.
On the evening of the same day, amidst an atmosphere of diffused brilliance, emotion and high aesthetics, the heart of global cultural tourism beat in Tbilisi, with the curtain of the Art and Travel International Film Festival awards falling in the most impressive way. The imposing Museum of Fine Arts of Georgia was transformed into a luminous hive of the seventh art, welcoming creators, directors, storytellers and intellectuals from every corner of the planet, in a spectacular Awards Gala, which will remain etched in the memory of those present.
The awards ceremony was not just a formal awards ceremony, but a true celebration of the senses and cultures. Where cinematic magic met the passion for exploration, images became bridges and sounds became a common global language. The red carpet was flooded with creative energy from over 20 countries, as the Jury awarded the coveted awards to high-level works that managed to capture the soul of places, celebrate gastronomy and glorify the beauty of travel through the lens.
From the poetic narratives of travel documentaries to the breathtaking drone footage, the evening was a hymn to international artistic collaboration, confirming that art and travel have the unique power to unite the world under one magical roof.
The First Prize of ATIFF 2026 was awarded to the truly excellent film "Croatia, I hear it's beautiful", by the Croatian National Tourist Board, starring a captivating, as always, John Malkovich.
The Greek presence at ATIFF 2026 was intense and multi-layered, not just noticeable, but deeply influential and filled with the unparalleled light of Greek culture. Greek creators transformed historical memory and metaphysical quest into top-notch cinematic experiences, earning the warm applause of audiences and critics.
With the shocking audiovisual work MAUTHAUSEN directed by the acclaimed Aristarchos Papadaniel, the Greek participation managed to touch the most sensitive chords of human existence, winning the First Prize in the Documentary Category and proving how historical truth can be transformed into a global poetic image. It is worth mentioning at this point that the distinguished film by Aristarchos Papadaniel was screened on the second day of the Festival, in the packed hall of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, immediately after the official Memorandum Signing Ceremony between the Academy and ATIFF, which was followed, as we have already mentioned, by an exclusive animation masterclass, led by the Oscar-winning Polish producer and director Zbigniew Żmudzki. The Oscar-winning director watched the film and spoke highly of it.
At the same time, creator Manuel De Coco took the audience on a journey through the paths of inner search with Invisible World, a reflective film that received rave reviews for its aesthetic excellence.
The extremely difficult task of selecting and highlighting the top performers among hundreds of worthy nominations was accomplished by a brilliant International Jury. Personalities of international stature and deep knowledge of the seventh art, such as Marcello Zeppi, Alberto Rocco, Zbigniew Żmudzki, Can Saracoglu and Reshma Ghosh, joined their criteria with renowned Georgian academics, such as Nana Iashvili.
The Greek stamp was also resounding and substantial here, with the presence of Irene Giannakopoulos, President of the emblematic Amorgos Film Festival, who as a member of the Jury contributed decisively with her experience in the field of cultural tourism, ensuring that the awards would reflect the absolute balance between artistic value and the power of travel storytelling.
The Festival featured the following Greek journalists as Special Guests (in alphabetical order): Katerina Marinaki, Vasilis Tsounis and Depy Chiotopoulou. Finally, ATIFF 2026 Sponsors were the distinguished airline SKY Express, the Amorgos Film Festival and the ELIA Lesvos confest. SKY express, the Airline of the Year in Europe for 2025, operates frequent direct flights to Tbilisi, which is just one of a total of 29 international - and 33 domestic - destinations served by the multi-award winning SKY Express, with the most recent additions to the list being Barcelona and Cairo. The Amorgos Film Festival, now in its 17th edition for 2026, is a source of inspiration for many other Festivals with similar themes, while the Elia Leaves Confest, as we emphasized in our greeting, leaves its strong global cultural imprint with each of its events.
A cultural event of such magnitude could not have taken shape without the valuable contribution of people and organizations that believe in the diplomacy of culture. The Festival was held under the strong institutional umbrella of the Ministry of Culture of Georgia, Creative Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall, and the National Tourism Administration of Georgia. In a perfectly harmonious partnership, the International Committee of World Film Festivals / Cinetour and its active President Can Saraçoğlu, together with leading hospitality partners of Georgia, acted as the unsung heroes and valuable supporters of the organization and, offering their undivided support, transformed Tbilisi into a hospitable and cosmopolitan embrace, proving that tourism and art are two sides of the same coin.
Of course, we could not complete our article without a special mention of Irina Khangoshvili, President and Founder of ATIFF 2026, the inspired architect of a cultural miracle. Behind the glare of the spotlights, the impeccable organization and the international radiance of ATIFF 2026, lies the restless spirit, passion and tireless vision of one woman, Irina Khangoshvili, who, with a deep, inner belief in the power of art as a bridge between peoples, managed to transform Tbilisi into a global crossroads, where filmmaking meets travel culture and cultural diplomacy.
With rare leadership skills and a warm, cosmopolitan aura, she served as the soul and connecting link of a vast international community. She managed to unite under one roof leading creators from more than 20 countries, high-profile international personalities as members of the Jury, as well as the most important institutional bodies of Georgia. For Irina, ATIFF is not just an annual meeting of the seventh art, but a life's work and an act of love for her homeland and world culture. Guiding the organization with absolute dedication to aesthetic excellence, she not only offered the audience a spectacular Gala at the Tbilisi Museum of Fine Arts, but also created a living landmark institution, which radiates the light of Georgia throughout the world, transferring the country to the epicenter of European cultural events. Warmest congratulations are due to her and her equally charismatic collaborators, ATIFF co-organizer Anna Kurinnaya and Artistic Director Sofio Kalandadze.
The awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd and Special Jury Awards) given per category are detailed below:
- Art & Travel Photography:
🇬🇪 Teimuraz Gabashvili (Georgia) — Silhouettes of Georgia
🇺🇦 Gennadiy Udovichenko (Ukraine) — Istanbul. The city and its people
🇬🇪 Demna Adeishvili (Georgia) — Feeling of Traveling
🇬🇪 Lada Mechitova (Georgia) — Chiaroscuro of Rome
- Short Films:
🇪🇸 Alex Casas (Spain) — LIARA
🇵🇹 Flávio Cruz (Portugal) — Vira do Minho
🇺🇸 Jaswant Dev Shrestha (USA) — Stories from the rroaRoads
🇴🇲 Mohammed Al-Kindi (Oman) – Roofs
- Animation:
🇬🇪 Anastasia Jincharadze (Georgia) — Tragedy without a hero
🇮🇹 Silvia De Gennaro (Italy) — Travel Notebooks: Rome, Italy
🇬🇪 Etuna Tatuashvili (Georgia) — Game Intro “RANYA”
🇬🇪 Salome Durglishvili (Georgia) — Immobility
- Gastronomy:
🇺🇸 Michaela Guzy (USA) — OH THE PEOPLE YOU MEET with Michaela Guzy in Singapore
🇷🇸 Milica Popović (Serbia) — ArchaeoKitchen: At the Table of Prince Velimir
🇬🇪 Lela Pirtskhalaishvili (Georgia) — The Taste of Guria – Kintikara and Guruli Suneli
🇬🇪 Lela Pirtskhalaishvili (Georgia) — Kintikara – A place to come back to yourself
🇺🇸 Michaela Guzy (USA) — SLEEPING AROUND SAFELY in Barcelona
- Art Documentary:
🇬🇷 Aristarchos Papadaniel & Panagiotis Kountouras (Greece) — MAUTHAUSEN
🇮🇱 Parashakti Sigalit Bat-Haim (Israel) — Dance of Liberation
🇬🇪 Berdo Kutubidze (Georgia) — ETERNALS: EVERYTHINGISM
🇬🇷 Manuel de Coco (Greece) — Invisible World
- Drone / Hyperlapse:
🇵🇹 Kirill Neiezhmakov (Portugal) — Amsterdam in Royal Motion
🇵🇹 Kirill Neiezhmakov (Portugal) — Rotterdam: Shifting Shapes of the Future
🇪🇸 Javier Perea (Spain) — DRONISIO
🇭🇷 Alen Tkalčec (Croatia) — A Living Planet
🇭🇷 Alen Tkalčec (Croatia) — We All Start Somewhere
- Travel Documentary:
🇩🇪 Andreas Ewels (Germany) — MARITIME CRIME
🇺🇦 Andrii Andreiev (Ukraine) — SOUTH GEORGIA
🇹🇷 Müge Manus (Turkey) — Paydos
🇵🇹 António Aleixo (Portugal) — Amazorioc
🇬🇪 Nata Gabunia (Georgia) — Travel to Chokhatauri
🇬🇪 Shalva Shengeli (Georgia) — FROM MANI TO SVANETI
- Tourism Promo:
🇭🇷 Croatian National Tourist Board (Croatia) — Croatia, I hear it's beautiful
🇹🇷 Halil Bekar (Turkey) — Show Me Antalya
🇮🇷 Meysam Babaei (Iran) — Damascus
🇵🇱 Tomasz Walczak (Poland) — Tales of Poland
🇮🇹 Fabio Reitano (Italy) — TJ – Luxury Resorts – Director's Cut
🇵🇹 Paulo Cunha (Portugal) — You'll be glad to know
🇵🇹 Nelson Carvalheiro (Portugal) — What do you believe in? (Matosinhos)
