A Bergman film selected by Jeff Koons. A horror marathon in Plato’s Academy. Airplane! on Dionysiou Areopagitou. French cinema on an Athens terrace.
The 16th Athens Open Air Film Festival has already begun, but July brings some of its most atmospheric screenings. Across parks, terraces, open-air cinemas, pedestrian streets and neighbourhood landmarks, Athens becomes a free summer cinema under the night sky.
About the Festival
Why It Matters
What to Expect
July Screenings
August Screenings
Useful Information
16th Athens Open Air Film Festival
May-August 2026
Free entrance
Film lovers, expats, visitors and summer nights in Athens
About the Athens Open Air Film Festival
The Athens Open Air Film Festival is one of the city’s most loved summer cultural events. Organised by the Athens International Film Festival and cinemagazine.gr, it takes cinema out of traditional venues and places it inside the city itself.
Screenings take place in some of Athens’ most distinctive public spaces, from parks and squares to terraces, museums, open-air cinemas and pedestrian areas. The result is not just a film programme, but a different way of moving through Athens after dark.
For foreign residents and visitors, the festival is an easy and memorable way to experience the capital in summer. Some screenings are classics of world cinema, others are Greek landmarks, cult favourites or special collaborations with cultural institutions.
Why the Festival Matters
Open-air cinema is part of Greek summer life. The Athens Open Air Film Festival takes that tradition and expands it across the city, making film free, public and connected to the places where Athenians actually live, walk and gather.
The setting often changes the experience. A horror classic in Plato’s Academy, a comedy double bill near Dionysiou Areopagitou or a restored Greek film in the garden of the Home of Books all feel different because Athens is not just the background. It becomes part of the evening.
For expats, it is one of the easiest cultural nights out in Athens: free, atmospheric, simple to join and deeply connected to the city’s summer rhythm.
What to Expect in July
The July programme moves between European classics, Greek cinema, cult horror and broad comedy. It also includes collaborations with the Museum of Cycladic Art, the French Institute of Greece and the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture.
Most international films are screened with Greek subtitles. The Greek film Happy Day will be screened with English subtitles, making it a particularly good choice for international audiences who want to discover an important work of Greek cinema.
July Screenings
| The Virgin Spring Ingmar Bergman |
Wednesday 1 July at 21:30 Eleftherias Park, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, Athens In collaboration with the Museum of Cycladic Art. The film was selected for the screening by Jeff Koons. |
| The Unfaithful Wife Claude Chabrol |
Monday 6 July at 21:30 LAIS Open Air Cinema, 48 Iera Odos & 134-136 Megalou Alexandrou, Athens In collaboration with the Plein-Air Festival of the French Institute of Greece. |
| Happy Day Pantelis Voulgaris |
Wednesday 8 July at 21:30 Garden of the Home of Books, 134-136 Ermou Street, Athens English subtitles. 50th anniversary screening of the restored 4K copy by the Greek Film Archive Foundation. |
| The River Jean Renoir |
Thursday 9 July at 21:30 Garden of the Home of Books, 134-136 Ermou Street, Athens In collaboration with the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture. |
| Horror Marathon Cape Fear, Friday the 13th, Island of the Damned |
Saturday 11 July from 21:30 Plato’s Academy Park, 137 Monastiriou Street, Athens The screenings are not advised for spectators under 17 years old. |
| Diva Jean-Jacques Beineix |
Thursday 16 July at 21:30 Terrace of the Arsakeio Arcade, entrance from 5 Pesmazoglou Street, Athens Screened on the occasion of the French National Day, in collaboration with the Plein-Air Festival of the French Institute of Greece. |
| The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance John Ford |
Wednesday 22 July at 21:30 Drakopoulou Park, 5 Lamprou Porfyra Street, Athens A classic western with James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin. |
| Airplane! + Top Secret! Comedy double bill |
Saturday 25 July from 21:30 Pedestrian precinct of Dionysiou Areopagitou, at the junction with Parthenonos Street, Athens Two cult comedies shown in one of Athens’ most atmospheric walking areas. |
July Film Highlights
August Screenings
After the July screenings, the festival returns in late August with two very different classics: Maurice Pialat’s intimate French drama To Our Loves and Sergio Leone’s monumental western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Both screenings take place at 21:00, making them easy summer evening options for anyone staying in Athens towards the end of August.
| To Our Loves A Nos Amours Maurice Pialat |
Monday 24 August at 21:00 LAIS Open Air Cinema, 48 Iera Odos & 134-136 Megalou Alexandrou, Athens In collaboration with the Plein-Air Festival of the French Institute of Greece. |
| The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sergio Leone |
Wednesday 26 August at 21:00 Grigoris Lamprakis Kallithea Municipal Stadium “El Paso”, 7 Grigoriou Lampraki Street, Kallithea A 60th anniversary screening of the film, also marking the 60th anniversary of Athens Kallithea FC. |
August Film Highlights
Useful Information
| Festival | 16th Athens Open Air Film Festival |
| Dates | May-August 2026 |
| Admission | Free entrance |
| Subtitles | Most international films have Greek subtitles. Some Greek films include English subtitles. |
| Arrival | Arrive early, especially for popular screenings and central locations. |
| Updates | Check the official festival website before attending, as details may change. |
Visit the official Athens Open Air Film Festival website for programme information, updates and festival news.
Make a Night of It
Choose a screening near a neighbourhood you want to explore, arrive early and leave time for a walk or a drink afterwards. The best part of the Athens Open Air Film Festival is that the city does not simply host the films. It becomes part of them.
For expats and visitors, this is one of the easiest ways to feel Athens in summer: open-air cinema, familiar streets seen differently, and a city that becomes softer after sunset.
