1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025
The Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct is an international independent film festival in Athens, Greece, organised annually by the VegArtAct vegan catering team of the FEMinist-ARTtistic-ACTtivist FemArtAct social cooperative, around the World Vegan Day, on November 1st.
Our mission is to promote vegan filmmaking and veganism, to join cinema with activism in support of animal rights and in solidarity with the global animal liberation movement.
Our vision is a better world for all living beings.
Join us in advocating for veganism and animal liberation worldwide!
Filmfreeway: https://filmfreeway.com/VegArtAct
Facebook event: Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 | Facebook
14 films from around the world (in English) with FREE ENTRANCE: Afghanistan-Denmark-Iceland, Australia, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Greece, Iran, South Korea, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA
Photos & videos by Yorgos Nikou
And the BEST FEATURE FILM AWARD of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 goes to “FOR THE LIVES OF OTHERS”, directed by Yama Rauff (Afghanistan, Denmark, Iceland), awarded by Alexia Tsouni, Jury member, President of the FemArtAct social cooperative!
In a country that prides itself on democracy, a group of peaceful activists, known for chalking messages and holding signs, faces a terrifying escalation: repression so severe that their right to speak freely becomes their last, desperate stand.
And the BEST FEATURETTE FILM AWARD of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 goes to “I’M TRYING”, directed by Raymond Cruzzola (Canada), awarded by Alexandra Stergiou, actress & vegan activist!
I’m Trying is a powerful portrait of Regan Russell — an animal rights activist killed in 2020 during a peaceful protest outside a slaughterhouse — and the ongoing fight for justice she inspired. Told through intimate interviews with her parents and closest friends, the film reveals who Regan was beyond the headlines: a model, a mentor, a lifelong defender of animals, and a deeply compassionate force in the lives of those around her. As her best friend Katherine puts it, “Everyone needs a Regan in their life.” While the driver who struck and killed Regan was fined just $2,000, her father reflects: “Instead of justice for Regan, I think we’re going to see justice by Regan.”
The film follows activists carrying on her work through the Plant-Based Treaty campaign — a global effort not only to end animal exploitation, but to reduce the devastating impact animal agriculture has on the planet. By pushing for institutional menu changes in hospitals, schools, workplaces, and public services, they show how every meal can be an act of resistance and restoration. At its core, I’m Trying is about grief, love, and the enduring power of one person’s will to make the world more just — and how we can all keep trying.
And the BEST SHORT FILM AWARD of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 goes to “PLANTED – DONALD WATSON AND THE ROOTS OF VEGANISM”, directed by Francesco Bori (Canada, UK), awarded by Kostas Gonianakis, Member of the Board of Directors of Vegan Life NGO!
Donald Watson died 20 years ago. This touching short animation, for the first time in history, exposes the fascinating origins story of the Englishman who started the vegan movement and planted seeds of ethics in us all.
And the BEST STUDENT FILM AWARD of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 goes to “PHEASANT”, directed by Beatriz Martins Silvestre (Portugal), awarded by Eri Georgia Skyrgianni, Jury member, Artist & Vegan Activist!
“Pheasant” is a metaphor that relates the female figure to the life predestined for a pheasant, a bird coveted by hunters for its exotic appearance. The narrative reveals an allegory of the abuse suffered by many women around the world. An injustice that continues to be perpetrated throughout the centuries, represented by a species of bird that also endures a life of exploitation and mistreatment.
And the BEST GREEK FILM AWARD of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 goes to “BLOODY THURSDAY”, directed by Evangelos Vlachakis (Greece), awarded by Nikoletta Bitouni, Jury member, Founder of the Vegan Farm in Athens!
Once upon a time, in the previous millennium, there was a very cruel custom on planet Earth, in a country called Hellas. Once a year, always on a Thursday, the bipedal beings of the human species massively slaughtered, roasted over a fire, and voraciously ate other beings of the animal species, mainly quadrupeds, but also bipeds. But back in the distant 2025, on that Thursday, February 20, something happened that had never happened before.
And the BEST AUDIENCE FILM AWARD of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 goes to “PLANTED – DONALD WATSON AND THE ROOTS OF VEGANISM”, directed by Francesco Bori (Canada, UK) & “BLOODY THURSDAY”, directed by Evangelos Vlachakis (Greece), awarded by Georgia Angelopoulou, Vegan Activist!
“PLANTED – DONALD WATSON AND THE ROOTS OF VEGANISM”: Donald Watson died 20 years ago. This touching short animation, for the first time in history, exposes the fascinating origins story of the Englishman who started the vegan movement and planted seeds of ethics in us all.
“BLOODY THURSDAY”: Once upon a time, in the previous millennium, there was a very cruel custom on planet Earth, in a country called Hellas. Once a year, always on a Thursday, the bipedal beings of the human species massively slaughtered, roasted over a fire, and voraciously ate other beings of the animal species, mainly quadrupeds, but also bipeds. But back in the distant 2025, on that Thursday, February 20, something happened that had never happened before.
And the HONORABLE MENTIONS of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 go to:
“CANDO-IST”, directed by Yunjeong Park Lee (South Korea),
“THE NATURE GIRL”, directed by Paul Charisse, Quinton Luccas, Matteo Maximilian (USA),
“HERACLITUS CREOLE”, directed by Luis Montero (Cuba),
“VEGAN ALCHEMIST”, directed by Eugenia Maragou (Greece),
awarded by Anastasia Vaitsopoulou, Vegan Journalist & Manos Englezos, Vegan Chef!
Many thanks to the Jury of the 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025: Alexia Tsouni, Eri Georgia Skyrgianni and Nikoletta Bitouni.
Please watch this short video about the Vegan Farm and donate generously to support its great work for all the rescued animals who urgently need our help!
Our festival is independent and self-funded offering free entrance for all, urging you to please donate to the Vegan Farm:
IBAN: GR1901710130006013169879105
BANK: Pireaus Bank
Account Holder: Zografou Stray Association
Cause: VEGAN FARM
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A warm thanks from the VegArtAct vegan catering team of our FEMinist-ARTtistic-ACTtivist social cooperative Femartact to all of you who joined our 1st Vegan Film Festival VegArtAct 2025 and contributed to its success!
