Director Sébastien Reichenbach won two awards at the 9th International Archaeological Film Festival in Split. His documentary, “Artemis – The Lost Temple” (Artémis, le temple perdu), received the first audience award and the first student jury award.
The 2023 Swiss-French production tells the story of the discovery of one of the most enigmatic sanctuaries of the ancient world in 52 minutes. The sanctuary of Artemis in Amartino, on the Greek island of Euboea, has been known for centuries from ancient written sources, but its exact location remained unknown for a long time.
One of the key figures in solving this mystery is Swiss archaeologist Denis Knoepfler. His research lasted for decades, and his persistence finally paid off in 2017, when a Swiss-Greek archaeological team identified the remains of the sanctuary. The search for the sanctuary had thus lasted more than 50 years.
During filming, the director followed the archaeological team that continued to investigate the site in 2022. Around 50 people participated in the research, while between 10 and 15 people worked on the film itself.
The film was produced by Climage, with Stéphane Goël as producer, with the participation of Swiss television RTS and the Franco-German broadcaster ARTE.
The director visited Croatia with his wife about ten years ago, staying in Split and on Hvar. He had a child nine months after his stay in Split.
