MARKET AWARDS
The curtain fell on the 53rd Thessaloniki International Film Festival Market on Friday, November 9, 2012 at the Electra Palace Hotel. The 8th Crossroads Co-production Forum and Works in Progress awards were meted out in the presence of Festival director Mr. Dimitri Eipides, in a festive atmosphere.
Mr. Eipides noted: “Thank you for being with us. Today we have reached the end of this year’s Market, giving out its awards, at the most successful edition ever. I believe that we have never had so many visitors, so many participants and so many good projects. I think the decisions were difficult, but my collaborators worked hard and the results are fair and correct, as well as very promising for good films in the future. I won’t take up any more time, as I know you are all in suspense, so I’ll give the floor over to Marie-Pierre Macia who will tell us more. And again, thank you very much”. Before announcing the awards, Market Head Marie-Pierre Macia thanked all those present and in particular her team for the professionalism they have shown throughout the event.
17 projects participated this year in the 8th Crossroads Co-Production Forum. The Jury, consisting of Anthony Muir (Film i Vast – International Co-productions, Sweden), Holger Stern (ZDF/ARTE - Commissioning editor, Germany) and Maria Hatzakou (Haos Films – Producer, Greece), gave the Crossroads award to the project Motherland, directed by Senem Tuzen and produced by Olena Yershova (Tato Film, Yeni Sinemacilar, Turkey). Greek post-production house Two Thirty Five gave the co-production award (sound and image) to Motherland and the Cannes Producers’ Network gave accreditation to the producer in order to take part in the upcoming Producer’s Network 2013.
For the second year the National Center for Cinema and Moving Pictures (CNC), the French institution that supports and promotes the film industry in France and abroad gave an award. This particular award, which is accompanied by a cash prize of 7.000 Euros for script development, went to Park, directed by Sofia Exarhou and produced by Amanda Livanou (Guanaco, Greece). French consul Christophe Le Rigoleur gave out the award and he declared: “I would like to thank you all, it was very difficult for us to select a winner since all the projects were exceptional”. Also, the CNC gave a Special Mention to Algiers By Night, directed by Yanis Kousim and produced by Claire Mazeau-Karoum (Une Chambre a Soi Productions, Algeria).
Park also won the award given by French consulting firm Initiative Film, which will follow the development and growth of the project for the next 6 months.
Raw and Cooked, directed by Gabriel Achim (Green Film, co-producer: Dan Burlac, Romania), won the scholarship offered as a prize by the European Laboratory MFI Script 2 Film Workshops, organized by the Mediterranean Film Institute (MFI).
This year there were 12 films at the final stages of production participating in the Works in Progress section of the Market. The Jury, consisting of Michael Weber (Match Factory, General Director, Germany), Remi Bonhomme (Cannes Festival – Critics’ Week, Programme director, France) and Eleni Souganidou (Feelgood Entertainment – Distributor, Greece) gave the award to the film Seaburners, directed by Melisa Onel and produced by Yamac Okur & Asl? Erdem (Bulut Film, Turkey). The film had been presented at the 7th Crossroads Co-Production Forum. For the third year, the companies Graal and Cinelabs Greece provided the Agora Works in Progress Award, which consists of services and post-production materials to a value of 70.000 Euros. It should be noted that the Jury also gave a Special Mention to the film My Dog Killer, directed by Mira Fornay and produced by Juraj Buzalka (Mirafox, Co-producer: Viktor Schwarcz, Cineart TV Prague Slovak/Czech Repubolics).
The Market is financed, along with other 53rd Festival activities, by the European Union – European Regional Development Fund, part of Central Macedonia IMA 2007 – 2013.
