CLOSING CEREMONY
The curtain fell on the 53rd edition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival on Saturday, November 10 2012, with the closing ceremony that took place at a packed Olympion Theater. Singer Iro gave a piano performance, adding a musical touch to the ceremony, which was presented by Stefania Goulioti – winner of the Best Actress award for her role in Menelaos Karamagiolis’s film J.A.C.E at last year’s festival.
In his welcoming speech, festival director Dimitri Eipides summarized the accomplishments of this year’s edition: “The 53rd Thessaloniki International Film Festival sent a resounding message: the need for creativity and communication triumphs in times of hardship. I am very pleased that the Festival achieved its aim: The osmosis with the audience was palpable; moviegoers gave an impressive embrace to the Festival: theaters were packed, at 90% capacity, while many screenings were sold outs. The festival featured a total of 150 films from 54 countries, along with tributes to great filmmakers and many parallel events. The Festival is an institution which celebrates independent cinema, providing a platform for the expression of new, bold voices from the Greek and international scene. This year, we hosted a special tribute-homage to Theo Angelopoulos, and had the pleasure to inaugurate a work of great significance: The Thessaloniki Cinematheque, which is the Festival’s gift to the city. The focal point of the Festival this year was the human being; the films participating in the festival managed to inspire and, in an uncompromising and revealing way, give us the strength to hope for a better tomorrow. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the filmmakers who entrusted us with their work, and also to my collaborators and our volunteer corps; they all worked hard to make this Festival a success. I also thank our sponsors for their valuable help, and of course audiences for their steadfast support. We will meet again at the 15th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, which will take place from the 15th to the 24th of March 2013”.
Taking the floor, Thessaloniki’s deputy mayor for Culture and Tourism Spiros Pengas read a message from Thessaloniki mayor Yiannis Boutaris, who is also the chairman of the Festival’s board of directors but was unable to attend the ceremony: “This year, theaters were packed and the press coverage was full of headlines referring to sold out screenings. Audience participation is of course always the definitive affirmation of the people’s respect and love for the Festival. Despite the fact that it had to adapt to the new economic realities by changing its orientation and making budget cuts, the Festival perseveres, resists and, despite the crisis, is renewed. The 53rd edition bears the mark of the Festival’s director Dimitri Eipides, who made the decision to dedicate this year’s festival to human-interest films. Both the audience and cinema professionals enthusiastically embraced this choice. We watched independent films from around the world, the premieres of films made by great filmmakers, we became acquainted with young and dynamic Greek filmmakers, and we paid homage to the great Theo Angelopoulos. Concerts, exhibitions and open discussions, book presentations and parallel events completed the puzzle of this year’s edition, which became once again a cause of celebration for our city. The Festival took another important step this year, making a great contribution to the city, by inaugurating the Thessaloniki Cinematheque, which will remain open throughout the year and become a tenet of cinema education for Thessaloniki and the bridge connecting the Film and Documentary festivals. The city of Thessaloniki actively supports the Festival and our participation in its board of directors is not just symbolic, but testament of our actual support and priorities. We are determined to showcase and take advantage of Thessaloniki’s modern profile. I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to Festival director Dimitri Eipides, to all the volunteers and filmmakers who participated with their work and of course to all film industry professionals who joined us. We are hopeful that we will meet with all of you again on the occasion of next year’s 54th Film Festival”.
The award presentation followed. The International Jury of the 53d Thessaloniki International Film Festival comprised of:
Film theorist and academic Thomas Elsaesser (Germany, Jury President), Programmer, consultant, founding director of the Icelandic Film Center
Laufrey Gudjonsdottir, (Iceland)
director Ole Christian Madsen (Denmark), director
Joao Pedro Rodrigues (Portugal) and
cinematographer Thymios Bakatakis (Greece).
The most prestigious festival award, that of Best Feature Film (Golden Alexander – Theo Angelopoulos award), was bestowed to the film A Hijacking by Tobias Lindholm. The award was presented by Theo Angelopoulos’s partner in life and producer of most of his films, Mrs. Phoebe Economopoulos – Angelopoulos. Visibly moved, she said: “Many years have passed since the first time I was here, to receive an award on behalf of producer Dinos Katsouridis for the film To Proxenio tis Annas. We mourn, we think about and we remember those who are no longer with us. The Festival is ours, we are the Festival. The younger generations will make sure the ethos of the people we lost is kept alive”. Jury President Thomas Elsaesser commented on the merits of the film: “This is an accomplished film in every sense of the word. It is a professional production, with sturdy direction, a solid script and persuasive performances. A Hijacking narrates a human interest story that keeps us hooked from the first to the last scene”. The award was received on behalf of the director by Mr. Henning Camre, former director of the Danish Film Center, who conveyed a message on behalf of the filmmaker: “This award is very important to me. I try to invest in art, to get to art’s core, to study the world in which we live in and what it means to be human through fictional narration and communicating with the audience. I am humbled by the honor bestowed to my film by the Festival”.
The Special Jury Award – Silver Alexander was bestowed to the film Mold by Ali Aydin. “The film impressed us with its studied style, its calm rhythm and character development. Using beautiful shots as cadres for the story, the film brings us close to the main character and his determination to find justice. Additionally, the film urges us to ponder over our personal doubts on the morality of his mission, humanizing tough choices and moral dilemmas”, said the president of the jury. The award was received by the film’s editor
Ahmet Boyacioglu, who said: “Turkey’s minister of Culture will be very pleased tomorrow, because two of our projects were also awarded at the Agora section, and this will give us the opportunity to ask the ministry for more funding. I would like to thank the Festival and its director Mr Eipides for the invitation. Thank you for the hospitality, the great volunteers and the good weather. Mold is a bittersweet, quiet film, dealing with a very serious problem for humanity, and I would therefore like to thank the Jury for appreciating the film’s message”.
The Special Jury Award for Originality and Innovation – Bronze Alexander was presented to the film Epilogue by Amir Manor. “We wanted to honor the courage of a new director to deal with the sensitive and global issue of old age – he approached his subject with humor and affection. The couple’s performances are impressive, given that exposing body decay and weakness to the penetrating eye of the camera demands great courage and honesty”. Director Amir Manor thanked the Festival and its director.
The artistic achievement award was bestowed to the film Living by Vasily Sigarev, while the best actress award was presented to Julia Kijowska for her performance in the film Loving by Slawomir Fabicki.
Yannis Papadopoulos won the best actor award for his performance in Ektoras Ligizos’s film Boy eating the bird’s food. In his award acceptance speech, the actor said: “I am very happy both for the award and for the fact that my movie premiered at the Thessaloniki Festival. I want to thank the film’s director for offering me a place in the world he created and I consider this honor as a reward for our joint efforts”.
The best screenplay award was bestowed to Amir Manor for his film Epilogue. In his acceptance speech, the director said: “This is a great joy and honour. My family originates from Thessaloniki, so it’s like things coming full circle”.
Best Director Award was bestowed to Antonio Mendez Esparza for his film Aqui y alla. Spain’s honorary consul in Thessaloniki, Samuel Nahmias, received the award and conveyed a message on behalf of the director: “This award gives me great pleasure and I would like to thank you all. I wish I could be there to share my joy with you. Many thanks from me and all the film’s contributors”.
The Jury also presented two special mentions. The first was bestowed to the film Taboor by Vahid Vakilifar. Receiving the mention on behalf of her compatriot, Iranian film-critic Minoo Moshiri said: “Only a few words from the bottom of my heart. Mr. Eipides was the first one to discover and promote the Iranian cinema, and has been a steady supporter ever since. I extend a special thanks to him”. The second special mention was awarded to the film The Colour of the Chameleon by Emil Christov. Bulgarian deputy – consul in Greece Harizan Harizanov received the award and speaking on behalf of the filmmaker thanked Mr Eipides and the audience for packing the theaters during both screenings of the film.
Minas Mavrikakis, head of Communication and Corporate Relations at Athenian Brewery, presented the Fischer Audience Awards. “It is a great honor for Athenian Brewery to be the sponsor, for a sixth straight year, of the audience awards. This is a conscious choice of the company, which wants to support, during these hard times, institutions of the caliber and quality of the Thessaloniki Film Festival. I wish to congratulate all filmmakers for the great moments they offered us during the festival. I would also like to thank the audience, which really embraces this institution and votes for its favorite films. Congratulations are also due to all the Festival’s contributors”.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the Greek Films section – Michael Cacoyannis Award was bestowed to the film
Papadopoulos and Sons by Marcus Markou. The award was received on behalf of the filmmaker by Vasiliki Mamaloukou, who conveyed the gratitude of the director, of lead actor George Choraface and of the film’s distributor Hollywood Entertainment.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the Balkan Survey Section was awarded to the film Beyond the Hills by Cristian Mungiu. Romanian film critic Codruta Cretulescu received the award on behalf of the director.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the Open Horizons section was bestowed to the film ΝO by Pablo Larrain. The award was received on behalf of the filmmaker by a representative of the film’s Greek distributor (Strada Films) Mrs Marina Konti, who said: “On behalf of Strada Films, I would like to thank the Festival for the hospitality and the audience for voting for this film, which is not only a good movie but also a timely one”.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the International Competition Section was bestowed to the film Epilogue, by Amir Manor. Receiving the award, the Israeli filmmaker said: “I want to thank the Festival for my presence here. I hope my film touches many people, because it is related to what is happening in Greece and the rest of the world”.
For the eighth consecutive year, the Hellenic Parliament TV Channel bestowed the Human Values Award. This year, the award was bestowed to the film Epilogue, by Amir Manor. The award was presented by the Channel’s Programming Advisor Mr. Aris Fatouros.
The awards of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) were presented by Jury President Samir Farid and jury member Nikos Aletras.
The FIPRESCI award for a film in the International Competition Section was bestowed to A Hijacking by
Tobias Lindholm. Mr. Henning Camre accepted the award on behalf of the filmmaker and conveyed the latter’s many thanks. The FIPRESCI award for a film in the Greek Films 2012 section was bestowed to Boy Earing the Bird’s Food by Ektoras Ligizos, who thanked the jury and the film’s contributors.
The “Open Horizons” section, the tributes to Theo Angelopoulos, Aki Kaurismaki, Bahman Ghobadi, Cristian Mungiu and Andreas Dresen, the entire Greek programme, the Cinematheque’s events and the Agora section of the 53rd Thessaloniki International Film Festival were financed by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund for Central Macedonia 2007-2013.
