The 2nd Evia Film Project celebrated World Music Day with a grand music celebration. Within the framework of Thessaloniki Film Festival's green initiative, a special screening took place, followed by a musical evening featuring Agia Fanfara, a brass and percussion band.
The music celebration kicked off with the screening of the film Landfill Harmonic – A Symphony of the Human Spirit at the beautiful open-air cinema on the rooftop of Elymnion. Prior to the film's start, Mr. Stavros Koutsouras, the Deputy Mayor of Mantoudi-Limni-Agia Anna, warmly welcomed the audience and expressed sincere gratitude to Thessaloniki Film Festival for organizing Evia Film Project and for the invaluable support shown to the northern region of Evia.
The film by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley, which revolves around the incredible story of a group of young musicians from Paraguay who make musical instruments out of garbage, showing the way towards the coexistence of ecology and music, deeply moved the audience.
After the screening, the band Agia Fanfara accompanied the audience all the way to the main square, playing beloved traditional and contemporary melodies from Greece, the Balkans, and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. They swept the crowd into a festive mood, dancing and celebrating on the streets until the early morning hours.
The music celebration was also enjoyed by acclaimed director and screenwriter Alexander Payne, two-time Oscar winner, who is currently in northern Evia as a guest of the 2nd Evia Film Project.
Screening of the documentary Taming the Garden
Furthermore, on Wednesday evening, the film Taming the Garden by Salomé Jashi was screened at the ciné Apollon in Edipsos, in the presence of the filmmaker who engaged in a conversation with the audience after the screening. The acclaimed filmmaker, after thanking Evia Film Project for the invitation, drew a parallel between the theme of her film and the ecological disaster that struck northern Evia, identifying a common thread that connects uprooted trees in Taming the Garden with the trees lost in the wildfires of 2021 in northern Evia.
Salomé Jashi also delivered a masterclass on Thursday morning as part of the activities of the top-notch program CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, which chose northern Evia for its first out of three international meetings this year.
Walking tour for location managers
As part of the FAM Trip (familiarization trip) for location managers and producers from Greece and abroad, Evia Film Project organized a tour of enchanting locations in Edipsos, offering them the opportunity to explore sites in northern Evia that could potentially take on leading roles in future films.
The FAM Trip continues on Thursday and Friday, featuring visits to other locations in Northern Evia.
Industry meetings by the sea
The 2nd Evia Film Project also offers the opportunity for film professionals to hold introductory and networking meetings by the sea.
Set in an idyllic landscape and a friendly atmosphere, the Festival organizes professional meetings among industry experts (such as producers, sales agents, and festival programmers from around the world) with the aim of networking and promoting fiction and documentary films.
Workshops for children in Agia Anna
The children who participated in the educational workshop "3,2,1, and Cue... Nature, please!" held in Agia Anna in the context of the 2nd Evia Film Project, were in for unique, entertaining, and original cinematic surprises.
The children had the opportunity to open the CineValise of the Thessaloniki Film Festival and discover the secrets hidden inside. What happens when images pass quickly in front of our eyes? Who inspired the first cinematic inventions? How do we create moving images using environmentally friendly and simple materials? How much natural beauty can fit within a cinematic frame?
Evia Film Project is the Festival’s third pillar of activities, following the International Thessaloniki Film Festival, held in November, and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, held in March. Its goal is to consolidate Northern Evia, a region severely hit by the 2021 calamitous wildfires, as an international hub of green cinema. Evia Film Project is actualized with the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, within the framework of the Reconstruction Plan for Northern Evia, in collaboration with the Region of Central Greece, the Greek Film Centre, the Municipality of Istiea-Edipsos, and the Municipality of Mantoudi-Limni-Agia Anna. The Thessaloniki Film Festival collaborates with the production organizations that are based in Evia and the Department of Digital Arts and Cinema of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Psachna.
