64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival [2-12/11/2023]
The beloved section Meet the Neighbors is upgraded and expanded
The Meet the Neighbors section is upgraded, expanded and will include a competition section with new awards and cash prizes.
The + symbol is added to the section, as it will now include all 36 countries of Southeast Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, to which the Agora, the industry section of the Festival, is addressed. The countries are: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo*, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.
Competition section
The competition section Meet the Neighbors+ includes first or second films by upcoming filmmakers that give us insight into life, people and the situation in our wider region and offers a bigger look at the world beyond ‘our neighborhood’ – through a singular and innovative artistic lens. The section will include 12 – 14 films, with three Greek films among them.
Awards and cash prizes increased and equated to the Festival’s International Competition section.
Specifically, the Golden Alexander – Best Film Award will be accompanied by a cash prize of 10,000 euros (as is the case with the Golden Alexander at the International Competition section), while the Silver Alexander – Best Director Award will be accompanied by a cash prize of 5,000 euros. The Festival, also, adds Best Actor and Best Actress Awards, while the jury, which will be consisted of personalities from the audiovisual section from Greece and abroad, may award a maximum of two mentions for artistic achievement.
Survey Expanded
The beloved Balkan Survey is renewed, extended to the 36 countries of Meet the Neighbors+ and renamed Survey Expanded. Each year it will have a thematic direction and will attempt to map, highlight and project cinematic and artistic currents, as well as social and geopolitical issues and to discover the most pioneering, innovative and creative voices of the region.
As the human geography of this vast region changes, Survey Expanded will be able to constantly morph into something new -for example a large tribute or a specific theme.
The first theme of Survey Expanded is titled Reflections of Topos and its advisers for this year will be director, visual artist and theoretician of the moving image Köken Ergun and director Neritan Zinxhiria. The Reflections of Topos tribute traces aspects of Southeast Europe as a geographical and symbolic place, as inscribed in the work of an emerging, dynamic generation of artists.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
