The Greek films of the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival

We are delighted to unveil the 35 full-length and the 22 Greek short films screened at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The Festival offers its longstanding support to Greek cinema and the Greek filmmakers through a series of targeted actions and initiatives.

Within the framework of the 64th TIFF, 23 Greek films will celebrate their premiere. Seven Greek films take part in the Festival’s competition sections. The films Animal by Sofia Exarchou, Medium by Christina Ioakeimidi and The Last Taxi Driver by Stergios Paschos take part in the International Competition. The films Guest Star by Vasilis Christofilakis and Murderess by Eva Nathena participate in the Meet the Neighbors+ competition section, which has been upgraded, featuring awards and cash prizes of the equal level with the ones bestowed in the International Competition section. In addition, the films Embryo Larva Butterfly by Kyros Papavassiliou and Little Things That Went Wrong by Haris Vafeiadis are included in the >>Film Forward competition section. The Festival is also hosting two tributes, dedicated to two of the most iconic Greek film directors, Takis Kanellopoulos and Nikos Perakis, the latter receiving the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander. As every year, the Festival is once again offering the audience the chance to watch two masterpieces of Greek cinema in universally accessible screenings, held in collaboration with Alpha Bank, the Festival’s accessibility sponsor. The two films that will be screened in universally accessible terms are Glory Sky by Takis Kanellopoulos and Living Dangerously by Nikos Perakis.

The Greek Film Festival is held as designated by the law. The members of the advisory committee that were assigned with the preselection of the films of the Greek Film Festival were: Yorgos Angelopoulos (film director), Sophia Georgovassili (actress and film director) and Alexandros Papageorgiou (film critic).

The Greek Film Festival is not hosting a competition section, as prescribed by law. However, a series of prizes and awards have been established, aiming to reinforce Greek cinema. This year, two new awards were established and bestowed, the Finos Film Award, accompanied by a 3,000-euro cash prize and the Best Original Music Award, granted by ERT and accompanied by a 2,000-euro cash prize.

Thessaloniki Festival, through its official selection and Agora’s initiatives, offers support to the Greek cinema community through a series of targeted actions, programmes, awards and prizes, administering for the third consecutive year a fee to all Greek films of the official selection.

Moreover, it carries on boosting Greek films in their international journey, offering 3,000 euros per film to all directors who take part in the most prestigious international film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastián, Rotterdam, New York, Tribeca, Toronto, Sundance, Busan, IDFA, Hot Docs, Nyon) with their debut or sophomore film. The film Animal by Sofia Exarchou, screened at the Locarno Festival, represents the most recent example.

The Festival is also providing an invaluable chance to Greek directors to showcase their work before professionals from the international field. Movies from this year’s Greek production will be screened at Cinando online platform – one of the most important tools for cinema professionals on a worldwide scale.

Let us take a glance at the recent production of Greek films:

First Run

Films celebrating their premiere at the Festival, featuring the cream of the crop of this year's Greek production.

International Competition

Animal - Director: Sofia Exarchou

Under the hot Greek sun, the animators at an all-inclusive island resort prepare for the busy tourist season. Kalia is the group leader. As summer intensifies and the work pressure builds up, their nights become violent and Kalia’s struggle is revealed in the darkness. But when the spotlights turn on again, the show must go on. Starring: Dimitra Vlagopoulou, Flomaria Papadaki, Ahilleas Hariskos, Voodoo Jürgens, Chronis Barbarian, Ilias Chatzigeorgiou, Danai Petropoulea, Kristof, Elpida Orfanidou, Joanna Toubakari, Fay Tzouma, Nondas Damopoulos, Vangelis Evangelinos.

Medium - Director: Christina Ioakeimidi

16-year-old Eleftheria, a stranger in a strange world, meets mysterious neighbor Angelos, who invites her into his fascinating grownup world. Roaming the streets of the scorching hot August city on his bike, she will embark on a journey to discover herself through the ferocity of first love. Starring: Aggeliki Beveratou, Nikolakis Zeginoglou, Katerina Zisoudi, Martha Frintzila, Kostantinos Aspiotis.

The Last Taxi Driver - Director: Stergios Paschos

Thomas works as a taxi driver by necessity and lives with his wife Maria and his teenage son Tassos. Although he has studied and loves literature he hasn’t managed to live up to his life expectations. A clients’ suicide surfaces his repressed feelings and plunges him into an erotic obsession. Starring: Kostas Koronaios, Klelia Andriolatou, Marissa Triantafyllidou, Ektoras Liatsos, Yorgos Ziakas, Konstantinos Avarikiotis.

Meet the Neighbors+

Guest Star - Director: Vasilis Christofilakis

Living in the shadow of his dead but famous parents, Loukianos Asvestopoulos accepts an offer from a powerhouse TV Network to become the main late night talk show host. Things get more challenging when Loukianos is forced to fake a romance with Jenna, a mysterious pop singer in decline with problems of her own. Starring: Vasilis Christofilakis, Elli Tringou, Natasa Exindaveloni, Kostas Arzoglou, Dora Masklavanou.

Murderess - Director: Eva Nathena

Based on the titular classic masterpiece by Alexandros Papadiamantis, Murderess unfolds in an isolated Greek island, circa 1900. Hadoula, a young woman residing in the island, has learnt how to survive in this male-dominated patriarchal society, following in the footsteps of her mother, by devaluing and disdaining her own gender identity. However, deep inside her, Hadoula is ready to fight back and openly rebel. Starring: Karyofillia Karabeti, Maria Protopappa, Georgianna Dalaras, Penelope Tsilika, Elena Topalidou.

>>Film Forward

Embryo Larva Butterfly - Director: Kyros Papavassiliou

In a world where time changes arbitrarily, Penelope and Isidore’s relationship is tested as their individual and shared memories of the past, present, and future are constantly changing. Starring: Maria Apostolakea, Christos Sougaris, Makis Papadimitriou, Stephania Sotiropoulou, Yannis Niarros.

Little Things That Went Wrong - Director: Haris Vafeiadis

Fanis, after the glory as a TV celebrity, has gone downhill for good. All he needs now, is a divine sign to make it again. Pavlos has built the perfect world for himself. Yet, what keeps him away from his career and the ideal family life is reality. Their lives get tangled together now that Muffin the dog is dead. Starring: Thanos Tokakis, Mihalis Siriopoulos, Christina Cheila-Fameli.

The following films will also have their premiere in the Festival, as part of the First Run section:

ALEVRINO - The Seed of Everything – Director: Nikos Alevras

A fantastic adventure with thrilling action. Fifty fantastic characters in fifty amazing locations. Who's chasing whom? Where is Happiness? Starring: Nikos Alevras.

Detached House – Director: Ioakim Mylonas

A petty thief enters a house unaware that it belongs to a retired police officer. He soon finds himself trapped in a twisted game of power. Starring: Makis Papadimitratos, Youlika Skafida, Yorgos Yannopoulos, Paschalis Tsarouchas, Stavros Kalligas, Meletis Georgiadis, Sofia Priovolou.

Dolls of Dresden – Director: Alexis Tsafas

Anna is a young journalist with progressive ideas. Lophilia is a painter who impresses and challenges with her heretical lifestyle and art. The chance meeting of the two women will soon develop into an intense and deep relationship with unexpected revelations. The experience of Anna’s acquaintance with Lophilia, will determine her later life. Starring: Christina Sotiriou, Alexia Beziki, Yorgos Glastras, Sotiris Psaltidis, Helga Werner, Peter Meinhardt, Carlotta Bähre, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey, Akyllas Karazisis.

Five Shillings Naylon – Director: Christos Siopahas

Cyprus, 1940s. A couple, outlaws and hunted, arrive at a secluded mill house. The man leaves the distraught woman in the hands of the miller and runs off. As the young woman is cared for by the miller, love and affection grows between them. Their tranquility is violently disrupted when her husband and those who are after show up at the mill house. Starring: Christopher Greco, Christie Papadopoulou, Yorgos Kyriakou, Yannis Kokkinos, Stelios Andronikou, Koulis Nicolaou, Marios Gerou, Polivios Kokkinos, Katerina Misichroni, Margarita Zachariou, Lenia Sorokou.

In a fishbowl – Director: Konstantinos Fragkoulis

After an accident, a young woman finds herself in a remote mansion trying to recover her memory with the help of a mysterious caretaker. Is it worth getting her memory back? Starring: Maria Damasioti, Yorgos Kafetzopoulos, Nancy Boukli, Korina-Anna Gougouli, Yorgos Tripodis.

METS – Director: The Callas (Lakis & Aris Ionas)

Athena lives a typical urban family life. She feels bored. Elsa experiences a lonely post-adolescence. She also feels bored. In a “ghostly” city, several daily routine events trigger their encounter, letting them deal with their gaps, insecurities, desires, and possibilities. Starring: Vasso Kavalieratou, Nancy Boukli, Fivos Delivorias, Jacqueline Lentzou, Argyris Papadimitropoulos.

Minore – Director: Konstantinos Koutsoliotas

On a steamy summer night at the Greek seaside, full of music and dancing, a sudden mist descends. Strange creatures start to plague the city, attacking people and drawing others into the sea with horrific dreams. A group of musicians join forces with a lost sailor in search of his wayward father to fight back against the otherworldly invaders. Starring: Davide Tucci, Daphne Alexander, Apollon Bollas, Nicolas Bravos, Stelios Dimopoulos, Maria-Nefeli Douka, Meletis Georgiadis, Igor Gorewicz, Ioannis Hajiyannis, Eleftheria Komi, Christos Kontogeorgis, Makis Papadimitratos, Efi Papatheodorou, Constantin Symsiris, Yannis Zouganelis, Christos Callow, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, Thanos Alexiou.

New Continent – Director: Pandelis Pagoulatos

Fanis and Maria are living in the nasty center of Athens. They operate on the world of background actors and escape rooms. They are trying to make a killing in any way. They both sell and are being sold. Toxicity, porn, drugs. A wild and passionate couple in a dead-end love story.

Polydroso – Director: Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy)

Sophia, the daughter, is returning to the Athenian suburb of Polydroso to take care of Sophia, the mother. Back in her neighborhood, she will confront the reasons that made her leave in the first place. Polydroso is a mystical isolated suburb and both Sophias spend their time daydreaming about ghosts of the past. A film about tender people in a non-tender world. Starring: Sofia Kokkali, Vicky Kaya, Elsa Zarri, Mary Giannoula, Carla Fuhr.

Professional Sleepwalker – Director: Vassilis Raisis

A failed poet discovers that his mother has marketed him as a local “Pythia,” bringing in customers at night to listen to his recitation. At first he gets angry, but then he decides to take control of the business, leading the whole thing to a total disaster. Starring: Michalis Kaliotsos, Eleni Gerasimidou, Manolis Mavromatakis.

The Gaze Adventure – Director: Dimitri Athanitis

In the heart of a film, behind what I see and recognize, there is a gaze, which remains invisible. It is the gaze that builds what I see. A secret gaze, whose presence I feel and which invites me to see through it, to discover an unknown world, to follow in an adventure. The gaze adventure. Starring: Christos Solomos.

The Promotion – Director: Periklis Choursoglou

Nikos lives in Athens. He is a film director and also teaches film direction at the University of Thessaloniki. Today he will ask his father, Mr. Andrikos, to accompany him to the swearing-in ceremony for his promotion to the higher rank at the University. A father-son train journey, with time running backwards. Starring: Alexandros Logothetis, Vassilis Kolovos, Dimitris Naziris, Vangelio Andreadaki, Eleni Gerasimidou

The Summer with Carmen – Director: Zacharias Mavroeidis

At an Athenian queer beach, Demosthenes helps Niketas build a debut film inspired by a dog named Carmen. Past romances resurface when Demosthenes reconnects with his ex, Panos, who owns Carmen. The two friends question script writing rules, seeking a hero’s journey while navigating their enduring bond. Starring: Yorgos Tsiantoulas, Andreas Lampropoulos, Roubini Vasilakopoulou, Nikolas Mihas, Vasilis Tsigristaris.

Tranzit – Director: Karolos Zonaras

Following the mystery of their deaths, Father and Son are reunited in Tranzit, an arid and desolate non-place, a kind of contemporary Dantesque limbo regulated by abstract mathematical principles, where the dead face a dilemma: accept the dematerialization process or remain in indeterminacy forever. Starring: Pantelis Dentakis, Jeo Pakitsas, Dimitris Poulikakos.

Crossing Borders

“Crossing Borders” sub-section hosts the premieres of two films related to Greece that were shot in the country.

The Rhapsodist – Director: Nikolai Hamel

Over the course of a night, a storyteller captures bar patrons with his tale of mysterious magic and petty crime. As new customers enter the bar and new events unfold in the story, we dive into the listener’s imaginations to reveal a unique version of the oddball characters the rhapsodist has created. Starring: Prometheus Aleiferopoulos, Thanos Tokakis, Maria Katsandri, Natalia Swift, Kostas Berikopoulos, Errikos Litsis, Sandra Abuelghanam, Panos Zigouros, Antonis Tsiller, Takis Sakelariou, Fanis Milleounis, Socratis Patsikas.

Voices in Deep – Director: Jason Raftopoulos

Stateless brothers Tarek and Zaeed fend for themselves on the street. Tarek accepts exploitative sex work to look after his vulnerable brother. Meanwhile, Bobby, a traumatized aid worker, tries to sell bags of illegally harvested shellfish before she returns to Australia. Starring: Angeliki Papoulia, Christos Karavevas, Kostas Nikouli, Hannah Sims.

Special screening

Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Finos Film co-host a special screening of the film A Woman’s Past by Yannis Dalianidis, a film rarely appearing in Greek television, to honor the memory of the recently deceased legendary Greek actress Mary Chronopoulou.

A night club singer is forced to shoot her ex-boyfriend, who has escaped from prison and is blackmailing her for money. The young woman, believing him to be dead, breaks away from her past to make a clean slate. Eventually, she gets married and has a daughter with a well-endowed gentleman, who is completely unaware of her past. However, an old friend of hers, and by a diabolical coincidence the brother of her husband, will reappear out of the blue in her life, threatening to reveal all the secrets of her past. Starring: Mary Chronopoulou, Phaedon Georgitsis, Kostas Kazakos, Eleni Zafeiriou, Zoras Tsapelis, Alekos Oudinotis, Theodoros Ntovas.

Universally accessible screenings

The Festival’s goal is to share the magic of cinema with the entirety of the audience, with no exceptions nonsoever. To this end, the Festival hosts screenings of films with Audio Description for the Blind and the Visually Impaired and with Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing both in the physical and the online screenings.

Featuring Alpha Bank as the Festival’s Accessibility Sponsor, two landmark films of the Greek cinema will be rendered universally accessible. In particular, the Festival’s audience will have the chance to watch the iconic Greek films Glory Sky by Takis Kanellopoulos and Living Dangerously by Nikos Perakis in universally accessible terms.

Glory Sky, one of the best anti-war movies of Greek cinema, is based on first-hand testimonies of the Second World War incidents. Against the backdrop of the rutty and serene Western Macedonia landscape, through the use of a stripped-down visual language and poetic one-take shots, the films unravels the epic resistance of the Greco-Italian War, while the film’s characters experience the collapse of front following the German invasion like heroes of an ancient tragedy. The movie was screened at many international festivals, including Cannes (1963), and won the Silver Award at the Naples Film Festival (1963). Following the screening of the film, in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative (SNFPHI) at Columbia University, the Festival will have the honor of welcoming Mark Mazower on the stage of Olympion, who will delve into the historical context of the film, its relation with the official recording of history and the contribution of Kanellopoulos to the formation of our collective national memory.

Living Dangerously (1987), one of the most biting and resourceful films of Greek cinema, decries the longstanding and incurable maladies of Greek society. On the day of the World Cup final, Karamanos, an employee of TOE (the Hellenic Telecom Organisation) connects the CEO’s personal computer to a complex explosive device. He threatens to blow up the floor and the satellite links on the upper one, unless he is allowed to appear on the national network ten minutes before the football match. His aim is to denounce the evils that haunt the lives of the Greek citizens, rendering them victims of a corrupted, party-controlled state. The screening will be attended by many beloved and famous actors included in the film’s cast, whereas an honorary Golden Alexander will be awarded to Nikos Perakis for his contribution to Greek cinema.

The programme of the universally accessible screenings will be available in Braille. Moreover, the Festival’s spot will have an audio description.

Moreover, a total of 23 Greek films will be screened with embedded dialogue-based subtitles, allowing the deaf and hard-of-hearing audience to watch the films. The movies will also be available featuring Greek subtitles on the Festival’s platform.

After the curtain call of its 64th edition, the Festival and Alpha Bank will concede all the processed subtitles and the audio description to the films’ producers, in order for the films to remain universally accessible in their future screenings, in the movie theaters or in any other form or medium, hoping that through the Festival’s support the films will be distributed in universally accessible terms both in the movie theaters and in the home film distribution.

Greek short films

Last but not least, as every year, the Festival will present the short films awarded at the recent 46th Drama International Short Film Festival, which will be screened at a special section of the Film Market, accessible by sales and representatives from international short film festival

The 20 Greek short films screened at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival are the following:

A Diary of Sexual Solitude – Director: Nina Alexandraki

A Piece of Liberty – Director: Antigoni Kapaka

Aerolin – Director: Alexis Koukias-Pantelis

Arizones – Director: Giorgos Iliopoulos

Athens, My Love – Director: Dimitris Kechris

Bearcave – Directors: Krysianna Papadakis, Stergios Dinopoulos

Buffer Zone – Director: Savvas Stavrou

Crossing – Directors: Aineias Tsamatis, Katerina Mavrogeorgi

Good Girls Club: A Virginity Odyssey – Directors: Leda Varzioti, Dimitris Tsakaleas

Greenhouse – Director: George Georgakopoulos

How to Light a Cigarette Without Burning Yourself – Director: Konstantinos Spanoudakis