PRESS RELEASE
18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century
11-20 March, 2016
18th TDF FILM LINE-UP, FIPRESCI JURY & SIDEBAR EVENTS
18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century
11-20 March, 2016
18th TDF FILM LINE-UP, FIPRESCI JURY & SIDEBAR EVENTS
The 18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Images of the 21st Century, part of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, presents approximately 186 films (shorts and features) by directors from all over the world, as well as a full parallel events program.
FILM PREMIERES
The 18th TDF presents 8 world, 7 international, 2 European and 148 Greek premieres:
World Premieres:
A Different American Dream, Simon Brook, France, USA, 2016, 84’ - Habitat
A Living Space - One Season at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center, Jakub Jahn, USA, Czech Republic, 2016, 57΄- Arts
Death Is Life, Ali Alvarez, United Kingdom, 2016, 67’ – Habitat
Ghostland, Simon Stadler & Catenia Lermer, Germany, 2016, 85’ – Views of the World
Natureplay, Daniel Stilling, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 2015, 81’ – Views of the World
The Book of Conrad, Belinda Schmid & David Cranstoun Welch, USA, 2015, 82’ - Portraits
The Valley of Salt, Christophe Magdy Saber, Switzerland, 2016, 62’ – Stories to Tell
The Virgin Obsession, Guner Yasemin Balci, Germany, France, 2015, 86’ – Human Rights
International Premieres:
Chau, Beyond the Lines, Courtney Marsh, Vietnam, USA, 2015, 34’ - Stories to Tell
Dreaming of Denmark, Michael Graversen, Denmark, 2016, 60’- “Refugees: Escape to Freedom?” Tribute
Inside the Mind of Favela Funk, Fleur Beemster & Elise Roodenburg, Netherlands, 2015, 68’ – Music
Killa Dizez – Life and Death in the Time of Ebola, Nico Piro, Italy, 2015, 62’ – Views of the World
Time Simply Passes, Ty Flowers, USA, 2015, 55’ – Portraits
What He Did, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark, 2015, 64’ – Portraits
White Rage, Arto Halonen, Finland, 2016, 73’ - Stories to Tell
European Premieres:
Indian Point, Ivy Meeropol, USA, 2015, 94’ – Habitat
The Eye of Istanbul, Binnur Karaevli & Fatih Kaymak, Turkey, 2015, 60’ - Arts
FIPRESCI JURY
An international FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) jury will hand out one award to a Greek documentary and one award to a foreign documentary.
The five-member FIPRESCI Jury is composed of:
Melis Behlil, Turkey, President
Sasja Koetsier, Netherlands
Anna Bielak, Poland
Silvestar Mileta, Croatia, and
Georgios Papadimitriou, Greece
OPENING FILM
Landfill Harmonic – A Symphony of the Human Spirit
by Brad Allgood & Graham Townsley, USA, Paraguay, Norway, Brazil, 2015
The 18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival opening film (Friday March 11th, Olympion theatre) celebrates the transformative power of music and the resilience of the human spirit. The documentary follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan group of young musicians who live next to one of South America’s largest landfills and play instruments made entirely out of garbage. Under the guidance of its idealistic mentor and music director Favio Chavez, the orchestra is catapulted into the global spotlight and navigates this new world of arenas and sold out concerts, proving that music can indeed change your life.
SIDEBAR EVENTS
MASTERCLASS JON BANG CARLSEN
“Inventing Reality”
Tuesday 15 March, 11:00, Pavlos Zannas Theatre
Jon Bang Carlsen, known for his radical hybrid style in which he deliberately blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction, is one of Denmark’s most innovative documentarists. His “staged documentaries” are visually and symbolically powerful portraits of ordinary or marginal people in their daily lives. Jon Bang Carlsen will discuss his filmic method and his approach to reality in his films.
Moderator: Dimitris Kerkinos
PANEL DISCUSSION
“DOCUMENTING THE REFUGEE ISSUE: METHODS, OBJECTIVES, CHALLENGES, ETHICS”
Wednesday 16 March, 11:00, Pavlos Zannas Theatre
On the occasion of the 18th TDF’s tribute “Refugees: Escape to Freedom?”, a panel discussion titled "Documenting the Refugee Issue: Methods, Objectives, Challenges, Ethics” will be held. The discussion will focus on various questions that concern the ways we approach this intricate political and humanitarian issue, one of the biggest ongoing transitions in modern history. The event is an initiative of plays2place productions, with the support of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and the Goethe Institute of Thessaloniki. The panel’s participants are: Anestis Azas (Theatre Director – Head of the Experimental Stage -1, National Theatre), Giorgos Moutafis (Photojournalist), Martha Bouziouri (Social Anthropologist - Cross-media projects Director) and Marianna Oikonomou (Film Director).
Moderator: Konstantinos Aivaliotis (Director of Athens Ethnographic Film Festival)
EXHIBITION “IMAGES OF OUR OTHER SELF”
Thessaloniki Center of Contemporary Art (Warehouse B1, Thessaloniki Port)
Duration: March 12-26, 2016 // Opening Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 10:00-18:00, Friday 10:00 – 22:00 (free entrance).
Back in October 2013, “shedia” street paper vendors, people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion as an extreme result of the crisis, were handed a camera with the purpose to capture city life from their own very unique perspective. The material collected constitutes a unique social narrative: a narrative of a country deep in socio-economic crisis, of people who are suffering, but also of people determined not to let go, ordinary citizens who keep on hoping, dreaming and fighting for a better world. The exhibition is organized by the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the “shedia” Street Paper, the State Museum of Contemporary Art and the Thessaloniki Center of Contemporary Art.
JUST TALKING
13-19 March (inclusive), 16.00–17.30
Electra Palace Hotel ground floor, Excelsior Room
The Just Talking event, introduced in 2006, brings filmmakers from various parts of the world together and creates a platform of communication, promoting creativity and forging collaboration. Daily discussion groups of directors and producers revolve around issues that concern documentary filmmakers. Apart from the groups, all other accredited festival attendees are admitted to the sessions and can either simply listen or participate.
THESSALONIKI CINEMATHEQUE LIBRARY
Inaugurated in March 2013, the Thessaloniki Cinematheque Library, yet another institution of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, is the largest film library in the country, containing Greek and international books and magazines that cover a wide range of topics regarding information, study and research on the art of film. The collection consists of approximately 14,000 books, as well as Greek and international magazines about film. Part of the collection is available in digital form which allows easier access to the Library’s public. The Thessaloniki Film Library is hosted at the Cinema Museum – Cinematheque, in Warehouse A’ (City Port).
