57th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
November 3-13, 2016
CLOSING CEREMONY
November 3-13, 2016
CLOSING CEREMONY
In an optimistic tone coming both from the organizers and the participants, and with the hope and faith that cinema can change the world, the curtain fell on the 57th Thessaloniki International Film Festival during the closing ceremony that took place on Sunday, November 13, 2016 at a packed Olympion theatre.
“We are reaching the end of a 10-day period which has been full. Full of films. Full of events. Full of emotions. And with packed theatres”, said at his opening speech the actor Taxiarchis Chanos, who presented the closing ceremony. “These ten days, and their memories, will stay with us for a long time”, he added.
Immediately afterwards the festival’s audience watched some daily snapshots of the 57th TIFF, as recorded in an episode of the 2-minute documentary series made by a group of 95 students in AUTH School of Film Studies, under the supervision of their assistant professor Apostolos Karakassis.
Consequently, TIFF’s General Director Elise Jalladeau and TIFF’s director Orestis Andreadakis took the stage. Mr. Andreadakis thanked the festival’s partners, the sponsors and the volunteers, since as he said, “without them it would have been impossible for us to host this event”. And added: “Directors, producers, scriptwriters, technicians and journalists visited the festival to watch films, exchange ideas, discover new cinematic dreams. And of course the people of Thessaloniki supported this year’s Festival, as they do in the last 57 years”. On her part, Mrs. Jalladeau noted: “In the last ten days, a major international cinema feast is taking place in Thessaloniki. This year we screened 214 films and welcomed 1,550 guests from all over the world. More than 80,000 viewers, 10% more than last year, watched our films”.
Mr Andreadakis made a special mention of the Agora/Industry, the Festival’s industry section, which hosted 27 outstanding film projects, and where 400 meetings in total took place between directors and producers, initiating important artistic and commercial collaborations.
Linking the festival event with the current social reality, Mrs. Jalladeau and Mr. Andreadakis noted in an on-stage dialogue: “The TIFF, the film festivals, and the international art events in general, open new creative horizons, repeal the borders and encourage the viewers to become active citizens. Yet the fear of isolation is haunting us more than ever, as we realized recently. Are we entering into a new dark age of nationalism and xenophobia? Are we going to keep to ourselves again, in our small countries, our small groups? The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is answering all these questions. Cinema is an international language of communication, cooperation and understanding”. For this reason, as Mr. Andreadakis noted, “the Thessaloniki International Film Festival will go on building bridges beyond fear and paranoia that threaten to fall on our heads”, while Mrs. Jalladeau added that the festival “will keep on bringing closer people, civilizations and cultures, praising diversity and believing that cinema can change the world”.
Consequently, the Mayor of Thessaloniki Yiannis Boutaris, took the stage to express his joy for the fact that during his years of office he had the chance to attend two TIFF phases. “The first phase ended with the former management which had to deal with the problems of the crisis that we are experiencing and will continue to do so”. He noted that Dimitri Eipides left a good legacy behind, while with Elise Jalladeau and Orestis Andreadakis the festival enters a new phase: “New people are now in charge of TIFF, while at the same time more things are taking place in the city, as for example the Warehouse C’ which is given to AUTH School of Film Studies. One of my dreams, besides watching movies, is for a cinema history to be created in Thessaloniki, that’s why we must support institutions such as the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, which along with the Cinema Museum are assets for this city. The organizers promise that the Festival will be active throughout the year, something which we will all witness, we’ll see good things”. He promised that next year the Municipality of Thessaloniki will fund a Festival prize and wished for the municipalities to gain autonomy from central government so that their work becomes easier.
The announcement of the 57th TIFF awards took place afterwards, starting with the Fischer Audience Award, which are bestowed for 10 years in the TIFF. “For 10 consecutive years Fischer is the sponsor of the Audience Award in the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. An institution which gives the audience the chance to express itself and in turn, they select their favorite films. Year after year we are happy to find that more and more people participate and their voices become more and more loud. Thus, this year, 22,000 movie goers voted for the Fischer Audience Awards”, said Eftychia Gatopoulou, Fischer Marketing Manager, who announced and bestowed the awards.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the Greek Film section (premiere) – Michael Cacoyannis Award was bestowed to the film The Other Me, directed by Sotiris Tsafoulias. Receiving the award, the director stressed that it is one of the most important ones, since “we make films for the audience and the audience only”.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the International Competition section was awarded to the film I Still Hide to Smoke directed by the French-Algerian Rayhana. The prize was received by the film’s co-producer Fenia Kossovitsa and Tatiana Verbi, who worked in production and passed on a short message by the director: “I am overwhelmed with the same emotion I felt during my film’s screening before the audience of Thessaloniki. Your laughs, your tears, your embrace and your applause had shocked me. I didn’t know then that you would honor me by selecting the voice of the Algerian women, and not only that. In my eyes, no recognition can compare to that of the audience”.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in the “Balkan Survey” section was bestowed to the Turkish film Rauf, directed by Baris Kaya and Soner Caner. In a video message sent by Baris Kaya, the director expressed his joy about the award and thanked the Festival and Thessaloniki for the honour.
The Fischer Audience Award for a film in “Open Horizons” section was bestowed to the film The Distinguished Citizen, directed by Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn.
This year, TIFF hosted the Youth Jury Awards, bestowed by students in the Universities of Thessaloniki to films of the Greek Film Festival 2016 section (premiere). The jury, comprised by the students of the AUTH and the University of Macedonia Sotiris Petridis, Konstantina Davali, Natassa Delivoria, Yannis Melfos and Ioanna Chatzipanteli, is an educational initiative of the AUTH’s School of Film Studies, under the supervision of the professor Betty Kaklamanidou.
The Special Youth Jury Award was bestowed to the film Amerika Square by Yannis Sakaridis. Receiving the award, the director Yannis Sakaridis and the screenwriter Yannis Tsirbas stressed that it is a very important one and expressed their joy for the fact that their film is the first to be awarded by the Youth Jury. “The film has built bridges with the young people and that is very nice”, they noted, inter alia.
The award for the Best Film that had its premiere in the 57th TIFF was bestowed to the film The Other Me by Sotiris Tsafoulias. The director said that it is an important award since “it is bestowed by young people to whom the country’s future belongs. The film was a risk for us, we were nervous during production and the fact that we are now being awarded by the future of this country is very hopeful”.
The Greek Film Critics Association (PEKK) Award for the best Greek film went to the film 90 years PAOK: Nostalgia for the Future by the late director Nikos Triantafyllidis. The award was handed by PEKK’s president Andreas Tiros, who noted that Nikos Triantafyllidis’ film “combines emotion with narrative density, the rite of stadiums with people’s everyday lives, the mythology of a football club with the ethics of its fans and the pulse of society”. Mr. Tiros noted that this year PEKK completes its 40 years and thanked the new TIFF management for hosting a series of screenings selected by PEKK members in the 57th Festival. He also underlined that these films are among the selection of the ten best European and the ten best Greek films that were voted by the members of PEKK, with The Travelling Players by Theo Angelopoulos voted as the best Greek one. Closing his speech, Mr. Tiros said that this year marked the end of a short unfortunate period in PEKK’s relations with the Festival, while the presence of Greek cinema in this year’s edition was significantly upgraded.
ERT S.A. bestowed a new award worth of 3,000 euros to a film of the Greek Film Festival 2016 section (“First Run”) in the 57th TIFF. The jury, comprised by Yorgos Botsos, Nikos Vezirgiannis and Menos Deliotzakis, awarded the film Park by Sofia Exarchou. Bestowing the award, ERT S.A. CEO Lambis Tagmatarchis spoke about the winning film’s new film language. “ERT S.A. is present at the 57th Festival, as in all previous festivals, also as is in the thoughts of each actor, director and producer in the first casting and script editing”, he said and stressed that “many Greek films would have found it harder to be made without ERT”. The award was received by the film’s producer Amanda Livanou who thanked ERT for the support, as well as the Festival, since as she said, “the Agora/Industry Crossroads section embraced the film four years ago. Though Park’s heroes live in ugliness, we will always be looking for beauty and this is something that no crisis can render a luxury”.
The jury members Kostas Dimos, Aris Fatouros and Vassilis Douvlis, representing the Hellenic Parliament TV Channel Vouli TV, bestowed the “Human Values” award to the film Sami Blood directed by Amanda Kernell. The MP Thessaloniki Triantafyllos Mitafidis, who announced and bestowed the award, congratulated the winner on behalf of the President of the Hellenic Parliament Nikos Voutsis, adding that: “The Hellenic Parliament TV bestowed the ‘Human Values’ award to a film in the International Competition section of the 57th TIFF, which through the story of a 14 year- old Sami girl living in Sweden during the 1930s, brings to light the Swedish society’s colonial past, the tribalism and racism towards minorities, in a time when Nazism was on the rise in Europe”. Mr. Mitafidis also made special mention to the memory of the Festival’s pioneer, Pavlos Zannas. On her part, in a video message the director Amanda Kernell expressed her joy for the award and also the hope that “we are heading towards a better future”.
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) jury, consisting of Alexander Huser (President, Norway), Ahmet Gurata (Turkey) and Ifigenia Kalantzi (Greece), bestowed its awards. Mr. Huser announced that the FIPRESCI award for a film in the International Competition section is bestowed to the film Lady Macbeth by William Oldroyd, for its skillful and engaging storytelling, its outstanding acting, its precise cinematic language, and its exquisite compositions. Partly thriller and partly period drama, it portrays a society with huge divisions between both the sexes and the social classes, in a way that makes the story relevant also for our so-called modern times”. In a video message, the film’s director thanked the Festival and the audience for the honor and said he had a lovely time during his stay in Thessaloniki, the previous days. The FIPRESCI Award for a film in the Greek Film Festival 2016 section (premiere) was bestowed to the film Amerika Square by Yannis Sakaridis; “a well-crafted story of intertwined destinies set in a microcosm of a small district in modern day Athens. Blending drama with comedy the film tackles with economic crisis, mass migration and xenophobia. While appropriating genre conventions, Amerika Square never fails to generate critical engagement with these serious issues”, the jury president noted. Receiving the award, Yannis Sakaridis talked about his bonds with TIFF; as he said, he has attended the event ever since his youth, while eight years ago this film’s project participated in the Agora/Industry Crossroads section.
Finally, the International Jury of the International Competition Section of the 57th Thessaloniki International Film Festival bestowed their awards. The jury consisted of the Iranian film director Amir Naderi (president), the director of photography Sofian El Fani (Tunisia), the screenwriter Frederique Moreau (France), the consultant, producer and film curator Peter Scarlet USA) and the director Eva Stefani (Greece).
The jury’s first Special Mention was awarded by Peter Scarlet to the actor Haris Fragoulis for his performance in the film Afterlov by Stergios Paschos. The actor was not present at the closing ceremony and the award was received by the film’s director, who expressed his joy for this honor, noting that the actors and all members of the film crew worked hard, doing their best.
The jury’s second Special Mention was awarded by Sofian El Fani to the actor Vassilis Koukalani for his performance in the film Amerika Square by Yannis Sakaridis. Receiving the award on behalf of the actor, the director described the film protagonist as an “excellent actor”. On his part, in a video message to the Festival’s audience, since he is now in Calcutta on occasion of the film’s screening, Vassilis Koukalani sent warm thanks for the award and added, among other things: “It is a particular joy for me that this character receives this award, in a film representing the people of Syria and their destiny”. He dedicated the award to the Syrian people who suffer from the war, wishing for all wars to stop, for “us to take on responsibility and for borders to open for all people”, as he underlined.
The Best Artistic Achievement Award was bestowed to the film Afterlov by Stergios Paschos. The award was handed by Amir Naderi, who noted: “Never in the last 15 years have I been in a Festival with such a lively audience, a youthful audience going from one screening to another, which is the seed of a new generation of Greek film directors”. Receiving the award, the director Stergios Paschos thanked the Festival and the crew that worked for the film.
Sofian El Fani bestowed the Best Actress Award ex aequo to the actresses Dimitra Vlagkopoulou for the film Park by Sofia Exarchou and Suzuno Takenaka for the film The Sower by Yosuke Takeuchi. The producer of the film Park Amanda Livanou, mentioned that it was Dimitra Vlagkopoulou’s first appearance on screen, since, as she said, the actress “got to know cinema through the hard and beautiful world of Park”. On his part, speaking about his film’s protagonist, Yosuke Takeuchi, who received the award, explained that “Suzuno Takenaka is a child and her participation in the film was very important and became possible with a lot of difficulties. She did not have the script in her hands from the beginning; we were handing it to her gradually so as to help her get into the film’s world”.
The Best Actor Award was bestowed by Sofian El Fani to Zoltan Fenyvesi, Szabolcs Thuroczy and Adam Fekete for their performances in the film Kills on Wheels by Attila Till. In a video message, Zoltan Fenyvesi described the award as a great honor, expressed his gratitude and noted that for people as him, who use wheelchairs, the joy of such an award is even bigger.
The Special Jury Award for Best Director - Bronze Alexander was awarded by Frederique Moreau to Yosuke Takeuchi for his film The Sower. “The film was an independent production and therefore very low budget, and it is wonderful to having won an award in such a high prestige Festival”, said the director, adding: “The film opens with Van Gogh, an artist whose work wasn’t appreciated until after his death. I am interested in people living in shadows and having no chance to shine. As long as there are such people, I will go on making films”.
The Special Jury Award - Silver Alexander was given to the film Heartstone by Gu?mundur Arnar Gu?mundsson from Iceland. Peter Scarlet bestowed the award. In a video message to the Festival’s audience, the Icelandic director said he had a wonderful three-day stay in Thessaloniki and was impressed by the warmth that the audience welcomed his film with. “Such an award encourages a new director to go on making films”, he added.
Finally, Amir Naderi bestowed the Best Full-length Feature Film Award - Golden Alexander “Theo Angelopoulos” to the Hungarian film Kills on Wheels by Attila Till. “All the films we watched were of excellent quality”, Mr. Naderi said. In a video message to the Festival’s audience, the director Attila Till described the award as an “outstanding recognition” and added: “When you make a film, you try your best. When people tell you that your film is good, the feeling is amazing. This is our first big prize and is extremely important, since it is also a great encouragement for people with disabilities who appear in the film”.
The evening ended with the screening of the film The Dancer by Stephanie Di Giusto, with the French musician and actress SoKo starring as the legendary Belle Epoque dancer Loie Fuller. Both the director and the protagonist attended the ceremony and presented the film. On her part, Stephanie Di Giusto thanked the festival’s organizers for having chosen her film to close the 57th TIFF and explained that she was inspired by a black and white photography of 1900. “I had to know who the woman in the picture was”, she noted, and strongly praised SoKo, who did herself all the film’s dancing scenes. On her part, SoKo noted: “The film is about the magical life of a talented woman who was very strong, but still very childish. Remaining a child these days, being happy, is very important. I was lucky that I learned to dance for this film and I want to stress that dance gives a lot of joy”.
The entire ceremony was provided with Greek sign language interpretation on stage.
All sections of the 57th TIFF as well as the Agora/Industry are financed by the European Union - European Regional Development Fund under the ROP of Central Macedonia 2014-2020.
