The Thessaloniki International Film Festival celebrates this year its 45th anniversary in the capital of northern Greece, a city which is situated in the cross-roads of the multiple exchanges between Europe and Asia and stands as the cultural meeting place of southern Europe and the Balkans. Please note that though the Festival dates are November 19-28 the main proceedings will commence on November 20. This is also the date when our foreign guests may arrive at the festival. The November 19th bow of the event will be of merely local interest. For nine days we will be privileged to have images and insights from various countries of the world, carried by the 160 plus films to be presented during the event.
The Official Section consists of competition and out-of-competition selections as well as of special screenings. The International Competition Section, programmed by festival director Michel Demopoulos, caters to first or second features by new and emerging filmmakers. Fourteen to sixteen feature films will vie for the two main awards: the Golden and the Silver Alexander, carrying respectively Euros 36,700 and 22,000 purses, to be awarded by a seven-member international jury. The Film Critics world-wide body, FIPRESCI, will again install its own Jury. The cutting edge roster of the New Horizons information program, conducted by Dimitri Eipides, will offer a 30 plus titles-strong selection highlighting the newest, most daring trends in independent world-wide film production.
The Balkan Survey will present groundbreaking works from filmmakers throughout this region. Greek films produced during the year will be presented in the Greek Films 2004 section. This presentation will automatically make them eligible for the National Cinema Awards which will be announced during a special ceremony the day after the conclusion of the Festival. Views of the past, the present and the future will be seen in the Retrospective and the Tribute Programs.
This year we are proud to announce a Retrospective of the outstanding Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami, who will be present at the Festival. Kiarostami is the most influential and controversial Iranian filmmaker and one of the most highly celebrated directors, world wide.
Apart from his early short films such as Bread and Alley (1970), The Traveler (1974), The Colours (1976), Tribute to the Teachers (1977), and his later Regularly or Irregularly (1981) and Birth of Light (1997), the retrospective includes his ground-breaking first feature film The Report (1977) followed by Where is the Friend’s Home (1987), his masterpiece Close-Up (1990), …And Life Goes On (1992) which won him recognition in the West, Under the Olive Trees (1994) and A Taste of Cherry (1997) that earned him international acclaim by winning the Palm d’ Or at the Cannes International Film Festival. Titles like The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), 10 (2002), Ten on 10 (2004) and Five (2004) are also included. The retrospective is completed with Kiarostami’s documentaries, from his early work Jahan Nama Palace (1972), Case No. 1, Case No. 2 (1979), Fellow Citizen (1983) to Homework (1989 )and A.B.C. Africa (2001).
Abbas Kiarostami is also a consumed still photographer. His Retrospective will be rounded up with the presentation of two comprehensive photo exhibitions, The Roads of Kiarostami 1978-2003, and Untitled 1978-2003.
A notable European film maker, the visionary Spanish director Victor Erice will be the object of another Retrospective starting with Desafio-Challenges (1969), followed by his beautifully lyrical El Espiritu de la Colmena -The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), El Sur-The South (1983), his artful El Sol del Membrillo-The Dream of Light (1992) up to his latest, Alumbramientos- Lifeline, which forms part of the collective effort Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) co-signed by the likes of Werner Herzog, Jim Jarmusch, Chen Kaige, Aki Kaurismaki, Spike Lee and Wim Wenders. Victor Erice will be present at the event.
Following last year’s Stars of the Steppe Tribute, the 2002 acclaimed Asian Vision section and the homage to Asian Cinema held in 1998, this year too the Festival turns towards the cinema of Asia offering a Spotlight on the work of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the filmmaker who is in the vanguard of the new Japanese cinema. Among his extensive filmography starting as back as the mid eighties with direct to video productions as well as yakuza pictures, the festival will present five to six title starting with Cure which won him international acclaim in 1997. Other films to be presented include, License to Live (1998), Charisma (1999) and Kairo (2001). Kiyoshi Kurosawa will be present at the festival.
Back in 2001 the Festival offered a comprehensive presentation of the Argentinean film industry through the spotlight, Argentinean Cinema: A New Beginning. This year we follow recent developments in this national cinematography which continues to be at the forefront of the world cinema. The News From Argentina section, representing a mix of newcomers and more established directors already present in Thessaloniki in past occasions, will be composed by 5-6 titles. Already earmarked are, Lucrecia Martel’s La Nina Santa, Ana Poliak’s Parapalos, Pablo Trapero’s Familia Rodante and Lisandro Alonso’s Los Muertos. The complete line up will be announced in our next press release.
Among the programs dedicated to the Greek cinema, enabling our foreign guests to discover the most representative local directors and film making trends, standing out this year are the Retrospectives dedicated to the work of two veterans, the experimental director Kostas Sfikas and the ground breaking director of the sixties Alexis Damianos.. Homages will be paid to the eminent screen and play writer Iakovos Kampanelis as well as to director Manos Zacharias.
The Festival’s unique position in the Balkans and Southeastern Europe is substantially enhanced for the second year with the Balkan Fund, which offers seed money for script development. The Balkan Fund addresses full fiction film projects submitted from film makers coming from countries of the region, that is Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, FYROM, Greece, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro , Slovenia and Turkey. The Balkan Fund has already financed last November during the 44th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the script development stage of 4 feature films from Albania, Turkey, Croatia and a co-production of Cyprus – Serbia & Montenegro, to the tune of Euros 10,000 per project.
Funds are provided by the Greek Ministry of Culture. The first stage of this year’s Fund’s operation has been completed last June and the short listed projects, pre-selected by an international team of experienced readers, will be announced by the end of this month. The respective filmmakers will participate in a workshop from November 24 to 26 where they will be able to present their projects and get feedback from the Jury and invited decision makers, producers and distributors.
The grants, decided by a five -member international jury, will be announced at the end of the workshop. Festival guests are invited to attend the workshop. Christina Kalas, artistic director of the Balkan Fund and Balkan Fund coordinator Lucia Rikaki will be available to meet the press during the workshop. The Balkan Fund forms part of the Coordination scheme of the European Film Funds, alongside such prestigious institutions as the Dutch Hubert Bals Fund, the Fondazione Monte Cinema Verita, the Goteborg Film Festival Film Fund and the Berlinale Film Fund.
The Festival permanent headquarters are located in the Olympion Cinema Complex which also houses the two main venues of the event, the Olympion 1 and the Pavlos Zannas in Aristotelous Square. Conveniently located in the city port, within walking distance from the Olympion Cinema Complex and the main hotels where the guests will be housed, is the multimedia cultural center, The Pier (Provlita), which includes four state-of the-art venues plus the Administration, Operation and Press Center during the Festival. A second Press Release will be sent out early November including the full program of the event plus up-to-date news concerning this year’s event as well as practical information for our guests.
Foreign Press Contact:
Alexis Grivas: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Angeliki Vergou: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
