PRESS RELEASE
May 2006
47TH INTERNATIONAL THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL
November 17-26 2006
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), spearheaded by President Georges Corraface and Director Despina Mouzaki, continuing its tradition of playing a major role on the world stage, has long established itself as South-Eastern Europe’s primary showcase for the work of new and emerging filmmakers, as well as the leading film festival in the region. Building on its success, TIFF will make its presence strongly felt at Cannes this year through several initiatives.
For the first time, TIFF will operate a pavilion at the International Village, in cooperation with the Greek Film Centre, providing Greek filmmakers a window on the world market. At the same time, it gives foreign filmmakers as well as buyers and producers the chance to get better acquainted with the Festival and all it has to offer. The TIFF-GFC pavilion will be available to all Greek film professionals for their business meetings, acting as a nucleus for the promotion of Greece and Greek cinema to the world.
A party hosted by TIFF for invited film professionals and journalists will be held at the Carlton Hotel, on Nikki Beach on May 23, at which part of the program of the 47th Festival will be announced.
Since its inception, the International Thessaloniki Film Festival has striven to present the most innovative independent films from around the world. The 47th edition will be held in Thessaloniki, November 17-26. The main sections of the festival remain roughly the same as in the recent past with the Official International Programme consisting of Competition and Out-of-Competition sections as well as Special Screenings.
The International Competition Section, programmed by Despina Mouzaki, 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, each carrying a € 37,000 and € 22,000 prize respectively. Other awards include Best Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress and Artistic Contribution plus the Audience awards. Coordination Alexis Grivas, Ilse Acevedo, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Homage to Brazilian Cinema
Following the success of our Homage to Mexican Cinema last year, as well as our homage to the cinema of Argentina in the past, the 2006 edition of TIFF will hold an homage to Brazilian Cinema. This 20-plus title strong homage will include cornerstones of Brazilian film (Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos) as well as the latest productions this exceptional country has to offer. The delegation attending our festival will be made up of film makers, actors, producers and other Brazilian film professionals. In addition to presenting their films, a series of Master Classes and Round Table discussions dealing with the cinema of Brazil will be held. The brilliant filmmaker Walter Salles is set to attend. The homage is organized by TIFF in collaboration with Grupo Novo de Cinema e TV and the Brazilian Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs. Besides taking part in the homage, a selection of recent Brazilian films will participate in our film market. Coordinated by Alexis Grivas and Ilse Acevedo.
Homage to Chinese Cinema
TIFF will host a major program on Chinese Cinema, focusing on quality films (and filmmakers) which have not received the attention they deserve from western festivals and which are less known to western audiences. The purpose of this homage is to show "another view" of modern Chinese cinema - its real breadth and diversity - with a special emphasis on its high-quality mainstream cinema. Curator of the event will be a well known and respected expert on Chinese Cinema from the U.K.
Retrospectives and Tributes
Views of the past, the present and the future will be seen in the Retrospective and Tribute Programs dedicated to foreign masters and film makers.
A major, inclusive retrospective will be held this year on the work of Wim Wenders, in which his films will be screened in the presence of the director himself. Wim Wenders will also conduct a Master Class, and the retrospective will be complemented by an Exhibition with stills from his films photographed by Donata Wenders, his wife, an accomplished artist and close collaborator. Other events are set to accompany this retrospective, featuring various Wenders collaborators such as directors of photography, music composers and performers, scriptwriters and actors.
Balkan Survey
For the 12th year, the Balkan Survey section, curated by film theorist Dimitris Kerkinos, will present a selection of the most significant Balkan films of the year. At the same time, a small Tribute to the work of a distinguished director from the area, accompanied by the publication of a monograph, will be held. This year, in cooperation with the '”Agora'” (the Film Market), a “Balkan Works In Progress” program will be launched, while for the second consecutive year an Audience Award will be given to the most popular film of the Balkan Survey section. For further information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Independence Days
This section, headed by programmer and film critic Lefteris Adamidis, focuses on independent filmmaking by young and provocative talent regardless of subject matter or geographic area. The first edition was introduced very successfully last year with a strong Main Selection of 21 films, retrospectives and tributes as well as the Someone to Watch sidebar, presenting premieres of cutting edge new filmmakers. Now in its second edition, Independence Days will pay tribute to the surrealistic world of Jan Svankmajer, among others, with a full presentation of his work. For further information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Focus: Teenage Lust/Teenage Angst
TIFF launches a new thematic programme section named FOCUS, programmed by film critic Konstantinos Kontovrakis. For its first edition, FOCUS will pay tribute to a masterwork of contemporary art, Larry Clark’s photographic series “Teenage Lust” (1983). Through a selection of 10 films, FOCUS: Teenage Lust/Teenage Angst will explore the issues of identity and its formation, sexuality and self-awareness, anxiety and adolescence, in an effort to apprehend and recreate the defining times of teenage life that inspired some of art’s and film’s best moments. For further information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Greek Films 2006
The Greek section features a comprehensive Panorama of the year’s local full-length feature film production and a selection of full-length documentaries. Most of the 20 plus feature films and documentaries will be world premieres and will be eligible for the National Cinema Awards which will be announced during a special ceremony, organized by the Culture Ministry, the day after the conclusion of the festival. The section, coordinated by filmmaker Thanos Anastopoulos, includes retrospectives, special screenings and publications.
New Competition Section Reserved For Greek Films Shot In Digital Format
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is launching a new competitive section for Greek films this year. This new section will feature fiction films shot and screened in any digital format. In cooperation with the Greek Film Centre, there will be an award given to the best feature film. For further information on Greek Films 2006 and the new Competition section for Greek films shot in Digital Format please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A Market For Feature Films In Thessaloniki
“AGORA”, The Thessaloniki International Film Festival Market, coordinated by Margarita Eliopoulou, launched successfully at the 46th Thessaloniki International Film Festival as an international meeting and trading umbrella, focusing on the film industry of South-Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. “Agora” offers well-equipped exhibition space for film professionals, holds Film Library and Market Screenings and presents the new Agora screening programs “Balkan Works In Progress” (in cooperation with the Balkan Survey section) and “Mediterranean Focus”. For further information please contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Crossroads Co-production Forum
The 2nd Crossroads Co-production Forum coordinated by Katerina Kaklamani, will take place from November 23rd until the 25th. Crossroads is aimed at introducing Mediterranean and Balkan producers with a feature film script to a network of financiers, co-producers and leading industry specialists. The deadline for submitting projects to the 2nd Crossroads Co-production Forum is August 11th. For information on the application procedure and the requirements, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Balkan Fund
The Balkan Fund, an initiative of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, was founded in 2003 and addresses a geographical area not fully covered by any other Festival Fund: South-Eastern Europe and specifically Albania, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania, Serbia – Montenegro, Slovenia, Turkey and FYROM. It is headed by Christina Kallas – Kalogeropoulou and Loukia Rikaki. The purpose of the Balkan Fund is to support filmmakers from the region in their efforts to develop their projects as professionally as possible, from the initial stage of scriptwriting. The Balkan Fund only supports feature-length fiction projects with potential for theatrical release. Each year an International Jury awards four (4) out of twelve (12) projects a € 10,000 grant each for script development. After the pre-selection procedure they are presented at the Balkan Fund Three-Day Workshop, during the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The first project to emerge from the Balkan Fund (participating in the workshop and receiving one of the four awards for script development in 2003) was Grbavica, from first time Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic, which went on to win the Golden Bear at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival. The application deadline is June 30, 2006. For information on the application procedure and the requirements, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The market and co-production activities of the festival are coordinated through the Industry Center administered by Linda Beath, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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.
www.filmfestival.gr
INTERNATIONAL THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL
9 Alexandras Ave., 11473, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 210 8706000, Fax: +30 210 64 48 143
