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With 89,000 spectators and visitors, the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival has come to a close. From October 31st to November 10th, the 65th Festival hosted premieres, fascinating discussions and masterclasses, in addition to welcoming prominent figures of cinema, including Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Matt Dillon, Joshua Oppenheimer, Panos H. Koutras. It also had the pleasure of having the beloved writer Victoria Hislop as an ambassador of the Agora.

The Festival called it a wrap with a touching farewell to Yannis Boutaris – Joshua Oppenheimer presented his film The End in the closing ceremony of 65th TIFF.

The lights of the Olympion are dim, the theater overflows with the melodies of the legendary song “My Way,” and Paul Anka’s velvety voice caresses our ears. A photograph of Yannis Boutaris is showcased on the big screen.  Mr. Yannis seated amidst his vineyards, staring at us in the eye, and the audience in the packed Olympion theater gives a warm applause. The closing ceremony of the 65th Thessaloniki Film Festival kicked off with a farewell tribute to a deeply influential figure who forged an unconventional, and fascinating path in the local community, the previous Mayor of Thessaloniki, Yannis Boutaris, who also served as President of the Festival’s Board of Directors.

Subsequently, the evening’s host, the beloved actor Antinoos Albanis, welcomed the audience to the closing ceremony of the 65th TIFF. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You realize to whom this evening is dedicated to. To Yannis Boutaris, our dear old Mr. Yannis, who always did things his own way, brave and free. He served as the Mayor of Thessaloniki, and the President of the Festival’s Board of Directors, but most of all he was a remarkable man who altered the history of this region. Dear friends, the 65th Thessaloniki Film Festival is coming to an end. Many thanks to the uninterrupted support of the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Central Macedonia, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, our sponsors, our partners, the tireless volunteers, and of course, the Festival’s staff. The awards of the 65th Festival, more than 40, were bestowed this afternoon.” At this point, the award-winners of the 65th edition that were present in the theater stood up and received an ovation from the audience. Immediately afterwards, the screening of a video featuring the best highlights from the 65th TIFF followed.

The film wrapping up the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival was The End by Joshua Oppenheimer. The filmmaker, two-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, honored the Festival with his presence at the closing ceremony. Antinoos Albanis, speaking on this year’s edition closing film, stated: “Joshua Oppenheimer’s The End is a subversive, dystopian and political musical, starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon. The film will be distributed in the Greek theaters by Weird Wave that we’d like to thank very much.” Next, he invited on stage the renowned American filmmaker, Joshua Oppenheimer. 

“Thank you so much. You have given me one of the warmest welcomes in my life. You have been incredibly kind to me, and kindness is a concept we have to safeguard these days. I am very happy to be here. It is evidently extremely fitting to conclude a film festival with a movie titled The End. In quite a tumultuous state, I impart to you the following considerations. The subject matter of the film is completely timely in the tragic situation we find ourselves in. I face this new situation terrified, both as an American and as a European citizen, but primarily as a human being. I am more ashamed than ever of the way we treat our fellow human beings. For how we fail to welcome the 'outsider' and anything different, how we build walls so that we can hide behind, but also to eliminate those on the other side,” Joshua Oppenheimer said.

“At the same time, I feel great joy and satisfaction for sharing my film with you in its Greek premiere. It is a musical which seems to have sprung out of the genre’s golden years, and focuses on the last human families that survived all alone in a bunker, decades after an environmental disaster has transformed Earth into a non-habitable planet. Similarly to my other films, The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014), The End is a mediation on storytelling. On the way we tell stories to hide from the world, and from ourselves, on how we make up excuses for our behaviors, and we cling to them tightly, to ease our regrets. It’s a film about the singular human ability to lie to ourselves, as well as the devastating consequences of this self-deception, “Joshua Oppenheimer added.

“Simultaneously, The End is a film showcasing vulnerability, as well as the splendor of human nature. I hope each one of you recognizes themselves in my film: the characters remained anonymous on purpose because they represent all of us. It’s the result of an astounding commitment from an amazingly talented group of actors. I wholeheartedly wish you experience something powerful, even magical. Thank you very much, “Joshua Oppenheimer concluded. Finally, Antinoos Albanis took the floor, renewing our rendezvous with the Festival in March, 2025, for the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, and also throughout the entire season in the theaters for the annual activity of the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

A few words about the film

Twenty-five years after an environmental disaster that has transformed Earth into a non-habitable planet, a family composed of the Mother, the Father and the Son lives secluded in a luxurious bunker, where they strive to preserve hope and a sense of normality, keeping up with the rituals of the daily life, until the arrival of an unknown young woman, the Girl, subverts this routine. The Son, a naive 20-year-old who has never seen the outside world, is intrigued by this change. All of a sudden, the fragile bonds of unquestioning optimism that bind this privileged group together are starting to fade away. As tensions rise, this seemingly idyllic co-existence is starting to fall apart, while repressed guilt and oppressed malcontent threaten the family’s balance. At the same time, its members are faced up against a series of bitter truths that pave the way for a different road leading forward, a road based on acceptance, love and the ability to change. 

A film tackling urgent issues, starring Oscar® nominated Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon, as well as George MacKay and Moses Ingram. The screenplay was written by Joshua Oppenheimer and Rasmus Heisterberg, while the film’s score bears the signature of Joshua Schmidt (music) and Joshua Oppenheimer (lyrics). 

*The movie will hit the Greek theaters distributed by Weird Wave on December 12th, 2024.

The iconic comedy of Greek cinema Miss Director (1964) by Dinos Dimopoulos, scored by the legendary and recently deceased conductor and composer Mimis Plessas, was screened on Saturday, November 9th at the Pavlos Zannas theater. The special screening of the film was organized by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in collaboration with Finos Film. 

Amidst a warm and touching ambiance, with the filmmakers and the heroes of their films taking center stage, the awards of the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival were bestowed on Sunday November 10th, 2024. The audience was welcomed by the artistic director of the Festival, Orestis Andreadakis, paying homage to Yannis Boutaris, who passed away recently.

The honorary Golden Alexander award was bestowed to Panos H. Koutras for his overall contribution to cinema, with the ceremony taking place at the Olympion theater, on Friday, November 8th. The award ceremony was followed by the screening of the film, The Attack of the Giant Moussaka, which marked Panos H. Koutras’ directorial debut.