Media / Press

 “Joaquín Cociña and I both grew up during Pinochet’s dictatorship. It’s not that we experienced something very dramatic, we did have a relatively happy childhood. Still, the conditions in our country were very dark and oppressive. We used to live inside, in our homes, which is perhaps why our films are so claustrophobic. During dictatorship we had no public space and this bore down on us a lot. Perhaps that’s why in one of our films we decided to bring back Jaime Guzmán, a leading figure during the dictatorship, to force him to ask forgiveness and fix what’s broken”.

Agora, the TIFF’s industry section, announced its awards on Friday, November 9, 2018 in Warehouse C, as part of the 59^th Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

"I'm a film maniac, I watch three films a day. So when TIFF's artistic director Orestis Andreadakis and the vice president Achilleas Kyriakidis talked to me about Agora and how its very important work could be further stimulated, I accepted at once. Besides, this process has been the starting point of so many films and filmmakers, among which Yorgos Lanthimos, who in 2008 had presented a trailer of his film Dogtooth in Agora Works in Progress. Agora is TIFF”s most creative section, although people don't know it", Foivos Delivorias said.

The 59th Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s big tribute to the Greek queer cinema was the occasion for an interesting discussion entitled “The Greek Queer Cinema: An Oral Story”, which took place on Thursday, November 8, 2018, at Warehouse C’ (Port). The directors that took part in the discussion, and whose films are presented as a tribute, were Iris Zachmanidi, Takis Spetsiotis, Konstantinos Giannaris, Panos H. Koutras, Angelos Frantzis, Panagiotis Evangelidis, Haris Papadopoulos and Kyriakos Hatzimichailidis.

59^th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL [1-11/11/2018] || 1-11/11/2018

Agora Works in Progress Opening

Agora Works in Progress session opened on Thursday, November 8, 2018 at Olympion theatre, as part of the 59^th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, presenting the 12 films that participate in this year’s event.

Agora Works in Progress gives the opportunity to selected sales agents, distributors and festival representatives from all over the world to be the first to discover feature films from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean one step before their completion.

First, TIFF art director Orestis Andreadakis warmly thanked everyone, and wished good luck to all participants.

Then Agora head, Yanna Sarri, made mention to the institutional and financial supporters of Work in Progress session: the MEDIA sub-program of Creative Europe and the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). She also thanked the prizes sponsors:

1. a) The European fund for the co-production of cinematographic works Eurimages that offers the Lab Project Award which amounts up to 50,000 euros to an unconventional film participating in Works in Progress section
2. b) The Greek post-production house Graal, that provides a post-production award in kind services to one film participating in the Agora Works in Progress section.
3. c) The Greek music company MuSou that offers the music and sound award (composition and production of an original film score, music supervision, and assistance in licensing of commercial music for use in the film and audio post-production services).

After that, Yianna Sarri thanked the 2018 Agora Works in Progress Jury, consisting of Lorenzo Esposito (Italy - Cinéma du Réel), Sofia Exarchou (Film Director - Greece), Valeska Neu (Germany - Films Boutique) and Tamara Tatishvili (Georgia - Eurimages).

Consequently, the 12 films participating in the section were presented with clips and short introductions by the producers and directors who attend the festival.

This year’s films are:

1. ALASKA, Direction: Alain Raoust, Production: Tom Dercourt – Cinema Defacto, Co-production: Terratreme Filmes, France-Portugal
2. THE CANDIDATE, Direction: Ercan Kesal, Production: Kerem Catay, Yamac Okur, Suzan Guverte – Ay Yapım, Poyraz Film, Turkey
3. THE CONSPICUOUS PARTS, Direction: Assaf Gruber, Production: Assaf Gruber, Co-production: Filmblades, Talking Projects, Cyprus-Belgium-Germany-France
4. COOK F—K KILL, Direction: Mira Fornay, Production: Viktor Schwartz - Cineart Tv Prague, Co-production: MIRAFOX, Czech Republic-Slovakia
5. FREEDOM LANDSCAPES, Direction: Marta Popivoda, Production: Dragana Jovovic - Theory at Work, Co-production: Marta Popivoda, Serbia-Germany
6. IN THE STRANGE PURSUIT OF LAURA DURAND,Direction: Dimitris Bavellas, Production: Gina Petropoulou – Vox Documentaries, Co-production: Alatas Films, 2|35,  Cekta, Fantasia Audiovisual Ltd, Novi Film, Greece-Serbia-Bosnia & Herzegovina
7. THE KING OF THE FOREST, Direction: Szabolcs Tolnai, Production: Szabolcs Tolnai – Atalanta Doo, Co-production: Kép-Árnyék Bt, Serbia-Hungary
8. OROSLAN, Direction: Matjaž Ivanišin, Production: MihaČernec – Staragara, Co-production: i/o post, Slovenia-Czech Republic
9. PAPICHA, Direction: Mounia Meddour, Production: Patrick André - High Sea Production, Co-production: The Ink Connection, France-Algeria
10. SQIZO, Direction: Duccio Fabbri, Production: Laura Romano – FilmAffair, Co-production: Les Films d’Ici, Italy-France-USA
11. UNDERGROWN, Direction: Marta Ribeiro, Production: Joana Peralta – VIDEOLOTION, Portugal
12. A SIMPLE MAN, Direction: Tassos Gerakinis, Production: Nikos Moustakas – Bad Crowd, Co-production: Arizona Productions, Greece-France (Out of Competition)

59^th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL [1-11/11/2018] || 1-11/11/2018

Agora Crossroads Opening

The 14^th Agora Crossroads Co-Production Forum opened on Wednesday, November 7, at the Warehouse C’, as part of the 59^th Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

TIFF’s art director, Orestis Andreadakis, warmly thanked the participants, urging them -apart from their professional engagements- to also have fun, which “is easy in Thessaloniki”, as he said. Then it was Foivos Delivorias’ turn to speak. The celebrated Greek songwriter is the first Agora ambassador in an initiative aiming to communicate the secrets of film industry professionals to TIFF’s guests, journalists and the audience. “I am a film maniac, I watch at least three films a day. Agora, the place in here, is the very place where films are born, and I’m very happy to take part in such an event as an ambassador”, Mr Delivorias said.

The Crossroads section of Agora headed by Marie-Pierre Macia selects film projects based on the script quality, the creative team and the production potential. It aims at supporting producers of feature films related to Central Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean.

This year’s Crossroads jury consists of Ada Solomon – Producer, Hi Film Productions (Romania), Pascal Diot – Head of the Venice Production Bridge, Venice FF (Italy), Alexis Hofmann – Sales Agent, Bac Films (France) and Annamaria Lodato – International Relations, ARTE (France).

This year, 15 projects participate in the 14^th Crossroads Co-production Forum.
Their contributors talked about these projects during the mini pitching forum that took place at the beginning of the event. In particular:

1. 40 Days, Director-Producer: Penny Panagiotopoulou - P.P. Productions, Co-production: Twenty Twenty Vision, Manny Films, Greece-Germany-France

“It is a film about survival. It is based on the true story of a hospital guard who needs money right away and gets involved in various unpleasant situations”.

 2. BARBAROSSA, Director: Sotiris Goritsas, Production: Iraklis Mavroidis, Angelos Venetis – Boo Productions, Greece

“Shootings will start next year and the story is about two brothers who meet again and discover their lost fortune in the island where they were born”.

3. BEGGAR, Direction: Nadejda Koseva, Production: Vladimir Andreev – Borough Film, Bulgaria In collaboration with Sofia Meetings

“It is about the life of a loser who tries to save his city”.

 4. COZ YOU’RE UGLY, Direction: Sharon Angelhart, Production: Assaf Amir - Norma Productions, Israel

“It is my first film and portrays two girls”.

 5. DOMINA MARIS, Direction: Silvia Perra, Production: Luca Cabriolu - Ombre Rosse Film Production, Co-production: Sandra da Fonseca - Blue Monday Productions, Italy-France

“The film’s main character is a 12 year-old boy moving with his father and brother to a farm away from their city”.

 6. EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE, Direction: Berrak Çolak, Production: Engin Palabıyık - Harikulade Film & Müge Özen - Solis Film, Turkey

“We make films in a country that sadly does not give us many opportunities. Our film is about a woman who vanishes”.

 7. INCHALLA BOY, Direction: Amjad Al Rasheed, Production: Rula Nasser, Aseel Abu Ayyash – The Imaginarium, Jordan

“Growing up in a family with a lot of women, I used to listen to their stories. Stories of separation, sacrifice, and violence. Our film is the story of a woman who lost her husband and risks losing her house”.

 8. THE LAND WITHIN ME, Direction: Fisnik Maxhuni, Production: Britta Rindelaub, Jasmin Basic - Alva Film Production, Switzerland-UNMI Kossovo

“With this film I go back to my native land, as does my main character”.

 9. M (working title): Direction: Vardan Tozija, Production: Darko Popov – Focus Pocus Films, Co-production: Miroslav Mogorovic- Art & Popcorn, FYROM-Serbia

“The film is about the story of Marco living with his paranoid father in a vast vorest”.

 10. MAYSOON, Direction: Nancy Biniadaki, Production: Christopher Zitterbart – Watchmen Productions, Germany In collaboration with MFI Script 2 Film Workshop

“The film is about women that take nothing as granted”.

 12. MIGNON, Direction: Sofia Georgovassili, Production: Vasilis Chrysanthopoulos - Plays2place, Co-production: Irina Andreea Malcea – Luna Film, Greece-Romania

“It is about a real story I lived when I was 15 years old and visited the biggest mall in Greece, in the year 1997”.

 13. THE NIGHTSIREN, Direction: Tereza Nvotová, Production: Peter Badač - BFILM, Co-production: Moloko film, Slovakia-Czech Republic

 “It is a story of vanishment and magic, starring two young girls”.

 14. REGRET, Direction: Kosta Đorđević, Production: Miloš Ivanović - Kinematografska kuca, Serbia In collaboration with MIDPOINT

“The film is about our need for love and our efforts to keep it”.

 15. THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL, Direction: Telémachos Alexiou, Production: Anja Wendell - Czar Film, Co-production: Fenia Kossovitsa – Blonde, Germany-Greece

“A young Greek actor living in Berlin comes back to Athens after the death of his father and starts working in a drag-queen bar pretending to be his mother, a famous singer”.

 16. VORTEX, Direction: Chrysanthos Margonis, Production: Eleni Kossyfidou - Blackbird Production, Greece

“Two opposite characters unite in a trip to the southernmost point of Europe, Crete”.

 Crossroads collaborates with:

• The Greek post-production house Two Thirty Five 2|35 Inc, which offers the main prize of a co-production award (image and sound post) to the winning project.
• TheCNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’ image animée), which offers 8,000 euros for script development.
• ARTE France, which offers the ARTE Kino International Prize of 6,000 euro to one of the projects.
• The Producer’s Network of The Cannes Film Festival, which offers the awarded producer a free accreditation for the upcoming 2019 edition.
• Sofia Meetings of the Sofia IFF, which will select one project to be presented in March, 2019 at the Sofia Meetings.
• TheMediterranean Film Institute Script 2 Film Workshops, which offers a scholarship for its 2019 Workshop to one of the projects.
• The French firmInitiative Film, a script-development consultancy firm, which offers a free scholarship for its 2019 Workshop to one of the Greek projects.
• CINEMED, which will include at least one Greek project in the yearly Development Grant selection according to its state of development.
• Heretic Asterisk*, which will offer Packaging and Project Marketing Strategy.
• The new award THESSALONIKI EAVE Marketing Workshop Scholarship, which will select one project for its 2019 Marketing Lab.

Crossroads also collaborates with MIDPOINT - A Training and Networking Platform for Film and TV Development.

Crossroads is part of TIFF’s Agora section that creates an international network of professionals and provides the grounds and optimal conditions for meetings, discussions and agreements, all in an informal, warm and professional environment. The TIFF Agora section is supported by the MEDIA – Creative Europe program of the European Union.

The TIFF Agora prizes will be awarded on Friday, November 9, 2018, at 10:00 PM at Warehouse C΄.