THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATED ITS 51 YEARS
A new face for celebration on the 51st Thessaloniki International Film Festival the last 10 days. Under difficulties and serious circumstances about the financial crisis that effect everything in greece Thessaloniki succeeded to find out a new path for te annual celebration of cinema in the biggest film festival in SE Europe.
Dimitri Eipides, director of the festival, tried to recreate a fiesta that gives more attention to the cinematographers and their work and not in celebrities and famous stars in red carpet. The result was that Thessaloniki Film festival is now a good meeting point for pictures that have made all around the world. New Directors could find here a hospital place to show their work and on the other hand sales agent, produces and journalists could find out new cinematographers from greece and other nearby countries.
THE GUESTS AND THE WINNERS OF THE COMPETITION
Photo Collage by Apichatpong Weerasethacul
with memories from his visit in 51th TIFF
Avant garde director from Thailand Apichatpong Weerasethacul and two women Polish director Dorota Kentzerzawska and Danish Sussane Bier were the special guests of the Festival. The audience of Thessaloniki had the chance to tak with them and learn some useful details of their career.
The International Competition had this year highly acclaim and inteesting pictures from all over the world. Two romanian films were the great winners, confirming the high level of the romanian cinema the last decade. “Periferic” by Bogdan George Apetri and “Morgen” by Marian Crisan have won Golden Alexander Award and Award for Best Actress Performance the first and Award for best direction and Award for Best Actor perfomance the second.
Scene from Attenberg by A. R. Tsangari.
The film won a special prize in Venice
and is going to participate in Sundance Film festival
Greek film "Attenberg" by Athina Rachel Tsaggari won Silver Alexander – Special Jury Prize and renewed the Greek Panorama after one difficult year that greek directors made their decision not to participate on Thessaloniki Film Festival after 50 years. Other greek films that audience loved them were "Apnea" by Aris Bafaloukas, a psychological drama about an athlete swimmer and "Nobody" by Christos Nikoleris a film adaptation between the famous story of Romeo and Juliet and Odyssey in nowdays Greece about two young immingrants that have won the audience prize.
NEW POLICY FOR THE CINEMA IN GREECE
Last year Greek directors boycoted Film festival asking from Ministry of Culture and the goverment a new cinema and financial policy about Greek Cinema. The new Law about Cinema has just passed from the Parliament and changes a lot of things according to production and financial support of greek cinema. Greek Film Centre upgraded and the Director of the Centre will have the possibility to funded films without any bureacracy permittion. Foreign producers will have also the possibility to cooperate with Film Commision in Athens or Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki International Film Festival will be transform to a new organisation including Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival and Thessaloniki’s Cinema Museum
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