48TH THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL
November 16-25 2007
PRESS RELEASE
European MEDIA program finances Salonica Studio
In the framework of the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s European and Mediterranean Education and Training program, the Salonica Studio educational initiative has been expanded to a new European educational program for university film students with the support and funding of the MEDIA program (123,127 euros), titled “Four Corners”.
The announcement was made by the President of the Department of Cinema of the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Nikos Tsinikas. “Salonica Studio was founded during the last three days of the 47th Thessaloniki Film Festival in November 2006, as a collaborative program between the Film Festival and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Eight graduate students and various film schools from Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East participated in it. Being the first pan-European educational program in the audio-visual sector that laid the foundations and created collaborations between many film schools throughout Europe, it quickly attracted European and international attention. Therefore, its expansion was only a matter of time. Greece with the Aristotle university and the Thessaloniki Film Festival, in collaboration with Spain (ESCAC - ESCOLA SUPERIOR DE CINEMA I AUDIOVISUALS DE CATALUNYA and CDA - Centre de Desenvolupament Audiovisual) and Great Britain (Bournemouth Screen Academy and Skillset – The Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries) applied for financial support form the European MEDIA program. Romania also entered this collaboration with its National School of Cinema U.N.A.T.C. I.L. CARAGIALE”.
This ambitious new program which is aimed towards film school students will be titled Four Corners. It will begin from Barcelona in March 2008, travel to Bournemouth, England in June and conclude in November 2008 in the framework of the 49th Thessaloniki Film Festival with its award presentation for the entire program.
“Yesterday, it was announced that the application was approved and that the MEDIA program accepted to provide financial support. We will soon announce an invitation for applications for “Four Corners”» said Mr. Tsinikas and wished the best of luck to the students participating in Salonica Studio.
Earlier, the Director of the Festival, Despina Mouzaki, had made another announcement: “I would like to inform you that we have created an extra accreditation besides the “Industry Center”: the “Research Badge” card, for post-graduate and doctorate students as well as academics, which grants them access to the Market and various other installations that we have here. We have noticed that there is increased demand, so we believe that this will assist the University’s relationship with the Market”, said Mrs. Mouzaki.
Finally, in the framework of Salonica Studio, a seminar for students regarding film production took place with director of El Greco, Yiannis Smaragdis and producer of the film, Eleni Smaragdi.
