PRESS RELEASE
NEWS FROM THE 49TH THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival announces the first titles selected to participate in its 49th edition, along with the guests who have so far confirmed their presence.
Argentinean composer Gustavo Santaolalla, winner of two Academy Awards for the soundtracks of Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee(2005) and Babel by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (2006), will attend the 49th TIFF and conduct a Masterclass on the subject of writing music for film.
Santaolalla is a frequent collaborator of another 49th TIFF guest, director Walter Salles, who will visit Thessaloniki for the second time, after his very successful attendance during the Cinema Em Transe: Brazilian Cinema Tribute in 2006. Santaolalla created the musical backdrop for Salles’ new film Linha de Passe, co-directed with Daniela Thomas (Cannes 2008 Best Actress Award for Sandra Corveloni); the director will present the film to the 49th TIFF audience. Salles and Santaolalla have also collaborated in Motorcycle Diaries (2004) and the musician will also compose the music for the director’s long-awaited new project, On the Road, an adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel.
Cafe de los Maestros by Miguel Kohan (2008), a documentary about a group of legendary Argentinean tango musicians who perform in an once-in-a-lifetime reunion concert in Buenos Aires, brings together Santaolalla, Salles and foremost Latin American film producer Lita Stantic, who will also attend the 49th TIFF; the three will present the film to the Thessaloniki audience and Festival guests. Co-writer and co-producer Santaolalla, co-producer Salles and Stantic collaborated in this project in order to celebrate the ultimate Argentinean musical form, the tango, as well as the living legends behind it, some performing for the past eight decades. Stantic is the producer for such films as La Cienaga (2002) and La Nina Santa (2004) by Lucrecia Martel, Tan de Repente by Diego Lerman (2002) and Mundo grua by Pablo Trapero (1999).
