PRESS RELEASE
13th THESSALONIKI DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL - Images of the 21st Century
March 11 – 20, 2010
DOC MARKET & PARALLEL EVENTS
The parallel events of the 13th TDF include the Doc Market and several industry-related activities, as well as Panel Discussions, Masterclasses and Exhibitions.
THE INTERNATIONAL THESSALONIKI DOC MARKET
March 14 - 19, 10.00 – 20.00
ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL, Byzantium Hall, 1st Floor, Aristotelous Sq.
The International Doc Market, introduced in 1999, will be held in the Byzantium hall at the 1st floor of the Electra Palace Hotel at Aristotelous Sq. next to the Festival headquarters, providing a substantial space to its participants, outfitted with 30 digital booths for private viewing. The market, organized in cooperation with the Greek Public Television (ERT S.A.) and with the support of the Media Program of the EU, caters to television networks from European countries and a wide range of professionals from various parts of the world.
The Doc Market is fully Digital. All participants will have the opportunity to watch documentaries without the use of DVD; all films are easily located in the digital library in each of the booths. 520 films will be available in this year’s Doc Market.
Approximately 60 buyers will be attending from Europe, the USA and Canada, among them: Madeleine Avramoussis (Arte-France), Kathrin Brinkmann (ZDF-ARTE-Germany), Dita Krivska (HBO Europe-Czech Republic), Beatrice Desinte-Fumier (RTBF-Belgium), Anne Grolleron (Histoire-France), Lorraine Hess (Link TV-USA), Michael O'Meallaigh (TG4-Ireland), Francis Kandel (Canal+-France), Cynthia Kane (ITVS-USA), Anna Rozenvalde (LTV1-Latvia) and Philippe Van Meerbeeck (VRT- Belgium).
For any information on the Doc Market, please contact Head of the Market Yianna Sarri at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
PITCHING FORUM 2011 & EDN CONGRESS
March 16 - 18
Open Pitching Sessions: Pavlos Zannas Theatre, Saturday 19 March 10.00-15.00 & Sunday 20 March 10.00-13.00
The Pitching Forum – Docs in Thessaloniki, running since 2001 in collaboration with the European Documentary Network -a member-based organisation for professionals working with documentary feature projects- gives local and foreign documentary professionals the opportunity to have their projects pitched to a panel of international financiers, commissioning editors and representatives of the international audiovisual media.
During the five-day program, 19 projects will be presented in the Pitching Forum.
PITCHING FORUM 2011 PROJECTS:
1. Amerique du Nord, Produced by: Cecile Raviart, Les Docs du Nord, France, Directed by: Jacques Loeuille
2. Bird Town, Produced by: JB Macrander, Bonanza Films, The Netherlands, Directed by: Piet Oomes
3. Cutie and the Boxer, Produced & directed by: Zachary Heinzerling, USA
4. Forbidden Pilgrimage, Produced by: Mark Daems, Associate Directors, Belgium, Directed by: Ellen Vermeulen
5. Gangster of Love, Produced by: Vanja Jambrovic, Restart, Croatia, Directed by: Nebojsa Slijepcevic
6. In the Crosswind, Produced by: Piret Tibbo-Hudgins, Allfilm, Estonia, Directed by: Martti von Helde
7. IranEvolution, Produced by: Arash T. Riahi and Michael Seeber, Golden Girls Filmproduktion, Austria, Directed by: Arash T. Riahi and Arman T. Riahi
8. The Island Bus, Produced by: Lindsay Goodall, Beau Films, UK, Directed by: Sibylle Meder
9. Leninland, Produced by: Vlad Ketkovich, Ethnogeographic Research Foundation, Russia, Directed by: Askold Kurov
10. The Man in the Blue Suit, Produced by: Naftaly Gliksberg & Shanny Keynan, Glikscom & 9th President, Israel, Directed by: Naftaly Gliksberg
11. Naked, Produced: Vanja Daskalovic and Nenad Puhovski, Factum Documentary Film Project, Croatia, Directed by: Tiha Klara Gudac
12. One Bullet Afghanistan, Produced and directed by: Carol Dysinger, BOLO Productions, USA
13. Out of Yemen, Produced and directed by: Nitzan Gilady, Yona Production, Israel
14. Pirate Pete and the Paradise Smugglers, Produced by: Mike Chamberlain, Buzz Films, UK, Directed by: Jan Bednarz
15. The Pokies Phenomenon, Produced and directed by: Angelos Tsaousis, Filmografik Productions, Greece
16. The Repatriator, Produced by: Jovana Nikolic, Prababa Production, Serbia, Directed by: Dragan Nikolic
17. The Return, Produced by: Anita Rehoff Larsen, Sant & Usant Documentary Film, Norway, Directed by: Tone Andersen
18. Saint Stan Brock, Produced by: Jaak Kilmi & Pamela Cohn, Kuukulgur Film & Still in Motion, Estonia, Directed by: Jaak Kilmi & Aleksandr Kheyfets
19. Wrestling in Dakar, Produced and directed by: Edward Porembny, AMP Polska, Poland
The panel will consist of:
Madeleine Avramoussis, ARTE G.E.I.E., France - Kathrin Brinkmann, ZDF/ARTE, Germany - Jenny Westergard, YLE FST, Finland - Cynthia Kane, ITVS International, USA - Wim Van Rompaey, Lichtpunt, Belgium - Laszlo Demeter, Duna TV, Hungary - Ingrid Falck, Al-Jazeera English, UK - Ariana Meintana, ERT, Greece - Stefan Kloos, Rise and Shine World Sales, Germany - Lars S?fstrom, SVT, Sweden
EDN Documentary Congress
IEK AKMI, Tuesday 15 March, 10:00-17:00
In addition to the Pitching Forum 2011, the European Documentary Network (EDN) and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival organize a congress that will focus on the process of putting together pitch pilots to promote documentary projects and find financing. Mechanisms for promotion will be analyzed and an overview of the international documentary market will be provided. The panelists are: Jesper Osmund, editor & pitch pilot expert, Jan Rofekamp, distributor, Madeleine Avramoussis, commissioning editor for ARTE, Dita Krivska, acquisitions manager of HBO Central Europe and Philippa Kowarsky, distributor.
For information on the EDN activities, please contact Laurien ten Houten at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
PARALLEL EVENTS
MASTERCLASSES & PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Panel Discussion - How I Am: Challenging Perceptions
John Cassavetes Theater, Tuesday 15 March, 11:00
On the occasion of the 13th TDF tribute How I Am: Challenging Perceptions, a panel discussion will be held on such issues as the rights of people with developmental disabilities, their social integration and the benefits of special education centres. Panel speakers include: Marianne Kaplan, director, Dan Habib, director and Perla Messina, Chairwoman of the Association of Greek Autistic, Asperger and HFA Adults.
Masterclass Sergei Loznitsa
John Cassavetes Theater, Wednesday 16 March, 11:00-14:00
On the occasion of the 13th TDF Retrospective on Loznitsa’s work, the director will discuss his unique approach of the documentary genre. His observational films are characterized by their unusual and expressive use of sound and an in-depth investigation of time and space.
CoPro PRESENTATION
IEK AKMI, Thursday 17 March, 17:00-18:00
CoPro is a documentary marketing foundation that promotes and markets Israeli documentaries worldwide, with activities that include an annual film market, producer delegations to other countries and fund-raising workshops. On the eve of an exchange of documentary delegations between Greece and Israel, Mrs. Orna Yarmut, founding director of CoPro, will discuss the specifics of the organization.
EDN Docs in Thessaloniki Masterclass - New Markets–New Opportunities (Self-marketing for filmmakers)
IEK AKMI, Thursday 17 March, 15:00-17:00
Distribution and marketing expert Dan Shannon (ID Communications) will address how filmmakers can reach new niche markets via the Internet and use the latter as a tool for promotion, distribution and audience recognition.
Panel Discussion - The Evolution of the Greek Documentary: The Female Perspective
John Cassavetes Theater, Friday 18 March, 11:00
The evolution of the Greek documentary genre/industry over the past few years will be discussed through the perspective of four of the most active female Greek documentary filmmakers. Speakers Valery Kontakos, Kyriaki Malama, Katerina Patroni and Eva Stefani will deal with issues of cinematic language, social responsibility, as well as funding, distribution and other practical matters.
Lecture Rainer Simon - The DEFA, censorship during that time and its abolition after German reunification
John Cassavetes Theater, Saturday 19 March, 11:00
Rainer Simon is one of former East Germany’s most prolific filmmakers, having made several films in the studio system of the Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA). After the collapse of the Berlin wall, Simon became active in Latin America, organizing workshops and making documentaries such as The Colors of Tigua, Talking with Fish and Birds and The Cry of Fayu Ujmu, in collaboration with the Andean Indians of the region.
EXHIBITIONS
Human Landscapes. Dieter Sauter
Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki, Warehouse B1, Port, 11-20 March 2011
Opening hours: daily 11:00 to 21:00
Dieter Sauter was the director of the ARD Studio in Istanbul from 1992 to 2005; during this period he shot photographs and made approximately 50 historical, cultural and biographical documentaries about the region. Human Landscapes, a photographic project shot in 2006 and 2007, consists of portraits of construction workers in the Golden Horn Estuary; the laborers come from all over Turkey, contemporary nomads looking for work wherever it is available. Sauter’s portraits, insightful and intense, capture the spirit of these men, many of whom have never been photographed before.
Patrick Zachmann - From Photography to Film: Memory and Traces
French Institute of Thessaloniki, 12-25 March 2011, Opening Hours: Monday-Friday: 10:00-13:00 & 17:30-20:00/Saturday: 10:00-13:00
French photographer Patrick Zachmann, member of the renowned Magnum agency since 1985, has focused throughout his career on the identities of immigrant communities and other social groups. He has been awarded the Medicis hors-les-murs Prize for his work on the Chinese Diaspora, and has also directed several short films. The exhibition showcases the landmarks of Zahmann’s career.
JUST TALKING
March 13 - 18 (inclusive)
Electra Palace Hotel ground floor, Excelsior Room
16.00 – 17.30
The Just Talking event, introduced in 2006, brings filmmakers and industry professionals from various parts of the world together and creates a platform of communication, expanding the borders of creativity and forging collaboration. The event includes discussion groups of directors, journalists and buyers on a daily basis. The sessions revolve around various issues that concern filmmakers, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Apart from the groups, all other accredited festival attendees are admitted to the sessions and can either simply listen or participate.
For more information on Just Talking, please contact Lilly Papagianni at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
PARTIES
The 13th TDF organizes an Opening and a Closing Party, both taking place in the Punto S Restaurant & Bar, respectively on Friday, 11 March and Saturday, 19 March at 23.00.
