53rd THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
November 2- 11, 2012
PRESS RELEASE
OPEN HORIZONS
Thessaloniki International Film Festival Director Dimitri Eipides revamped the celebrated New Horizons section, which he programmed from 1992 to 2005, and currently programs the Open Horizons section. It focuses on works that represent the most recent trends in worldwide independent production, as well as thematically original, aesthetically challenging and socially minded films. 50 films comprise this year’s program: 38 films in the section’s core program and 12 films in the Open Horizons Special Screenings section, with works by renowned independent filmmakers.
OPEN HORIZONS SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Amongst the films that comprise the section are:
Costa Gavras’ newest film, Capital, with Gabriel Byrne and Gad Elmaleh, explores the high-stakes world of banks and international finance, once again dealing with a topical and controversial issue. A sleek, exhaustive and suspenseful drama about a ruthless bank executive intent on success, Gavras’ masterful film probes into the depths of a merciless world with its own set of rules. The film is based on the 2004 homonymous novel by French writer Stephane Osmont.
Sergei Loznitsa’s second fiction feature, In the Fog, FIPRESCI Award winner in the 2012 Cannes IFF, unfolds in the Nazi-Occupied Belarus in 1942. Loznitsa touches on the painful history of Russian collaboration with the Nazis and explores the various cruelties, philosophical and emotional nuances and consequences of war. His somber, pensive and striking drama, shot by Cristian Mungiu’s regular cinematographer, Oleg Mutu, is not about the destruction of cities, but about the decimation of the human soul.
Paradise: Love and Paradise: Faith (Special Jury Prize in the 2012 Venice IFF), directed by subversive Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, are the first two films of a trilogy whose last part, Paradise: Hope, will be released in 2013; they focus on three women from the same family and their three very different quests for love.
Abbas Kiarostam’s delicate and elliptical Like Someone In Love, shot in Tokyo with Japanese actors, is about the tender relationship that develops between a young, beautiful escort and a much older professor.
Canadian master of the bizarre, Guy Maddin returns with Keyhole, a film populated with film noir gangsters, and peppered with allusions to Greek mythology and heroes called Ulysses and Hyacinth. With brilliant performances by –Maddin’s muse- Isabella Rosselini, Jason Patric and Udo Kier and shot in luminous black and white, it is mysterious, nightmarish and darkly comic.
THE FILMS:
Capital (Le Capital), Costa Gavras, France, 114’, 2012
Dead Man’s Burden, Jared Moshe, USA, 93’, 2012
Fill the Void (Lemale et ha'halal), Rama Burshtein, Israel, 90’, 2012
The Foster Boy (Der Verdingbub), Markus Imboden, Germany/Switzerland, 103’, 2011
The Holy Quaternity (Svata Ctverice), Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic, 78’, 2012
In the Fog (V tumane), Sergei Loznitsa, Germany/Russia/Latvia/Netherlands/Belarus, 127’, 2012
Keyhole, Guy Maddin, Canada, 94’, 2011
Like Someone In Love, Abbas Kiarostami, France/Japan, 109’, 2012
Paradise: Faith (Paradies: Glaube), Ulrich Seidl, Austria/France/Germany, 113’, 2012
Paradise: Love (Paradies: Liebe), Ulrich Seidl, Austria/Germany/France, 120’, 2012
Student (Studyent), Darezhan Omirbayev, Kazakhstan, 90’, 2012
OPEN HORIZONS CORE PROGRAM
At the forefront of independent filmmakers concerns today are the younger generations and how they cope with the contemporary world -with films elevated by striking performances from young actors-, the struggle between tradition and change in the family unit, urgent social issues such as immigration, poverty and increasing violence, as well as romantic/sexual love in a time of moral and societal crises.
Amongst the films that comprise the section are:
A perceptive and subtle work, Kid by Belgian filmmaker Fien Troch is about a seven-year-old boy dealing with loss, while Your Beauty is Worth Nothing by Turkish-Austrian director Huseyin Tabak depicts the challenges of immigration from the perspective of a young boy, with a charismatic performance by 12-year-old Abdulkadir Tuncer. War Witch by Kim Nguyen is the astonishing story of a teenage African girl abducted and turned into a child soldier. The film was awarded with a Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury and the Silver Bear for its lead actress, Rachel Mwanza, at the 2012 Berlin IFF and the Best Actress and Best Narrative Feature Awards at the 2012 Tribeca IFF. Michel Franco’s After Lucia, shot in Mexico City, is a raw, unflinching look at bullying and the violence that teenagers are capable of inflicting on each other.
Dead Europe by Tony Krawitz, a powerful combination of sociopolitical commentary and metaphysical study adapted by a Christos Tsiolkas novel, is the story of Greek-Australian Isaac, travelling to Europe to discover his family’s roots and uncover its secrets. In Still Life by Sebastian Meise (Special Mention/Kutxa New Directors, 2012 San Sebastian IFF), a father’s incestuous fantasies are revealed after years of repression; a shocked, yet devoted family, tries to cope with them. Villegas, Argentinean Gonzalo Tobal’s feature debut, deftly explores the relationship between two 30-something cousins who have followed different paths in life, while Camion by Rafael Ouellet (Ecumenical Jury Prize and Best Director Award at the 2012 Karlovy Vary IFF), poignant and subtle, recounts a family reunion that creates hope and transformation.
In a Bedroom by Tomasz Wasilewski, with its impressive, geometric mise-en-scene, explores how a woman who manipulates men with sex responds to an unexpected romance, while Crossing Boundaries by Florian Flicker is the story of a love triangle between a couple of smugglers and the man who hunts them; the boundaries, geographical, moral and emotional are undeniably blurred in this masterful film about human nature. Kirill Serebrennikov’s Betrayal chronicles the relationship between a woman and a man whose spouses are having an affair; enigmatic and atmospheric, the film nevertheless honestly explores the ramifications of infidelity.
Peter Strickland’s new feature after Katalin Varga, Berberian Sound Studio, is a shadowy, creepy tale about a sound engineer working in an Italian sound studio in the 70s, providing effects for horror films. With a virtuoso performance by Toby Jones, the film –which has been described as Lynchian in style and sensibilities- in nevertheless an utterly unique work, playing with the horrors outside and inside the mind.
THE FILMS:
After Lucia (Despues de Lucia), Michel Franco, Mexico/France, 93’, 2012
Aglaya (Aglaja), Krisztina Deak, Hungary/Poland/Romania, 116’, 2012
A Secret World (Un mundo secreto), Gabriel Marino, Mexico, 87’, 2012
Beijing flickers (You-Zhong), Yuan Zhang, China, 96’, 2012
Berberian Sound Studio, Peter Strickland, UK, 92’, 2012
Betrayal (Izmena), Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia, 115’, 2012
Camion, Rafael Ouellet, Canada, 95’, 2012
Clandestine Childhood (Infancia clandestina), Benjamin Avila, Argentina/Spain/Brazil, 112’, 2011
Crazy and Thief, Cory McAbee, USA, 52’, 2012
Crossing Boundaries (Grenzgaenger), Florian Flicker, Austria, 100’, 2012
Dead Europe, Tony Krawitz, Australia, 84’, 2011
The Deep (Djupid), Baltasar Kormakur, Iceland/Norway, 93’, 2012
Fly With The Crane (Gaosu tamen, wo cheng bahie qu le), Rui Jun Li, China, 100’, 2012
In A Bedroom (W sypialni), Tomasz Wasilewski, Poland, 76’, 2012
Kauwboy, Boudewijin Koole, Netherlands, 81’, 2012
Kid, Fien Troch, Belgium, 90’, 2012
The Land of Hope, Sion Sono, Japan/UK/Taiwan, 133’, 2012
The Last Time I Saw Macao (A ultima vez que vi Macau), Joao Pedro Rodrigues and Joao Rui Guerra Da Mata, Portugal, 85’, 2012
Lore, Cate Shortland, Germany/Australia/United Kingdom, 108’, 2012
Made in Ash (Az do mesta As), Iveta Grofova, Slovak Republic/Czech Republic, 80’, 2012
Museum Hours, Jem Cohen, Austria/USA, 106’, 2012
Neighboring Sounds (O soma ao redor), Kleber Mendonca Filho, Brazil, 131’, 2012
No, Pablo Larrain, Chile/USA/Mexico, 110’, 2012
Noor (Jhoole lal), Guillaume Giovanetti and Cagla Zencirci, France/Pakistan, 79’, 2012
Out In the Dark (Alata), Michael Mayer, Israel/USA, 96’, 2012
Parviz, Majid Barzegar, Iran, 105’, 2012
The Patience Stone (Syngue Sabour), Atiq Rahimi, France/Germany/Afghanistan, 98’, 2012
Room 514 (Cheder 514), Sharon Bar-Ziv, Israel, 90’, 2012
Seagull (Chaika), Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain/Georgia/Russia, 97’, 2012
Shifting the Blame (Schuld sind immer die Anderen), Lars-Gunnar Lotz, Germany, 93’, 2012
The Shine of Day (Der Glanz des Tages), Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, Austria, 90’, 2012
Starlet, Sean Baker, USA, 104’, 2012
Still Life (Stillleben), Sebastian Meise, Austria, 77’, 2011
Thursday Till Sunday (De jueves a domingο), Dominga Sotomayor, Chile/Netherlands, 96’, 2012
Villegas, Gonzalo Tobal, Argentina/Netherlands/France, 98’, 2012
Violeta Went To Heaven (Violeta se fue a los cielos), Andres Wood, Chile / Argentina / Brazil/Spain, 110’, 2011
War Witch (Rebelle), Kim Nguyen, Canada, 90’, 2012
Your Beauty Is Worth Nothing (Deine Schoenheit ist nichts wert), Huseyin Tabak, Austria, 85’, 2012
