23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival: From March to summer
Preparations for the 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival have already begun. The TDF returns dynamic, subversive and hybrid, in the midst of a difficult situation that the pandemic has created. The 23rd TDF will start on March 4, however its events and screenings will continue well into the summer of 2021.
At the same time, the Festival is planning a week of Greek cinema, Greek Summer TIFF. It has always been our priority to promote Greek cinema and support its creators. All Greek films of the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival will be screened in open-air cinemas in Thessaloniki during the summer. We hope that the situation will improve and that we will be able to welcome the filmmakers and celebrate Greek cinema the way it deserves.
Based on our experience from the 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival, we are working on a number of alternative scenarios, that can be implemented under different conditions in the coming months. The Festival is in constant collaboration with the Health Authorities, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the City of Thessaloniki and the Region of Central Macedonia.
Our goal for the 23rd TDF is to discover new ways of approaching a hybrid festival, a film screening. Thus, we are preparing hybrid models without taking anything for granted, we are examining every possibility and we are rethinking the venues and dates of the festival.
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival traditionally takes place in the first ten days of March. The dates for the 23rd edition are 4 to 14 March, 2021.
For the 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival:
- We plan to start our events on March 4, 2021. If movie theaters are open, we will show the opening film in the cinemas in Thessaloniki. However, depending on the conditions that will prevail in the country at that time, the screening may also take place in cinemas, in other cities in Greece and/or online via a special platform.
- Between 4 and 14 March, always in accordance with the health protocols, ten to twenty films will be screened either in cinemas in Thessaloniki or in other cities and/or online. The number of films will be announced soon.
- The main actions of the Festival will take place in Thessaloniki over a ten-day period in June or July, 2021, depending on the situation. Events and screenings will take place in open-air cinemas, on the terrace of the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, in open spaces and/or in the festival’s theaters. We also plan screenings in other cities of Greece, in open-air cinemas and/or public spaces, always with the possibility of presenting the films online.
- The Agora Doc Market of the 23rd TDF will also take place in the summer. Depending on the conditions prevailing worldwide at that time, we hope to welcome film professionals to Thessaloniki. We, also, intend to hold online meetings, while there is the possibility that the Agora Doc Market of the 23rd TDF will be held entirely online.
Our love for cinema will bring us close. With this in mind, we remain optimistic and look forward to looking at the big screen together again.
