Submit your projects to the Agora of the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Faithful to its appointment and supporting for another year the Southeastern European, Mediterranean and Greek cinema, Agora, the development part of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival that has been supported for years by Creative Europe Media, invites filmmaker to submit their film projects and films to the sections Agora Film Market, Crossroads Co-production Forum and Agora Works in Progress, in the framework of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival (4 - 14/11/2021). The Agora continues the successful initiatives Meet the Future and Agora Lab, while it will soon announce more actions for the support of Greek cinema.
Agora supports the cinema of Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Countries that are eligible to submit are: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.
CROSSROADS CO-PRODUCTION FORUM
November 9 – 12, 2021
*Submission deadline: July 15, 2021
The 17th Crossroads Co-production Forum (November 9–12) of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival is announcing its Call for Entries.
Crossroads specializes in discovering emerging talents from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean regions. The application is open to experienced directors and producers as well as first timers. The projects should be either produced or co-produced by a country within these regions or contain elements in the story that link them to these regions.
Films that have been presented as projects in Crossroads Co-Pro Forum include: Ghosts by Azra Deniz Okyay (Grand Prize at Venice FF Critics’ Week), 200 Meters by Ameen Nayfeh (People’s Choice Award - Venice Days), Luzzu by Alex Camilleri (Tribeca - International Narrative Competition), The Tailor by Sonia-Liza Kenterman (Tallinn Black Night IFF), Daniel 16 by Dimitris Koutsiabasakos (Thessaloniki IFF - Audience Award), The Father by Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov (Crystal Globe - Karlovy Vary IFF), All This Victory by Ahmad Ghossein (Audience Award at Venice FF Critics’ Week), Charleston by Andrei Cretulescu (Locarno Film Festival), Zizotek by Vardis Marinakis (Karlovy Vary IFF), Cosmic Candy by Rinio Dragasaki (Austin Fantastic FF) and many more such as Secret Ingredient, As I Open My Eyes, Mustang, The Cakemaker etc.
AGORA WORKS IN PROGRESS
November 9-12, 2021
*Submission deadline: September 10, 2021
Are you in pre-production or ready to shoot your feature film? Submit your work to the Agora Works in Progress (November 9-12) in the frame of the Agora. Industry professionals from all over the world gather in Thessaloniki to watch the upcoming films from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean regions.
The Agora Works in Progress hosts sessions reserved only for the industry accredited guests. They will be presented to sales agents, distributors, producers and festival programmers. In this way, the professionals have access to films from the countries of the Balkan, Mediterranean and Central European regions just before completion.
Films that have participated in previous editions of the Agora Works in Progress include: Rock Bottom Riser by Fern Silva (Berlinale Encounters 2021 – Special Mention), Moon, 66 Questions by Jacqueline Lentzou (Berlinale Encounters 2021), Sweat by Magnus von Horn (Cannes2020 Label), Last Days of Spring by Isabel Lamberti (L’ACID Cannes2020, San Sebastian IFF - New Directors Award), Papicha by Mounia Meddour (Un Certain Regard – Cannes FF 2019), Rêves de jeunesse by Alain Raoust (ACID – Cannes FF 2019), Spell Reel by Filipa César (Forum-Berlin FF 2017), Occidental by Neil Beloufa (Forum-Berlin FF 2017), Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos (Rotterdam IFF and SXSW 2016), Stratos by Yannis Economidis (Official Competition-Berlin FF 2014), Next to Her by Asaf Korman (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs–Cannes 2014, Silver Alexander–Thessaloniki IFF 2014), At Home by Athanassios Karanikolas (Forum-Berlin FF 2014), My Dog Killer by Mira Fornay (Tiger Award–Rotterdam IFF 2014), When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir (Toronto FF 2012), Luton by Michalis Konstantatos (San Sebastian FF 2013), Boy Eating the Bird’s Food by Ektoras Lygizos (Competition-Karlovy Vary IFF 2012), Man at Sea by Costantine Giannaris (Panorama-Berlin FF 2011) and more.
AGORA FILM MARKET
November 5 – 13. 2021
*Registration deadline: October 15, 2021
The Agora Film Market (November 5-13) promotes the majority of the feature films participating in the official sections of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The Film Market includes additional titles from the countries that Thessaloniki Agora focuses on giving them the opportunity to find their way to other international film festivals, sales agents and distributors. Also, the Film Market includes a selection of Greek films produced within the past two years.
Thessaloniki Locarno Industry Academy International
The Locarno Film Festival and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival are launching applications call for ‘Industry Academy International’, a joint initiative aiming to give a significant boost to the careers of new film professionals from South East Europe, the Northern Africa and the Mediterranean countries in priority, but it will also include international participants from the Locarno Industry Academy’s partner regions (Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Switzerland and USA). It is a training program created to help young professionals of the cinema industry –sales agents, distributors and new media professionals– to extend their experience and networking in the fields of international sales, marketing, distribution and programming.
The young sales agents, distributors and new media professionals who will participate in the Industry Academy International in Thessaloniki will take part in a special workshop during which they will have the opportunity to interact, share experiences and meet with key players of the international film industry, for discussions, case study presentations and group workshops.
Applications for the 62nd TIFF will open in July 2021.
Agora Lab
The Agora of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival adds one more industry activity to support the development of Greek films.
The Agora Lab action comes to complement the Agora Works in Progress and to offer to three-four (3-4) selected Greek films the opportunity to edit their material under the guidance of experienced professionals as tutors. Agora Lab is a workshop through which the selected creators can shape their material to its final form, develop its hidden capabilities and receive valuable tips for completing their film.
Meet the Future
Every year we present to the international industry professionals up-and-coming talents of the Greek film industry.
In 2019 we presented fifteen (15) film directors of short films which have participated in the last five years at major film festivals around the world (Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, London, Rotterdam, New York, Tribeca, Toronto, Sundance, Busan) or have earned an Academy Award nomination and are in the process of developing or completing the first feature film.
These were: Artemis Anastasiadou, Mirsini Aristidou, Emma Doxiadi, Sofia Georgovassili, Vassilis Kekatos, Efthimis Kosemund Sanidis, Konstantina Kotzamani, Stella Kyriakopoulos, Nikos Kyritsis, Jacqueline Lentzou, Vangelis Lymberopoulos, Christos Massalas, Loukianos Moshonas, Thanasis Neofotistos, Neritan Zinxhiria.
In 2020 we presented eight up-and-coming Directors of Photography who have already worked on short films and maximum one feature film and have been awarded for their work in a Greek festival or participated with their films in a major international film festival (Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, London, Rotterdam, New York, Tribeca, Toronto, Sundance, Clermont Ferrand).
These were: Asimina-Lydia Dionysopoulou, Yannis Kanakis, Yannis Karabatsos, Fili Olsefki, Stelios Pissas, Yannis Simos, Manu Tilinski, Giorgos Valsamis.
The Directors of Photography created a short film, commissioned by TIFF specifically for the Agora Presentation. You can find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjDWB0XxI1s
EWA Mentoring Program
The mentoring program of EWA (European network for women in the film industry) is aimed at women cinema producers who already have relevant experience at the national level and wish to evolve further to a European/international dimension. In most cases this growth also involves a strategic and business development of their company. Business mentoring is a one-to-one relationship focused on the needs of the mentee to develop/reinforce specific competences, skills, and a problem-solving attitude, as well as on the availability and capability of the mentor to provide advice on those issues. It is a scheme where the experience and competences of the mentor match the specific needs of the mentee.
Agora Talks
Every year, the Agora presents film professionals who share practical info and the tools they use in their process when developing a project, co-producing, film marketing, sales and distribution and more.
For more information regarding the submissions please visit our website www.filmfestival.gr or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and +30 210 8706000.
Head of Agora: Yianna Sarri This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Crossroads Co-production Forum & Agora Coordinator: Angeliki Vergou This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Agora Coordinator: Denise Andreola This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information visit: https://www.filmfestival.gr/en/professionals-b2b/agora
For more information about Agora's parallel events click HERE
