The 23rd summer and hybrid Thessaloniki Documentary Festival kicked off with fascinating "Tina"
The 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is back, after sixteen months of pandemic conditions, with a screening under the stars, in front of the big screen, at the pop-up open-air theatre John Cassavetes Open Air, in Dock A of the Port of Thessaloniki. The 23rd summer and hybrid Thessaloniki Documentary Festival kicked off on Thursday 24th June with the open-air screening of the fascinating music documentary Tina, directed by Dan Lindsay and T. J. Martin. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni, the Deputy Minister of State for Macedonia-Thrace Issues, Stavros Kalafatis and the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Zervas, who addressed a warm welcome.
Orestis Andreadakis, Artistic Director of the 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival mentioned in his greetings: “The conditions over the last sixteen months were very hard for all of us; it was a harsh challenge for everyone. For the first time in its 60-year history, the Thessaloniki Film Festival was held online and fortunately we made it happen. Now the Festival is back, in the Port of Thessaloniki, in the open-air theaters of the city and online all over the country”.
Elise Jalladeau, General Director of the film festival, continued: “We are all very happy because after these last difficult sixteen months we are able, at last, to watch the documentaries in the theatres. We welcome you in the physical spaces of the Festival in Thessaloniki, the city of cinema. We welcome you here, under the moonlight. We hope you enjoy these ten unique days full of documentaries that may change our life”.
Mr. Andreadakis added: “The Thessaloniki Film Festival had always three close friends, the Ministry of Culture and Sports that supports and inspires the Festival, the Region of Central Macedonia that offers a great support to the festival through the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), as well as the Municipality of Thessaloniki that always supports the Film Festival”.
Konstantinos Zervas, the Mayor of Thessaloniki, stated: “We have managed to get through all the difficult moments; we will do better in the easier times bound to come. I am extremely happy to be able to watch films once again on the big screen. I am glad that the Documentary Festival is welcoming the audience in two pop-up theatres and in seven open-air theatres. This reminds me the ambiance at Aristotelous Square described by my mother, in her recollection of the good old days. There were open-air theatres in every corner, people used to swarm in from all over the city to watch movies. We are going to live the same ambiance here in Thessaloniki, a city that loves cinema, the Film Festival as well as the Documentary Festival. These sixteen difficult months are now behind us. However, this pandemic could be the theme of an excellent documentary; the first corona virus case in Greece was located here in Thessaloniki, in the Municipality of Thessaloniki, in my office. I could be the main character of this documentary. I congratulate all the people that worked so hard all this time. The fact that everyone can watch online the event is very important; nevertheless, I hope that the people’s habit to watch movies in the big screen will never change. I wish you all the best and let us leave the past behind us and move on to better days.”
Stavros Kalafatis, the Deputy Minister of State for Macedonia-Thrace Issues, followed on: “I am very glad that we are once again all together after these sixteen months. I think we are heading towards our freedom and happiness. The cinema survived, the Festival survived. I have to mention that the Festival managed to survive, to maintain the pulse through technology and through its hybrid form. Now, it benefits from the Greek summer to offer a series of excellent documentaries to the audience. We all support the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. It is our responsibility, our duty, our need. The Festival is an institution of the city of Thessaloniki as well of Macedonia and Thrace. I believe this special institution is stronger now than ever. The Festival always depends on cinephiles and vice versa.
Orestis Andreadakis said: “We stayed home, we were living in an almost real world in almost real situations, in an almost reality. With almost truths about the corona virus, almost truths about vaccinations, almost truths about our social, political, professional relationships or love affairs. All of a sudden, we were trapped in this new reality that made us believe that this new almost real world is easier than the real one because we created enemies. We became fanatics. We were trying to impose on fellow human beings just because we didn’t share the same point of view. Arguing and disagreements are the quintessence of Democracy. Is there anything more exciting than not sharing the same opinions with others? Human thought, sciences, art, technology evolves through disagreement and even love is a form of disagreement. Disagreement is exciting and refreshing. Couples that are many years together know that very well. There were several realities for us too, at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. One genuine reality we experienced through the pandemic is the relation we built with the woman I am about to invite right now to take the stand. She supported and inspired the Festival, she offered fresh ideas and courage; she was always there to listen to any problem”.
Whereupon, Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports, opened the Documentary Festival underlining: “I am very happy to be here tonight, we have the opportunity to be once again all together, even with masks on and while keeping a safe distance. Civilisation in seclusion has no meaning or value, civilisation is interactive. After all, the meaning of the word civilisation refers to the city, to the citizens, to people. Over the last 23 years the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is closely related to the city, to the citizens of Thessaloniki, to Greece, to people who arrive from abroad in this city in order to experience the events of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, as well as the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. I believe this will be the last year for the Festival to be held in hybrid form out of necessity. In the future it may be held in hybrid form by choice. I wish you all good luck and good screenings”.
Tina was chosen specifically for the opening, Mr. Andreadakis explained, as “Tina Turner was one of the first women who didn’t hesitate to speak up about gender violence, abuse of women, patriarchal society and its toxicity, about those kinds of societies that may lead in unspoken tragedies. Giorgos Krassakopoulos, head of programming stated that Tina Turner’ music thrills us and helps us look into the future as the best revenge to all bad things we leave behind”.
92 films will be screened till Sunday 4th of July, in the two pop-up theatres in Dock A in the Port of Thessaloniki as well as in seven more open-air theatres in the city: Megaro Mousikis of Thessaloniki, Ciné Alex, Apollon, Ellinis, Natali, Ciné Alsos of the Municipality of Neapoli-Sykies, Ciné Karezi of the Municipality of Pavlos Melas.
The audience may watch online a total of 142 movies at online.filmfestival.gr
