62nd THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
4-14/11/2021
Opening ceremony of the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film
An optimistic return to the movie theaters
On Thursday November 4th, the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival opening ceremony was held in enthusiasm and optimism for the audience comeback to film theatres. Orestis Andreadakis, the Artistic Director of the Festival, opened the ceremony by stating: “Two years have passed, 24 months, since Ι last stood before this podium. We all know the conditions we had been living in all these months. We have paid a very heavy price to enter in a new era, an era of no rules”. This is why, as he explained, the motto behind this year’s film festival, as well as the festival exhibition title, is inspired by Jean Renoir’s masterpiece The Rules of the Game. “I wonder what would be the use of rules in an era that constantly imposes their reset. An insolent era that writes the script of its own film screened on a fantastic screen, here or never, in the fulfilment of nothing. Yet, we may see our own defiance hidden in this endless night. This is the moment where someone decides to fulfil his own madness or join a collective dream, free of rules, though full of games. Let’s play these games by just choosing those right and fair rules that fit in the madness and the dream of this new era, our own era”, he concluded in his introductory speech.
Elise Jalladeau, General Director of the Film Festival took the stand and made a brief but thorough sum up of the past two years. “During these years the Festival was trained and adjusted, kept pace with both the creators and the audience in this new era. No festival was cancelled. They were all carried out online, hybrid, and one of them in open-air cinemas. We did our best to carry on with our annual activities, even our programmes for children when schools were closed. We took initiatives, we set off new collaborations, and we kept on elaborating infrastructure projects in our historic places. We hope you will soon see the results of our activities”. Elise Jalladeau stated out that the Festival engaged in communication with other Festivals, as well as with other Greek and international institutions. She went on to thank Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture, Nicholas Yatromanolakis, Deputy Minister for Contemporary Culture, Stavros Kalafatis, Deputy Minister of Interior, responsible for Macedonia – Thrace, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Governor of Central Macedonia, Konstantinos Zervas, Mayor of Thessaloniki, the new Festival Board of Directors, as well as all friends and partners of the Festival for their valuable contribution. “We pulled it off”, she exclaimed in the end, depicting everyone’s joy for the achievement of all Festival goals despite the obstacles and challenges of our times.
Orestis Andreadakis, the Artistic Director, took the floor and presented the members of the new Board of Directors, Themis Bazaka, Pinelopi Valti, Spyros Vougias, Stefanos Nollas, Filios Stangos and Gregory Vardarinos, the Vice President of the Board. He made a special reference to Mrs Eleftheria Thanouli, the new head of the Board of Directors and head of the School of Film, at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. “This is the first time a woman becomes the head of the Board of Directors. Usually, the head of the Board of Directors doesn’t take the floor in the Festival opening ceremony, but allow me to make an exception”, Orestis Andreadakis stated, passing on the baton to Mrs Thanouli.
“I will never forget, when I was a student, struggling with my friends to find a seat in the balcony of Olympion to watch the opening movie. It was here, in this movie theatre, in an opening ceremony eighteen years ago, that I heard Evangelos Venizelos declaring the founding of AUTh’s School of Film, where I built my academic career”. She went on to thank her partners in the Festival, as well as all the public and private bodies that kept supporting the Festival during the difficult years of the pandemic. “I hope that we are going to meet inside and outside the film theatres for the next ten days, enjoying cinema and life, these two inextricably linked parts of our world, for I believe we really need it”, she pointed out.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Governor of Central Macedonia, who supports the Festival through the NSRF programme, was the next to step onto the podium. The Governor welcomed the audience and thanked the people working for the Festival for their excellent collaboration. “We are all able to enjoy the Film Festival thanks to the team behind both TIFF and TDF. I really want to thank you because every single attempt from our part to support the Film and Documentary Festival would fall through if it hadn’t been for you. Despite the fact that we haven’t met in this room for the last two years and we watched a hybrid Festival, this year, the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival comes back stronger. Thessaloniki and Macedonia are ready to welcome and serve this vision we have set our eyes on from the very start, to transform this region into a hub of international audiovisual productions. And we are making it happen. We worked hard during all these years. Through the change of the legal and institutional framework we managed to turn Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia into an attraction pole for significant filmmakers. This is for us, in the Region of Central Macedonia, our greatest achievement and the greatest reward for the Film Festival that gave a fight to survive all these years”. Mr. Tzitzikostas greeted the opening ceremony of the Festival and promised to offer his support over the next years. “In the Region of Central Macedonia we will keep working focused on our goal in order to reinforce this institution, an open institution, an institution that promotes our country’s legacy, an institution that gives way to new artists and creation”. Finally, Mr. Tzitzikostas highlighted the readiness and the high level of work on the part of the Film Office of Central Macedonia, which will support events, actions and meetings aiming at the promotion of the region.
Konstantinos Zervas took the baton and shared a recent inside story: “Orestis Andreadakis called me ten days ago. My communication with Orestis was full of stress over the last two years. He asked me: “Mayor, will the Festival be held? Thessaloniki is in red alert due to the Covid cases”. I replied that even though Thessaloniki is in red alert, we’d still have our red carpets. We were right, we are all here, and we are very glad about it.” The Mayor of Thessaloniki pointed out the significance of the Festival for the people of Thessaloniki, but also the importance of the Festival as an International Film Festival since 1992. He also stated that the Municipality of Thessaloniki is willing to contribute to the organisation of the Festival. The Municipality of Thessaloniki loves the Festival and the Festival loves Thessaloniki”. Finally, he expressed his joy about the comeback to film theaters, by adding that “hybrid Festivals are OK, but it is very important for the audience to return to film theatres”. He also stressed out his intention to contribute to all efforts of the Festival team. “Together we can make every difficult effort a little easier.”
Orestis Andreadakis continued by referring to all sponsors and friends of the Festival. “They are more than 50 and I want to thank them all. The amount of the sponsorship is more than 500 thousand euros”. Afterwards, Stavros Kalafatis, Deputy Minister of Interior, responsible for Macedonia – Thrace, took the baton. Mr. Kalafatis greeted all institutions and representatives, as well as the audience, pointing out the significant role of the Festival for the city of Thessaloniki. “The Festival is a true celebration of cinema that helped Thessaloniki work its way into the world of international film festivals and secure its place in the top shelf. The Festival is a true feast for the young people of Thessaloniki, for all cinephiles”.
Mr. Kalafatis also highlighted the responsible way that Festival reacted in the pandemic conditions. “The festival returns to film theatres, with safety, following all the health regulations for the public health protection. I congratulate you for taking the initiative to open the film theatres as Covid-free spaces. This way you send the message that the only weapon against this virus is the vaccine. The Film Festival got through this unprecedented situation, cinema also got through, using all the potentials and tools offered by technology, and kept the relation with the audience alive. Today, the Festival, stronger and more creative than ever, spreads its wings in the world of the 7th art, of sensitivity, ideas and civilisation. We will all stand by your side in this attempt. We want Thessaloniki to promote openness as the main feature of culture that works in tandem with development and growth. The Film Festival is the proof that these two notions are not battling each other, on the contrary, nowadays, they complete each other. Congratulations to the Festival team”.
Nicholas Yatromanolakis, Deputy Minister for Contemporary Culture, took the baton, welcoming all institutions, organisations and the audience, and expressing his contentment because the Festival follows all sanitary regulations. “Let me take a moment or two to look at you, at this theater of 100% capacity. We create these protocols and once we see them being applied we can all meet here once again. We were forced to struggle over these last two years to go back to situations we used to consider as given, for example a film screening. Movie theaters were more threatened than any other body or organization worldwide, not only in Greece, so we are very happy to open our film theaters again”. Mr. Yatromanolakis praised the persistence and the success of the Festival amidst the pandemic, which brought it to the limelight of international attention. “The Festival did not just survive, it thrived. This was not the case for other Festivals. Many International film festivals were not held, but our Film Festival persisted. And urged us to persist as well, as we all knew how important it was to carry on its work at any cost”.
Furthermore, he referred to the multidimensional function of the Thessaloniki Film Festival. “A few days ago, an article was published in one of the most important magazines for cinema, dedicated to the Thessaloniki Film Festival. In its title it mentioned that TIFF is festival that has all the fundamentals covered, that fills in all the little boxes. This is an inclusive Festival that always brought forth social issues. An accessible Festival. This year, for the first time, people who are not able to watch the screen will be given a description of the film. This is a Festival with a strong development branch. Agora’s programme has already shown its potentiality. Even last year, when Agora was carried out online, it was met with great success. This is a Festival celebrating Greek cinema. This year we have 50 Greek films, 35 feature films, and 15 short Greek films, 20 of them having their premiere in the Festival. This is an international and outward-looking Festival, always open to new creators. Many important directors saw their career take off here, at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Moreover, it is an open-minded and innovative Festival. It embraces technology, without forgetting that physical presence is what counts the most”.
Finally, Mr. Yatromanolakis praised the Festival’s flexibility during the pandemic. “In the first lockdown, in spring 2020, the Documentary Festival, was about to be held. We discussed this issue and we decided to grant a small fund to the Festival. The Festival assigned projects to Greek and foreign directors during the pandemic, who made films for the pandemic screened during the pandemic. As a result, The New York Times wrote that a Greek Festival managed to show the way as to how a Film Festival may operate amidst special conditions”. Mr. Yatromanolakis highlighted the importance of the Recovery Fund in order to support these actions. “Through the Recovery Fund we have this opportunity to give a boost, contribute to the Festival promotion and provide the Festival with all the tools needed”.
The screening of the film Happening followed. Audrey Diwan, awarded with the Golden Lion in the Venice Festival, brings forth modern and timeless social questions about women’s rights. The director sent a brief video message to the audience, apologizing for not being able to attend the Festival, hoping that the audience will travel along with her film protagonist and will sense her effort to adapt the book of Annie Ernaux to the big screen with respect.
The 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the NSRF programme, the Regional Operational Programme of Central Macedonia 2014-2020 and MEDIA Programme. Invaluable is the support granted by the Festival sponsors, ERT official media sponsor of the Festival, COSMOTE TV, Grand Sponsor of the Festival, Alpha Bank, accessibility sponsor, Mastercard, official payment card, Aegean, official air carrier, and Fischer, Audience Awards sponsor. The Festival’s awards will be bestowed at the closing ceremony of the 62nd TIFF.
