On Monday, November 6th, the projects selected in the Crossroads Co-production Forum of the Agora of the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival were presented at Frida Liappa theater.
The event was introduced by Angeliki Vergou, head of the Agora, who thanked the audience for their presence: "We hope you enjoy this year's projects. In recent years we have been gathering in Thessaloniki, in a cinema celebration, under difficult conditions. The war in Ukraine, the tragic accident in the Tempe before the Documentary Festival in March, climate change, fires and floods in Greece and of course the horrible war in the Middle East. For all the above, thank you for being here to discover cinema from countries we reach out to and to connect with new perspectives and new voices. We want to support new narratives, which we consider as the common thread that unites us all," she said. Afterwards, she gave the floor to Elise Jalladeau, general director of the Festival.
"I don’t have anything to add in Angeliki’s words, thank you very much. I will be brief because you have a long day ahead, full of speeches and events. Thank you all, coming from countries in Europe, the Mediterranean or any other country worldwide to be here with us. I want to thank the Agora team, all participants, the jury, as well as the sponsors. I hope you enjoy the projects," she concluded. At this point, Angeliki Vergou presented this year's ambassador of the Agora. The legendary singer Haris Alexiou took the floor, welcoming in turn the guests and the audience: "Good morning. I just wanted to welcome you all and tell you that there’s no need to have stage fright, but in the mood for stage fight. Cinema is a big family and we are here to take care of you. I wish you good luck both for the projects you have prepared and in your future pursuits," she noted.
Then, Angeliki Vergou briefly referred to all the actions of the Agora and the three new initiatives (Bridge to the North, Launchpad & Ask Me Anything), as well as the cooperation with Dot on the Map, the Thessaloniki Locarno Industry Academy and the Eva Mentoring Program. She also mentioned the very interesting Agora Talks that will be held until November 8th and all the parallel events of the Agora. In addition, she presented the committee and thanked the sponsors of the Agora before giving the floor to Amanda Livanou, this year's Mentor, who provided assistance and guidance to the participants before the Festival’s kick-off: "Thank you for being here on this sunny day in Thessaloniki. I hope you enjoy the projects. We encourage you to book as many meetings as you can," she said, signalling the start of the presentation.
This year’s selection lineup brings us 15 diverse projects, from 14 countries in various stages of development from South-eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region including one project from Guest Country, Lithuania.
The 2023 selection features debut and sophomore feature films as well as more experienced directors presenting their third and even fifth film projects. A common theme among the projects is nature, love, and war, female emancipation presenting several genre films or genre elements. The selection also features 10 female directors of different ethnic backgrounds.
The jury is composed of:
Lina Yannopoulou, producer, Argonauts Productions – Greece, Bassam Alasad, producer, Creative Media Solutions - Jordan, Britta Rindelaub, producer, Alva Film – Switzerland and Rémi Burah, CEO, Arte France Cinéma - France.
Projects compete for the following awards:
The newly established Greener Screen Consultancy Award granted by Greener Screen
7,000-euro services for the elaboration of a tailored green production best practices plan for the project, virtual training for the eco-manager on this plan, continuous support for the eco-manager during prep-stage and production and optional “Greener Script” consultancy sessions for the writer, director and the creative producer.
Two Thirty-Five (2|35) Award - Post-production (image and sound)
Onassis Film Award - 10,000 euros to a Greek project participating in the Agora
(Crossroads Co-production Forum or Agora Works in Progress)
CNC - Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée - 8,000 euros for script development
ArteKino International Award - 6,000 euros
Finos Film - 3,000 euros to a Greek project
Producers' Network - Marché du Film – Free accreditation
Sofia Meetings of the Sofia IFF – Project selection
Mediterranean Film Institute - Script 2 Film Workshops scholarship
Initiative Film Award - Consultation to one project
EAVE - Marketing Workshop Scholarship
Selected Crossroads Co-production Forum projects:
YIANNIS
Director: Kyros Papavassiliou, Scriptwriters: Yiannis Gaitanides, Kyros Papavassiliou, Producers: Kyros Papavassiliou, Maria Varnakkidou - dryTree films, Co-producer: Konstantina Stavrianou - Graal, Cyprus, Greece
BLACK WATER
Director / Scriptwriter: Isabella Margara, Production: Kyriaki Virou - AbFab Productions, Greece
FRIENDS, BIRTHDAYS, MURDER, ETC
Directors / Scriptwriters: Lida Vartzioti, Dimitris Tsakaleas, Production: Ioanna Bolomyti - Atalante Productions SA, Greece
STRINGA
Directors / Scriptwriters: Maria Hatzakou, Alexandra Matheou, Producer: Maria Hatzakou - Merricat Film, Greece
SYDNEY SMILE FUTURE PERFECT
Director: Gregoris Rentis, Scriptwriters: Gregoris Rentis, Nikolas Kouloglou, Pauline Wolff, Producers: Myrto Stathi, Mando Stathi - Byrd, Greece
40 MARIA LUISA BOULEVARD
Director / Scriptwriter: Kristina Spassovska, Production: Maya Vitkova-Kosev - Viktoria Films, Bulgaria
AND ME TOO
Director / Scriptwriter: Sondos Shabayek, Production: Kesmat Elsayed - SEERA FILMS Gmbh / See Media Production, Germany, Egypt
GOD BREAK DOWN THE DOOR
Director / Scriptwriter: Vojtěch Novotný, Producer: Tomáš Pertold - Perfilm, Czech Republic
THE GRAND INQUISITOR
Director / Scriptwriter: Marat Sargsyan, Producer: Klementina Remeikaite - afterschool production, Lithuania
I MATTER
Director / Scriptwriter: Alina Serban, Producer: Ada Solomon - microFILM, Romania
LADY SUNSHINE
Director: Anna Korom, Scriptwriters: Anna Korom, András Soós, Producer: Anna Szijártó - Kinomoto Kft., Hungary
PETROL STATION
Director / Scriptwriter: Yuliia Hontaruk, Producer: Elena Saulich - BABYLON13, Ukraine
SINGING HORSES
Director: Luka Papić, Scriptwriters: Luka Papić, Vladimir Vulević, Producer: Srđa Vučo - Ranč production, Co-producer: Julia Cöllen - Fünferfilm, Serbia, Germany
SO THE LOVERS COULD COME OUT AGAIN
Director / Scriptwriter: George Peter Barbari, Producer: Christelle Younes - Bee On Set Productions, Lebanon
TETHYS OCEAN
Director / Scriptwriter: Anna Jadowska, Producer: Maria Blicharska - Blick Productions, Co-producer: Damien Mc Donald - Blick Productions International, Poland, France
