We are delighted to unveil the 22 full-length films and the 24 short films screened at the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, within the framework of the Greek Film Festival. For yet another year, the Festival offers its longstanding support to Greek cinema and the Greek filmmakers through a series of targeted actions and initiatives.
A total of 18 Greek films will celebrate their premiere at the 65th TIFF, nine of which take part in the Festival’s competition section. The films Arcadia by Yorgos Zois, Meat by Dimitris Nakos and She Loved Blossoms More by Yannis Veslemes take part in the International Competition section. Three more Greek films, Hunt by Christos Pitharas, Killerwood by Christos Massalas, Riviera by Orfeas Peretzis, participate at the Meet the Neighbors+ competition section. Last but not least, three more Greek films, CAFÉ 404 by Alexandros Tsilifonis, Maldives by Daniel Bolda and Kyuka Before Summer’s End by Kostis Charamountanis were selected for the >>Film Forward competition section.
The Greek Film Festival is held as designated by the law. The members of the advisory committee assigned with the preselection of the films of the Greek Film Festival were: Christos Bakatselos (film critic), Mina Dreki (producer) and Spiros Jacovides (film director-producer).
Independent Awards
The Greek Film Festival is bestowing a series of independent prizes and awards, with the aim of reinforcing Greek cinema.
This year, we are delighted to welcome a newly established award, FOS powered by PPC. Actors and actresses making their film debut, in a lead or supporting role, in a Greek full-length film taking part in the Festival’s official lineup, are competing for the award. In the awards’ ceremony, two awards will be bestowed, to an actress and an actor respectively, both accompanied by a 3,000-euro cash prize. The jury is composed of actress Katerina Didaskalou, film director and actor Renos Haralambidis and actor Giannis Tsortekis. Public Power Corporation (PPC), as a strategic partner, offers its support to the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which stands by Greek and international filmmakers who breathe life into every shot and scene through their work, as well as the city that has been linked for decades now with the culture and the 7th art.
*”Fos” is the Greek word for “Light”, whereas PPC stands for the Public Power Corporation of Greece.
Let’s now take a glance at the full list of the independent awards bestowed to the Greek films of the Festival:
Thessaloniki Festival, through its official selection and Agora’s initiatives, offers support to the Greek cinema community through a series of targeted actions, programmes, awards and prizes, administering for the third consecutive year a fee to all Greek films of the official selection.
Moreover, it carries on boosting Greek films in their international journey, offering 3,000 euros per film to all directors who take part in the most prestigious international film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastián, Rotterdam, New York, Tribeca, Toronto, Sundance, Busan, IDFA, Hot Docs, Nyon) with their debut or sophomore film. The films Arcadia by Yorgos Zois, She Loved Blossoms More by Yannis Veslemes and Meat by Dimitris Nakos represent the most recent examples.
The Festival is also providing an invaluable chance to Greek directors to showcase their work before professionals from the international field. Movies from this year’s Greek production will be screened at Cinando online platform – one of the most important tools for cinema professionals on a worldwide scale.
Universally accessible screenings
The Festival’s goal is to share the magic of cinema with the entirety of the audience, with no exceptions nonsoever. To this end, the Festival hosts screenings of films with Audio Description for the Blind and the Visually Impaired and with Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing both in the physical and the online screenings.
With the valuable support of Alpha Bank, the Festival’s Accessibility Sponsor, two landmark films of the Greek cinema will be rendered universally accessible. In particular, the Festival’s audience will have the chance to watch the iconic Greek films John the Violent by Tonia Marketaki and Robbery in Athens by Vangelis Serdaris in universally accessible terms.
Tonia Marketaki’s explosive directorial debut titled John the Violent (1973) –inspired by true events that came to pass in Greece during the troubled 1960s– is a pioneering courtroom drama (and not just by Greek standards): the film stirs up traces and fragments of various truths and, in doing so, proves that the act of seeking out a single, solitary truth is nothing but a wild goose chase. Ioánnis Zákhos (the John of the title), a disturbed young man who is psycho-sexually unbalanced, lives out his erotic fantasies through a kind of sanctifying violence; in this sick way, he strives to fill the gaps left by the lack of manhood and lack of respect he feels. Once arrested, he confesses to his crimes, much to the relief of the police, whom the press have accused of being inept. This in-depth exploration of the innate theatricality stowed inside every attempt to serve justice and re-enact a crime, Marketaki’s film dissects a series of implacable clashes (society vs the individual, the spirit of the law vs the letter of the law) and, in the process, paints a stifling and sinister portrait of an entire period. The film is to be given a universally accessible screening at the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival with the support of Alpha Bank, the Festival’s Accessibility Sponsor.
Iconic film policier Robbery in Athens (1969) will also be screened in universally accessible terms at the 65th TIFF, ιn collaboration with the Greek Directors' Guild celebrating its 50th inauguration anniversary this year. Three young people, driven by financial destitution and the dim prospects of a meager life, dare a risky robbery in the heart of the Athens city center. Even though the initial plan is crowned with success, spreading an ephemeral (and gradually heart-wrenching) enthusiasm, it eventually ends up in a harsh downfall towards inevitable despair. The impressive debut of Vangelis Serdaris feels like it has sprang out of the most fundamental and stylish noir canon, outlines a gloomy and suffocating Athens, depicting the drama and the open wounds of an entire ere. With an exemplary inner tempo, daring expressive choices in editing and shot composition, as well as gripping interpretations full of realism, Robbery in Athens stands even today a point of reference of an independent Greek cinema that reinvents established norms and conventions.
The programme of the universally accessible screenings will be available in Braille. Moreover, a total of 23 Greek films will be screened with embedded dialogue-based subtitles, allowing the deaf and hard-of-hearing audience to watch the films. The movies will also be available featuring Greek subtitles at the Festival’s platform.
After the curtain call of its 65th edition, the Festival and Alpha Bank will concede all the processed subtitles and the audio description to the films’ producers, in order for the films to remain universally accessible in their future screenings, in the movie theaters or in any other form or medium. The above action is carried out in the hope that through the Festival’s support the films will be distributed in universally accessible terms both in the movie theaters and in the home film distribution for everyone to enjoy with no restrictions.
Finos Film Special screening
Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Finos Film co-host a special screening of the benchmark comedy of Greek cinema Miss Director (1964) directed by Dinos Dimopoulos, featuring the outstanding music score by the great maestro and composer Mimis Plessas, who recently passed away.
Lila Vasileiou undertakes the management of a technical company, with her overprotective father constantly by her side. Desiring to prioritize her career, she neglects her femininity, and discourages the advances of her subordinate engineer and admirer of the fairer sex, Alekos Samiotakis. When she falls in love with him, she is urged by her cousin to transform into a coquettish woman.
Let’s now take a look at the Greek films premiering at the 65th TIFF:
First Run
Films celebrating their premiere at the Festival, featuring the cream of the crop of this year's Greek production.
International Competition
Arcadia
Yorgos Zois
Radiant neurologist Katerina has to confront her worst suspicions as she accompanies Yannis, a former well-respected doctor, to identify the victim of a tragic car accident at an off-season seaside resort. Together, but also on her own nightly excursions to a mysterious rustic beach bar, they unravel a haunting tale of love, loss, acceptance and letting go.
Meat
Dimitris Nakos
In a village in the Greek countryside, Takis prepares the opening of his new butcher shop. The day before, his son Pavlos kills the neighbor who claims part of their land. The only witness is Christos, a young man from Albania, who has worked for Takis since his childhood. Takis has to decide who will take the responsibility.
She Loved Blossoms More
Yannis Veslemes
Three brothers build an unusual time-machine in order to bring their long-dead mother back to life. When their delusional father comes into the picture, the experiments go awry, and they descend into a psychedelic hellscape where the past and present fuse in this comedic yet deeply disturbing exploration of grief.
Meet the Neighbors+
Hunt
Christos Pitharas
Yannis, a lonesome craftsman, finds solace in hunting birds and making handcrafted jewelry. His next door neighbor, Elias, is mistreating his dog. While Elias works late night shifts as security guard, the dog is left out on the terrace, barking and wailing. Yannis is losing sleep. When his estranged mother passes away, his psyche deteriorates. The collision with Elias is inevitable.
Killerwood
Christos Massalas
Titos, a young director, is preparing his new film – a thriller investigating a series of unsolved murders in modern-day Athens. Could these killings be the work of a serial killer? Is it only fiction?
Riviera
Orfeas Peretzis
A dying palm tree, a doomed summer romance, and a mother who wants to move on. This will be Alkistis’ last summer on the Athenian Riviera.
>>Film Forward
CAFÉ 404
Alexandros Tsilifonis
Jimmy fights to keep the forgotten Café 404 alive. A mysterious bag presents a chance for salvation, but with a steep cost—greed, criminals, and the police quickly spiral the situation out of control, threatening everything around them.
Kyuka Before Summer’s End
Kostis Charamountanis
Summertime. Konstantinos and Elsa sail to the island of Poros for holidays with their father, Babis. While swimming, sunbathing and making new friends the siblings meet their birth mother, Anna, unbeknownst to them as she abandoned them when they were babies. This encounter will result in a sun-kissed, bittersweet coming-of-age journey.
Maldives
Daniel Bolda
An elementary music teacher living in a secluded town in the mountains with his dog, longs to escape the cold in favour of a warmer life by the beach. When his dog disappears, his sanity comes into question, as ringings of the afterlife begin to bring forth visions that shake up his world.
The following films will also have their premiere in the Festival, as part of the First Run section:
Fauna
Stratoula Theodoratou
A photojournalist, an architect and his father who suffers from dementia, are trapped in the centre of Athens, while extensive clashes unfold. They are all involved in a massive ecological disaster that burned forests and killed dozens of people. Conflicts, co-dependencies, and anger emerge, while the search for truth seems impossible.
Giannis in the Cities
Eleni Alexandrakis
1949, towards the end of the Greek Civil War. Yannis, the son of a rebel, is torn from his village and deported to the Childcare Cities where his ideas and desires are manipulated. Nightmares and dark feelings for his father slowly inhabit his heart. Only when he reaches adulthood does he redefine his existence, so he decides to go and meet the man. Based on the life story of Greek writer Yannis Atzakas.
Lula LeBlanc
Stergios Paschos
26th of September 1999. Alekos is dead. His teenage granddaughter, Margarita, refuses to attend his funeral and takes advantage of her parents’ absence to throw a small party at home.
Three days earlier.
Unaware that this would be his last night, Alekos attends a reunion of old friends to celebrate the birthday of Lula, his first love, who now suffers from dementia.
Magic Trap
Nikos Vergitsis
Pandora and Plato, the most in-love creatures on Earth, share a magical secret: their Tears of Sadness can grant any wish. But Pandora tells Plato she can never see him again, as a prophecy warns Plato will die on their 300th anniversary. Meanwhile, Alba, a space computer, sends Flame to Earth to stop an evil villain.
The Philosopher (I Have Something to Say)
Stratos Tzitzis
The comedy of a thinking man who wants his philosophical views to be taken seriously when he is nothing but a failed filmmaker. Stavros teaches at a film school. He asks the scripts to have some deep meaning. So, he has very few students in his class and loses his job. He decides to write down his thoughts about deeper meaning in a book. Unfortunately, no one seems interested in this. But then he finds an unexpected reader…
The Sock
Kyros Papavassiliou
A struggling film director has an accident that leaves him temporarily disabled. He is assisted by his cousin, who is permanently disabled himself. The director decides to make a film about the accident and his days with his cousin, but everyone becomes an obstacle in the creation of the movie, especially the perpetrator of the accident.
The River
Haris Raftogiannis
What is “progress” for Makis, is a threat for Maria. A car accident brings them closer. The orgasmic taste of Nuggets even closer. But it takes much more to be together.
Wishbone
Penny Panagiotopoulou
Kostas has recently become a security guard in a public hospital. After the sudden death of his older brother, he is forced to take care of his little niece Niki, and also to find the money to save their family house. The moment he’s lost all hope, a hospital porter will offer an aiding hand; but the price to pay will be high.
Crossing Borders
“Crossing Borders” sub-section hosts the premieres of two films related to Greece that were shot in Greece or abroad.
Utopolis
Vladimir Subotić
Sam, a young refugee at the Utopolis construction site, introduces us to Timur, another refugee. He goes to the local canteen where Yannis and Sotiris, neighborhood watchmen, hang out. Yannis, frustrated, blames refugees for his troubles, suspects Timur, and follows him to Utopolis. They fight and fall into a deep hole, revealing pasts and secrets.
A Second Viewing
Brando with a Glass Eye
Antonis Tsonis
Athens, Greece. Luca resorts to armed robbery to fund his dream of studying method acting in New York. In a heist gone wrong, he accidently critically injures Ilias, an innocent bystander. While visiting Ilias in the hospital trauma ward, Luca forms an unlikely friendship, but he keeps his crime a secret.
Greek Short Films
Finally, as each year, the Festival will present the awarded Greek films from all national and international sections of Drama International Short Film Festival. The awarded short films will also be screened at a special section in the Film Market, accessible by sales agents and representatives of international short film festivals.
The 24 movies that will be screened are:
Acheron - Direction: Konstantina Papadopoulou
Alles Gut - Direction: Pavlos Paraskevopoulos
Concrete Rodents - Direction: Apostolis Gkanatsios
Dracaena - Direction: Sofia Priovolou, Ioannis Panagitidis
Driving Me Crazy - Direction: Meni Tsilianidou
Earthbound - Direction: Vangelis Dikopoulos
Gekas - Direction: Dimitris Moutsiakas
Golden Fingers - Direction: Foivos Kontogiannis
Halcyon Days - Direction: Alexandros Skouras
Honeymoon - Direction: Alki Papastathopoulos
MJ - Direction: Yiorgos Fortounis
No Future Kids - Direction: Eleni Poulopoulou
Non-essential Movement - Direction: Nikoleta Leousi
numb - Direction: Despina Kourti
Pave Paradise - Direction: Alkaios Spyrou
Pigeons are Dying When the City is on Fire - Direction: Stavros Markoulakis
pop - Direction: Lina Kountoura
Stelianna - Direction: Yannis Bletas
Underground - Direction: Giannis Christoforou
The Gardener’s Death - Direction: Christina Spiliopoulou
The River Runs Through the Village - Direction: Xenophon Nikolakopoulos
What Mary Didn’t Know - Direction: Konstantina Kotzamani
What We Ask of a Statue is That it Doesn’t Move - Direction: Daphné Hérétakis
Zange - Direction: Iris Baglanea
