Multifarious and beloved Matt Dillon, one of the most iconic actors of American contemporary cinema, honors with his presence the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. In particular, he presented the latest film he stars in, Being Maria by Jessica Palud, where he gives an outstanding performance as Marlon Brando, on Sunday November 3rd, at a packed Olympion theater. The Artistic Director of the Festival, Orestis Andreadakis, introduced the prolific star, mentioning that he has been part of our cinema dreams over the past 40 years.
“Matt Dillon’s presence in Thessaloniki is three-fold, starting with the visual art video-installation Interfears by Jesper Just, screened on a daily basis for the entire duration of the Festival at MOMus-Experimental Center for Arts, at the Port of Thessaloniki. Moreover, he will receive the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander for his overall contribution to cinema, prior to the screening of the film he directed and stars in, City of Ghosts. Last but not least, we will shortly take delight in seeing him offering a tour-de-force as Marlon Brando in the film Being Maria by Jessica Palud, which unearths one of the darkest secrets in the history of the film industry,” said Mr. Andreadakis before welcoming Matt Dillon on stage.
Matt Dillon thanked the audience and the Festival, also referring to three-part presence in the 65th TIFF: “I wanted to attend the Festival ever since I got the chance to visit Thessaloniki for the first time, a truly wonderful city. This year, I finally made it, prefacing three different events as you just heard. The first is the official opening of Interfears, alongside Jesper Just, a remarkable visual artist with whom I had the joy to work with. Jesper had me placed inside an MRI machine and, even though I am utterly claustrophobic, I can assure you the experience was worth it. In addition, the screening of the film City of Ghosts will take place tomorrow, a film I had directed many years ago and that was never distributed in Greece, at least to my knowledge,” initially mentioned Matt Dillon.
“As for tonight, I am here to represent the film Being Maria. Unfortunately, neither the director Jessica Palud nor the protagonist Anamaria Vartolomei could not make it. I am so proud to be a part of this film. I could not resist the invitation to join the film, as I really loved the script. It revolves around a controversial issue, but I think it’s a worthwhile attempt to portray a particular point of view on the big screen. Having the chance to work alongside Anamaria Vartolomei, a truly talented actress, was a wonderful experience. This role was one of the hardest things I ever had to pull off, but it was a challenge I embraced. I thank you so much for inviting me,” concluded Matt Dillon. Afterwards, the screening of the film followed.
On Monday November 4th, Matt Dillon will attend the opening of the visual installation Interfears at MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts (Warehouse B1-Port of Thessaloniki), alongside Danish artist Jesper Just, whereas later on, in the same evening, he will be bestowed with the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander in the screening of the film City of Ghosts, which marked his directorial debut.
