Thanos Stavropoulos, Agora’s Manager, took the floor, welcoming the audience. “It’s been a very productive six days, full of meetings, screenings, and hopefully new collaborations. We hope you enjoyed your stay in Thessaloniki and that you go back home happy with your experience. We are sure we will watch your wonderful films in the dark room of a theater and/or on a big or smaller screen in the comfort of our own house,” he said.
Angeliki Vergou, head of the Festival’s Agora, took the baton: “We wish success on all levels and we wish to see you back here in Thessaloniki with your completed films. Let’s live a little bit longer in cinematic denial and forget for a while the results of the American elections, and enjoy this night of friendship and collaboration”. Angeliki Vergou went on to call on stage Elise Jalladeau, general director of the Festival, and Orestis Andreadakis, the Festival’s artistic director. Mr. Andreadakis thanked the Agora sponsors for their invaluable support and added: “We are very happy that 13 films in the Official Selection have previously participated in the Agora.”
Elise Jalladeau was the next speaker: “Thank you for having celebrated Agora's 20th anniversary with us! In these 20 years, we've seen the region's motion picture industry rebuild and reconnect with industries in other regions of the world and Europe. We're very proud to have been part of this movement, and to have supported the Greek and regional cinema and the audiovisual sector in this dynamic of technical and financial integration, diversification and creative exchange. At a time when the condition of isolationism and exclusion is more rampant than ever, we must remain united in a spirit of dialogue, cooperation and mutual understanding, for cinema to remain a collective experience that transcends geographical, cultural and economic borders. Thank you all for taking part in this collective effort”.
Then, Orestis Andreadakis invited beloved writer Victoria Hislop, ambassador of this year's Agora, to take the floor. “Thank you so much for inviting me to be the Agora ambassador. I've had the most incredible time. All of us nearly lost our voices through conversation and cultural exchange, the true hallmark of this week. I see many people have taken off their badge, but I'm still wearing it; I’d feel very lost and naked without this wonderful badge. I'm going to miss this festival a lot. I was present at both Crossroads Co-Production Forum and AGORA Works in Progress sessions, so I saw first-hand many wonderful images and projects. I would hate to have been a jury member, to be honest, as all of them moved and touched me. Some of them made me laugh, some were more shocking, but all of them, whether in progress or in very elementary stages, were stories that deserve to be told. This has been very important for me just to see all of these cross border collaborations, that was the thing that made my heart really sing. To feel that we can just make art together. And as said, that's something more important than ever. I'm hoping to be invited back again and I'm expecting, not just hoping, to see these films on screen. Something that really struck me while being here is that I did not want to wish people luck. Luck is only a small element in this complex process of filmmaking. To meet the right people, to raise the money, to put the right teams together. But the proper wish, and Elise probably uses it a lot more, is the French ‘bon courage’, to find the courage to carry on. Don't just wait for the lucky stars, bring them down and make them work for you. Ι would hate to be a jury member, as all films were lovely. If it was my choice, I would give everyone a prize. To be honest, I’ve never won a big prize for writing, but it hasn't stopped me making the books happen and getting them to sell. So have a great evening everybody,” she concluded.
Thanos Stavropoulos went on to invite on stage the members of SEE Cinema Network, Ilinka Teodorescu and Kamen Balkanski, who greeted the audience and announced the projects that received a 9,000-euro funding each from SEE Cinema Network. The projects supported by SEE Cinema Network are:
AFTER DARK
Director: Erenik Beqiri
Producer: On Film Production
Albania / Greece / France / Italy / Denmark
CONTRE JOUR
Director: Antonia Milcheva
Producer: Contrast Films
Bulgaria / Romania
YIANNIS
Director: Kyros Papavassiliou
Producer: Drytree Films Ltd
Cyprus / Greece / Romania
WAKE
Director: Thelyia Petraki
Producer: Out of the Box Films
Greece / Cyprus / Serbia
VESTIGE
Director: Rita Krasniqi
Producer: Kot Productions
Kosovo* / North Macedonia / France
SOBE
Director: Pavle Simonović
Producer: Protos Film
Montenegro / Serbia
I DISAGREE
Director: Kristijan Risteski
Producer: Focus Pocus Films
North Macedonia / Cyprus / France
EDELWEISS
Directors: Adriana Racasan, Tudor Giurgiu
Producer: Point Film
Romania / Cyprus
The introductory remarks were concluded by the head of the Agora, Angeliki Vergou, who thanked the filmmakers, the professionals who participated in the Agora, as well as all those who helped to make the Agora of this year's 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival a success. “I would like to thank all the participants that trusted us with their projects and all the industry professionals that chose Thessaloniki to discover new talents. We hope you had great meetings and that you leave from here full of joy, having gained constructive feedback and possibly new partnerships. Before we kick this off a few thank yous are in order. I would like to thank the AGORA Team for their energy and professionalism. Our Production and Audiovisual teams and most of all the Volunteers! In addition, I want to mention that AGORA is a collective effort and we would like to thank our Festival colleagues from the Administration, the Program Departments Greek and International, the Guest Department, the IT Department, the Communication Department and the Green Team.”
The presentation of the Agora Awards commenced promptly afterwards:
Rafaela Karagianni from the Agora team presented the Meet the Future Awards, saying that “this year’s Meet the Future focused on emerging film composers, as part of the ‘Music in Motion: The Αrt of Film Scoring’ tribute, and we have the privilege to offer two awards!”
The Crew United Award was presented by Venia Vergou and Iris Asimakopoulou from Crew United and was bestowed to:
Vasilis Zlatanos
The reasoning: “The Crew United Prize, within the framework of the programme Meet the Future of Agora, is awarded to a film composer who showed to us how to elevate the impact of a film scene with his music composition, to the highest level and on top of magnificent acting performances. And it goes to Vasilis Zlatanos”.
The winner receives a 5-year Premium membership subscription on Crew United, the leading online networking platform.
The newly established Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra Award was bestowed to:
John Konsolakis
A committee headed by Simos Papanas, Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, and comprised by Antonis Sousamoglou and Miltos Logiadis grant a unique award, giving the opportunity to a young composer among the participants to record their next cinematic work with the TSSO.
The reasoning of the jury: “The unique Symphonic Film Music Award established this year by the State Orchestra of Thessaloniki within the framework of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, aims to promote the creation of film music for symphony orchestra. Unlike other music awards, this is the only one in the world that specializes in Symphonic Film Scoring and will provide the winner with the infrastructure to professionally record the symphonic part of their next film's soundtrack. This year, the prize is bestowed on a pilot basis to one of the Greek composers participating in Meet the Future, while from 2025 our goal is to become international and present this award to films participating in the AGORA Work In Progress section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. It is important to mention that such a recording carries significant costs and thus, composers are often deterred from engaging a symphonic orchestra. TSSO will offer human resources, venues, technical equipment, and additionally up to 20,000 euros for the various costs of the recording process. We are happy to announce the Symphonic Film Music Award of TSSO for 2024 is awarded to John Konsolakis!”
CROSSROADS CO-PRODUCTION FORUM AWARDS
Two Thirty-Five (2|35) Award - Post-production (image and sound) was bestowed to:
THE HUNCHBACK
Director: Ahu Ozturk, Production: Pinar Aydin-Leyla Film, Türkiye
The reasoning of the jury: “The award goes to the project that portrays two women who lived through loss, abandonment and delusion so honestly rendered that we immersed ourselves completely into their lives”.
The 8,000-euro award for script development bestowed by CNC-Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée:
The reasoning of the jury: “The award goes to the project and a team who translate the absurdity of their own life experience into a biting, poetic and humorous journey from ‘to use their own words’ 3rd world to first class”. The award goes to:
PASSPORT
Director: Rakan Mayasi, Production: May Odeh, Zorana Musikic - Mayana Films, Co-production: Abdallah Al Ramahi, Palestine, Germany, Jordan
The Greener Screen Award offering consultation on sustainability practices before and during the film shooting is bestowed ex aequo:
THE HUNCHBACK
Director: Ahu Ozturk, Production: Pinar Aydin - Leyla Film, Türkiye
and
THE APPALLING HUMAN VOICE OF THE ANIMALS
Director: Neritan Zinxhiria, Production: Efijeni Kokedhima - Reconstructing Memories, Greece
The reasoning: “We, at Greener Screen, are thrilled to present this consultancy award to not one, but two outstanding films. Initially, this award was intended for a single project, but the exceptional dedication demonstrated by these two films made it clear that both deserved recognition. This award celebrates their motive to environmental responsibility and their dedication to pushing boundaries in pursuit of a more sustainable planet within the film industry. We are excited to collaborate with them on their sustainability journey for a greener industry one scene at a time”.
The Greener Screen Consultancy Award comes with a prize equaling to €7,000 alongside a tailored green production plan for the winning project, virtual training for the eco-manager on this plan, continuous support for the eco-manager during production alongside optional “Greener Script” consultancy sessions for the writer, director, and producer.
The ArteKino International Award with a cash prize of 6,000 euros, was bestowed to:
FOG
Director: Denis Spiridonov, Production: Katia Khazak - Aurora Films, Co-production: Vanya Rainova - Portokal, France, Bulgaria
The reasoning: “We had the chance to meet 15 inspiring projects. I would like to thank and encourage all the directors and producers here and also the Agora team who did great work. ARTE has decided to reward a project by a very promising director whose life has been impacted by recent political events in his country both as a citizen and as an artist. The main character of this first feature film is caught in this reality and faces very tough choices but will decide to stand by his principles till the end. We were impressed by the quality of the script and by the sensitivity and determination of the author who is accompanied by an excellent producer”.
The Finos Film 3,000-euro award was granted to a Greek project.
The reasoning of the jury: “The award goes to the project that touched us with its emotional depth and the clarity of the vision using her character's gaze to reveal what is behind the curtain”.
The Award goes to:
WAKE (AGRYPNIA)
Director: Thelyia Petraki, Production: Kostas Tagalakis - Out of the Box Films, Co-production: Iraklis Mavroidis, Nikos Smpiliris - Boo Productions, Greece
The Producer’s Network Accreditation to next year’s Cannes Marché du Film was awarded to:
Producer Ares Sporta for the project
BLEACH
Director: Kaltrina Krasniqi, Production: Ares Shporta - Vera Films, Co-production: Dream Factory Macedonia, Code Blue Production, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Montenegro
The reasoning: “The award goes to the project that explores class and gender inequalities perpetrated by women”.
The Mediterranean Film Institute Award - Script 2 Film Workshop Scholarship was awarded to the film:
THE PASSPORT
Director: Rakan Mayasi, Production: May Odeh, Zorana Musikic - Mayana Films, Co-production: Abdallah Al Ramahi, Palestine, Germany, Jordan
The reasoning of the jury: A ghost is haunting Europe, laughing in the face of darkness.
The MIDPOINT CONSULTING AWARD was bestowed to:
THE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUSTING LIFE
Director: Ahmad Ghossein, Production: Georges Schoucair - Abbout Productions, Co-production: Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion, DUOfilm, Lebanon
The reasoning: “The award goes to the project where the constant series of disasters plaguing a country turns the mechanism of survival into a big laugh”.
The EAVE THESSALONIKI Award - Marketing Scholarship was granted to:
Konstantinos Koukoulis for African Grey
The reasoning: “The cooperation between Crossroads Co-production Forum and EAVE to offer a scholarship for the EAVE 2025 Marketing Workshop is meant to provide an opportunity for a deep dive into film marketing and international exposure for an upcoming producer. This emerging producer’s strong motivation, energy and determination, has convinced us that he will make the most out of this opportunity for international exposure albeit operating from the fringes of the Greek periphery as he is based on the wonderful island of Lesvos…”
ONASSIS FILM AWARD
The Onassis Film Award – with a cash-prize of 10,000 euros – was granted to a Greek project participating in the Agora’s Crossroads Co-production Forum section for this year.
The reasoning: “The Onassis Film Award goes to a project that redefines a beloved genre and promises a satisfying cinematic story with a surprising protagonist. A project which shows that sometimes ideas for films can be found as easily as knocking on our neighbor's door.”
The award goes to the film:
AFRICAN GREY
Director: Yorgos Gousis, Production: Konstantinos Koukoulis - Plankton, Greece
AGORA WORKS IN PROGRESS AWARDS
Authorwave Post-Production Award - Creative Services
The reasoning: “The unique style, rebellious characters and important story convincingly reflected the uncompromising character displayed by the film and its team.”
The Authorwave post-production Creative Services award goes to:
BEARCAVE
Directors/Scriptwriters: Stergios Dinopoulos, Krysianna Papadakis, Production: Emily Sky Hickin - PUCCI Productions, Stergios Dinopoulos, Krysianna Papadakis, Arsinoi Pilou, Thanasis Michalopoulos - Pameligo Collective, Greece, United Kingdom
119 Marvila Studios Award - Sound mixing services
The reasoning: “This project is a moving portrayal of modern-day Turkey through the lense of a family drama that tackles universal current affairs with tenderness and humor.”
The 119 Marvilla Studio Award goes to:
LIFELIKE
Director: Ali Vatansever, Production: Selin Vatansever Tezcan, Oya Özden Özdemir - Terminal Film, Aytun Aktan Bahçeci - Aktan Görsel Sanatlar, Co-production: Antigoni Rota - Foss Productions, Turkey, Greece
The ERT Agora Works in Progress Award with a cash prize of 2,000 euros is given to a Greek project.
The reasoning: “The presentation and clips we saw convinced us that this film can offer romance, suspense, quirky humor and, above all, a playful glimpse behind the scenes of the traditional martial arts world.”
The ERT Award of 2,000 euros goes to:
PATTY IS SUCH A GIRLY NAME
Director: Giorgos Georgopoulos, Producer: Stefanos Koutsardakis - Chaotic Good Productions, Co-production: Christos V. Konstantakopoulos - Faliro House Productions, Fenia Cossovitsa - Blonde Productions, Greece
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
