The Thessaloniki Film Festival continues its efforts for the greater extroversion of Greek cinema and its promotion abroad. The Festival gives the opportunity to film professionals from Greece who have participated in the Festival’s industry section, Agora, to travel to important international film festivals, in order to promote their work. The actions are implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” with the funding of the European Union - NextGenerationEU, within the integrated project “SUB 6.3 - Market extroversion of the Thessaloniki Film and Documentary Festival”.
After successful actions in Cannes, Sarajevo, Locarno film festivals, among others, the Thessaloniki Film Festival will facilitate Greek producers to present their work to the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and to the Berlin Film Festival. More specifically, the Festival covers the travel costs for cinema professionals (accreditation, travel expenses, accommodation etc.), while also providing consulting services before, during and after the completion of their trip, with the input of specialists. At the same time, the Festival supports the participation of professionals in special programs held within the framework of the international film markets.
International Film Festival Rotterdam
Greek producers who presented projects at the 65th TIFF’s Agora Crossroads Co-production Forum will travel to IFFR Pro and will be given access to CineMart from February 2 to February 6. The producers are: Konstantinos Koukoulis (Plankton) with the project African Grey by Yorgos Gousis, Efijeni Kokedhima (Reconstructing Memories) with the project The Appalling Human Voice of the Animals by Neritan Zinxhiria, Myrto Stathi (Byrd) with the project Nearby Faraway by Sonia Liza Kenterman and Kostas Tagalakis (Out of the Box) with the project Wake (Agrypnia) by Thelyia Petraki.
The participants will be given the opportunity to meet with members of the international audiovisual sector and have meetings in order to present their projects to top film professionals with the goal of finding co-production.
Their mentor is producer Yorgos Tsourgiannis.
At the EFM of the Berlin Film Festival
Also, producers with projects that participated at the Agora Works in Progress 2024 will travel to the Berlin Film Festival to participate at the European Film Market, which will take place from February 14 to 18, 2025.
The participating producers are: Dimitris Nakos (Soul Productions) with the project Life in a Beat by Amerissa Basta, Stefanos Koutsardakis (Chaotic Good Productions) with the project Patty Is Such a Girly Name by Giorgos Georgopoulos, Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna Papadakis (PUCCI Productions) with the project Bearcave by Stergios Dinopoulos, and Krysianna Papadakis and Christina Stavropoulou (Filmiki) with the project They Come Out of Margo by Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy).
Their mentor is producer and film consultant Katarina Tomkova.
Participants will have meetings with professionals from the global audiovisual sector and will have the opportunity to promote their progress, as they are trying to secure a sales agent and distribution.
In the framework of the Berlin Film Festival, a reception for the promotion of Greek cinema to the international film industry professionals attending the Festival will be held on February 16. This reception serves as an opportunity for the networking of the Greek filmmakers at one of the most important film markets of the world, the development of new projects and films, the search for coproductions, financing and new collaborations, as well as the highlighting of Greece as an ideal location for the shooting of international productions. The reception is co-hosted by: Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre – Creative Greece.
The first feature film by director Vassilis Kekatos, Our Wildest Days, will participate at the Generation section of the 75th Berlin Film Festival. The Festival supports the film’s participation in the Berlinale with the amount of 3,000 euros. Since 2019, in the framework of the Festival’s efforts to support Greek films travelling abroad, the Festival offers 3,000 euros to directors participating with their first or second film to the biggest film festivals abroad.
