On Thursday March 6th, at 7.15pm, the film About a Hero by Piotr Winiewicz will signal the official opening of the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. The Festival will call it a wrap on Sunday March 16th, with Shoshannah Stern’s Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore that unravels the story of Marlee Matlin, the first ever deaf recipient of an Academy Award for acting.
OPENING FILM & CEREMONY
The 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival kicks off with the film About a Hero (2024) by Piotr Winiewicz, screened within the framework of the grand tribute “ΑΙ, an inevitable Intelligence”. When a local factory worker dies under mysterious circumstances, Werner Herzog travels to Getunkirchenburg to investigate his perplexing death. However, Herzog is not who he seems, nor is the film what we expect… About a Hero is an adaptation of a script written by an AI trained on Herzog’s body of work. The fictional narrative it produced, ironically self-reflective, is intertwined with a series of interviews with artists, philosophers and scientists reflecting on the notion of originality, authenticity, immortality, and the soul in the age of AI.
The opening ceremony’s hosts will be no other than the talented children from the Greek National Robotics Team, who recently took part in the World Robot Olympiad held in South Korea, winning an impressive total of eight medals. Admission at the opening ceremony is upon presentation of an invitation, whereas a limited number of tickets will also be issued.
The opening ceremony will be followed by a live performance by Turboflow 3000 at Warehouse C, with a free admission for the audience. Deezy, André και Primal have teamed up over the recent years, having shaped a hybrid musical style interweaving electro, hip hop and punk. DJ set: Bellas. Free admission for the public.
CLOSING FILM
The Festival will have its curtain call on Sunday March 16th with the screening of the film Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (2025) by Shoshannah Stern that unravels the story of Marlee Matlin, the first ever deaf recipient of an Academy Award for acting.
In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer. The film explores Matlin’s life as a groundbreaking performer, whose meteoric and tumultuous rise to fame started in 1987 when she became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award for her role in Children of a Lesser God. At the age of 21, Matlin was thrust into the national spotlight, becoming for many Americans the first Deaf person they saw on TV and overnight becoming the de-facto representative of the Deaf community. The film boasts never-before-seen home video filmed over the course of Matlin’s 37-year career by her longtime interpreter and producing partner Jack Jason – including footage of Matlin behind the scenes on the sets of some of her most iconic roles, including Children of a Lesser God, The West Wing and Seinfeld. For the first time in her own language, Matlin reflects on her relationship with actor William Hurt, her place in the Deaf community, her fight for roles and accessibility in Hollywood and what it means to be ”the first.”
Admission to the closing screening will be carried out upon presentation of an invitation, whereas a limited number of tickets will also be issued. Once the screening is completed, we rush to Warehouse C, ready to be carried away by a unique live performance delivered by METAMAN. Synthesizers take center stage in his live shows, covering an exciting range from the hypnotizing trip hop all the way to acid rave. Guest star: Alexandra Epitheti. DJ set: Olia. Free admission for the public.
