NEW DESIGN FOR FESTIVAL PRIZES
The redesigned Alexander, the highest prize awarded at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, will be presented for the first time this year. The new design of the Golden, Silver and Bronze Alexander is more modern, but the prize still embodies perfectly the values and profile of the Thessaloniki Film Festival. The redesigned prize was created by artist Eugenia Manolioudaki and it showcases the multifarious personality of Alexander the Great through a synthesis of contrasts, in a fascinating play with shadow and light.
Explaining the concept of the redesigned Alexander, the artist said: “Studies on Alexander the Great have paved the way for extensive research and knowledge creation, in a quest to understand this complex historical figure. Alexander the conqueror, Alexander the liberator, Alexander the civiliser and enlightener; Alexander remains a puzzling personality to this day. It is true that the moon is also careful to hide its dark side, but we still enjoy the magic of the moonlight. My first thought in designing the prize was to create a synthesis of contrasts, to combine light with darkness, in a play with shadow, which manages to showcase the volume and plasticity of the sculpture, to distinguish between the figure and his background, and revive the historical past in a modern way. Alexander the Great is always a historical and mythical figure that cuts across the fields of history and archaeology, music and poetry, cinema and the Arts. His shadow is a symbol of the quest for the unattainable, it creates illusions and confesses truths, it is both terrifying and amusing, ultimately moving and touching us.”
