7th THESSALONIKI DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL
Images of the 21st Century
April 1-10 2005
The 7th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century, organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival with the backing of the Greek Public Television (ERT S.A.), the Greek Film Centre, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the Helexpo (Thessaloniki Intermational Fair), the ERT 3 Thessaloniki Public TV Channel and Pernot Ricard-Jameson, will present around 150 documentaries unfolding in the event’s flagship theatres OLYMPION and PAVLOS ZANNAS, at the festival headquarters, the Aristotelous square. Two more screens are added this year again to the festival venues.
They are, the state of the art JOHN CASSAVETES and STAVROS TORNES theatres located at the Thessaloniki harbor, within walking distance from Aristotelous square, the hotels where the guests will be housed and the International Doc Market. This year the 7th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century centerpiece focus is on immigration and human rights issues.
The main sections of the event are, - Views of the World: dealing with subjects of social interest. - Portraits-Human Journeys: the human being as the centerpiece of the narration. - Stories to Tell: brief stories of human interest that stand out for the nature of their subject and the way they have been dealt with. - Habitat: environmental issues and their social context. - Night-Time Moods: musical documentaries plus “adult” subject matters in after midnight screenings. - Greek Panorama: a selection from the latest local documentary productions .
Among the rest of the program, standing out are,
TRIBUTE TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL, NEW YORK: A selection of films from the latest program of the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival presented and commented by the festival’s artistic director, Bruni Burres.
TRIBUTE & CONFERENCE: IMMIGRATION Screening of Greek and foreign documentaries about immigration and refugees. The tribute will be accompanied by a conference with the participation of leading specialists and filmmakers.
60 YEARS SINCE AUSCHWITZ: Documentaries about the Holocaust and the Second World War.
OPEN DISCUSSION: POLITICAL CINEMA Addressing the audience will be filmmakers Paul Pauwels (Belgium) and Stefano Tealdi (Italy). With the co-operation of the European Documentary Network (EDN).
SPOTLIGHT: PIRJO HONKASALO The multi award-winning Finish director, who’s films deal with human rights, will present a selection of her documentaries and will offer a lecture about her work and her approach to documentary film making. A Festival publication will accompany the spotlight.
SPOTLIGHT: PIERRE PERRAULT A presentation of a representative selection from the extensive body of work of the great Canadian documentary director who’s acute political interest is reflected in his films that deal with de-industrialization, globalization and the effect they had on local communities in Quebec. A festival publication will accompany the spotlight.
INTERNATIONAL DOC MARKET
The International Doc Market, introduced in 1999, will be held this year from April 4-8 featuring 500 plus titles. The market, which enjoyed a rousing success at last year's Festival, is co-organized with and sponsored by the Greek Public Television (ERT S.A.) and caters to the needs of Television networks from Southern European countries while it has already proved to be a useful tool for a wide range of professionals from other parts of the world.
PITCHING FORUM
The Pitching Forum (April 6-10) up and running since 2001, in collaboration with the European Documentary Network (EDN), gives local and foreign audiovisual professionals the opportunity to have their projects pitched to commissioning editors and representatives of the international audiovisual media.
AWARDS
The awards of the festival are, Public Choise Awards Two awards will be handed out to documentaries over 45’ (one for a Greek documentary and one for a documentary from the International Selection). Each award carries 3,000 euros in cash. Two awards will be handed out to documentaries under 45’ (one for a Greek documentary and one for a documentary from the International Selection). Each award carries 1,500 euros in cash. The Public Choise awards are backed by the ERT 3 Thessaloniki Public TV Channel. FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Awards. A five member international Fipresci jury will hand out, A Fipresci award to a Greek documentary, A Fipresci award to a foreign film.
The line up of the festival plus a last press release are set to be sent out and will be available on the festival website from March 15 onwards. Please visit our Website for further information and previous editions.
THE PROGRAMME AND THE EVENTS OF THIS YEAR'S EDITION
