Breathtaking documentaries that explore our relation with nature, sci-fi films contemplating on the planet’s future, movies destined for small and… not so small children, as well as much revered auteurs, are included in official program of Evia Film Project, Thessaloniki Film Festival’s new initiative, which will be held from June 15th to June 19th in North Evia. In total, twelve exciting films, with free admission for the public, will be screened.
Let’s take a look at the detailed movie schedule:
Wednesday June 15th
Ciné “Apollon”, Edipsos, 21:30
La Belle Verte
Coline Serreau
France, 1996, 99΄
Upon visiting Paris, a superior being from a utopian planet is shocked to learn of humans’ consumerist ways and sets out to do a green awakening. A tender, imaginative and powerful film, which prompts us to reconsider our way of life in this world, redefining the importance of the connection with nature.
Thursday June 16th
Ciné “Apollon”, Edipsos, 21:30
Going Circular
Richard Dale, Nigel Walk
The Netherlands, 2021, 89΄
Four visionaries from around the world – a 102-year-old inventor, a biomimicry biologist, a designer, and a financier – unlock the secrets to an innovative concept called circularity: an economic system that eliminates waste. Α fundamental reassessment of what our lives could look like if we moved respecting our planetary resources.
“Elimnion”, Limni, 21:30
Megara
Sakis Maniatis, Yorgos Tsemberopoulos
Greece, 1974, 72΄
The uprising of the Megara residents against the decision of the military dictatorship (1967–1974) to expropriate a large rural area with the purpose of installing an oil refinery, and the final outcome of their struggle. The first Greek film to ever address ecological issues empathizes with the farmers’ agony, vividly outlining the image of a country on the threshold of change.
Friday June 17th
Agia Anna, 21:30
Short films slot. The following short films will be screened:
Nuisance Bear
Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden
Canada, 2021, 15΄
An unconventional and visually arresting documentary that shifts the perspective for a revealing look at a day in the life of a polar bear as it navigates an obstacle course of tourists and conservation officers. Nuisance Bear highlights the increasingly narrow and treacherous boundary between human and animal realms, asking audiences to consider the ways in which we interact with wildlife and if these relationships are sustainable.
Dream Land
Laila Pakalnina
Latvia-Germany, 2004, 36΄
There are places we don’t want to know anything about, places we would rather pretend don’t exist at all. One such place is the dumpsite. From the humans’ point of view, it is a ghastly place, a stinking desert of trash. But it’s a desert that is teeming with life. It acquires a strangely seductive, dreamlike dimension thanks to the striking abundance of insects, reptiles, birds and mammals, creatures interacting in a relationship of life and death.
Time and Tide
Marleen van der Werf
The Netherlands, 2018, 29΄
A seemingly quiet and picturesque landscape on the Dutch coast emerges as a battlefield where the elements of nature collide and the forces that lead the universe to entropy come into play, in an endless circle of destruction and rebirth. A poetic, contemplative, and breathtaking film essay, which was born of a two-year suspenseful observation and aims at breaking all painless stereotypes about the “neutral” representation of the natural environment
Ciné “Apollon”, Edipsos, 21:30
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Benh Zeitlin
USA, 2013, 97’
Somewhere in drowning Louisiana, a little girl lives with her dying father. Buoyed by her childish optimism, she finds in nature the balance missing from her everyday life –until a fierce storm changes her reality. A lyrical poem about the power of imagination in the struggle for survival, Benh Zeitlin’s feature-length debut is a tour-de-force that led him straight to the arms of the Academy Awards, whereas his young protagonist Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest nominee in the history of the institution, at the age of six.
“Elimnion”, Limni, 21:30
Soylent Green
Richard Fleischer
USA, 1973, 97΄
In 2022, uncontrollable pollution, overpopulation and climate destabilization have generated dramatic shortages of food, triggering regular riots. In the meantime, Soylent Industries, a shady company monopolizing the food market, has just launched Soylent Green, a hyper-nutritional artificial product. In this dystopian world, a tenacious detective (the great Charlton Heston in a unique role) will unveil a nightmarish truth that goes way beyond our most morbid imagination. A sci-fi ecological parable that explores the darkest pathways of human greed
Saturday June 18th
Ciné “Apollon”, Edipsos, 21:30
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky, Nicholas de Pencier
Canada, 2018, 87΄
In 2016, a group of scientists under the name Anthropocene Working Group argued that our planet has entered a new geological phase, the Anthropocene Epoch, an era of colossal human-driven alterations and transformations. This alarming documentary hops from continent to continent depicting the tremendous scale of these human-caused disruptions, which evoke a sense of dystopian prophecy. A disturbing journey that delves into human’s self-destructive nature and signals a desperate warning-bell.
“Elimnion”, Limni, 21:30
The Red Turtle
Michael Dudok de Wit
Japan-France, 2016, 97’
Through the story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds, this masterful, visually stunning animation recounts the milestones in the life of a human being. A simple, gripping tale of survival, a love story between man and nature, an ode to the wonders of the everyday life.
Sunday June 19th
Ciné “Apollon”, Edipsos, 21:30
The Forest Maker
Volker Schlöndorff
Germany, 2022, 87΄
Four decades after The Tin Drum, the masterpiece that won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a living legend of New German Cinema travels to Africa to draw a portrait of a hero. The Chief of all Farmers and winner of the “alternative Nobel prize” decided to experiment with a radical method that activates tree stumps and roots to make an “underground forest,” which can cover the whole continent and provide food to starving populations! A strong message of community, self-empowerment, and, above all, hope.
“Elimnion”, Limni, 21:30
Silent Running
Douglas Trumbull
USA, 1972, 89΄
Earth’s flora has perished and what is left is preserved in six gigantic domes, linked to a spaceship with a four-man crew. When orders are given to destroy the domes, astronaut Freeman Lowell – played by the extraordinary character actor Bruce Dern – refuses to comply, putting his life at risk. Like a Noah coming from the future of mankind, he takes on saving the honor and the beauty of a world struggling to achieve self-annihilation.
The Evia Film Project is part of the "Light Donors" of the "Reconstruction Program of North Evia - Evia Meta". They are projects and events implemented in collaboration with Ministries and Institutions, highlighting all aspects of the holistic program in North Evia and illuminating the future of the region.
More:
https://evoia-meta.gov.gr/
https://www.facebook.com/EVIAMETAPROJECT/
