Agora Docs in Progress presentation

As part of the Agora of the 28th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the presentation of the projects participating in this year’s Agora Docs in Progress took place on Tuesday, March 10, at the Frida Liappa theatre.

Directors and producers from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean had the opportunity to present their documentaries to buyers, co-producers, sales agents, and international festival programmers.

The audience was welcomed by Angeliki Vergou, Head of Agora. “We are truly delighted to see so many of you here today, and we sincerely hope you will enjoy the meetings and screenings that will take place over the coming days. At the same time, we are deeply saddened that some participants are unable to attend due to the war in the Middle East and the travel restrictions that have been imposed. Nevertheless, we feel both joy and gratitude for the opportunity to host you and to offer the support and guidance you may need,” she noted.

Picking up the thread, Yorgos Krassakopoulos, Head of Programming, also welcomed the audience. “We are very happy to welcome your projects to this year’s Festival. We work closely with the Agora and follow its work with great interest. There is a saying: ‘May you live in interesting times,’ but unfortunately the world has already taken care of that. Instead, I wish you the opportunity to discover fascinating projects and to have meaningful meetings in the days ahead,” he said.

Angeliki Vergou thanked the Agora team for their hard work, as well as the Festival’s production team and the colleagues of both the International and the Greek Programme for their decisive contribution to the selection of the projects. She also expressed her gratitude to the Agora’s sponsors, whose support each year helps bring new artistic creations to life. “We have worked hard to put together a rich and engaging programme, which you can explore through the Agora catalogue,” she noted, adding that, in line with the Festival’s environmental commitment, the Agora catalogue will be available exclusively in digital form from this year onwards. She also asked participants to respect the confidentiality of the presentations, given the sensitive nature of the material and the stage of production of the projects being showcased.

Agora Manager Thanos Stavropoulos and Docs in Progress Coordinator Elena Gaitanarou then introduced the members of this year’s jury, consisting of:

• Anja Dziersk | Sales agent & Festival manager, Rise And Shine World Sales - Germany
• Ahmed Shawky | Film critic, FIPRESCI & Head of CineGouna Funding, El Gouna Film Festival - Egypt
• Ada Solomon | Producer, MicroFILM - Romania

“This year the Agora presents ten outstanding films. We will watch a ten-minute clip with selected scenes from each project and meet their creators through a short presentation followed by a Q&A session. The presentations will be moderated by Zeynep Güzel, whose contribution to the Agora has been significant for many years and whose guidance has been invaluable to the participants,” noted Thanos Stavropoulos, expressing the hope that this collaboration will continue in the years to come. For her part, the director and consultant from Germany thanked the Festival and the Agora team. “You have created a valuable platform for exchange and collaboration,” she said, opening the presentations.

The films also compete for a series of major awards: a post-production services award by Two Thirty Five (2|35), a subtitling award by Neaniko Plano, the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center (EKKOMED)Award for a Greek project, accompanied by a €3,000 cash prize, and a new award, the IMPRONTA FILMS Guidance Award, offering specialized consultancy services including festival strategy, marketing, and promotion. In addition, the Onassis Foundation awards the Onassis Film Award, accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize, to a Greek Agora project participating either in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum or in Agora Docs in Progress.

The Projects of Agora Docs in Progress:

4PM TO 5PMOUT OF COMPETITION

Director: Yorgos Teltzidis, Production: Onassis Culture - Christos Sarris (creative producer), Vassilis Panagiotakopoulos (producer),Greece

AIPOS

Director: Christos Adrianopoulos, Production: Antigoni Kapaka - Alipnoos S.A, Co-production: Despina Mouzaki - Breaking Wave Productions, Greece, Cyprus

MATI 2307

Director: Marianna Kakaounaki, Production: Marianna Kakaounaki - Energeiaki Mesimvria, Greece

K.

Director: Panagiotis Papafragkos, Production: Panagiotis Papafragkos, Stelios Mavrodontis - Dog Star Films, Co-production: Ondřej Zima - Film Kolektiv, Leenke Ripmeester - Eye Filmmuseum-Amsterdam , Greece, Czech Republic, Netherlands

CAREFUL WHERE YOU TREAD

Director: Smaro Papaevangelou, Production: Iro Aidoni, Mina Dreki - Marni Films, Greece

ANATOLIA

Director: Jeanne Nouchi, Production: Maud Berbille - MB17 Films, France

IMMORTAL FLOWERS

Director: Brian Logvinsky, Production: Harrison Jaffee, Anna Konik - Catharsis Pictures, Tommaso Rositani - FFB Pictures, Co-production: Eugene Rachkovsky - Tabor Production, USA, Ukraine

LANDWARDS

Director: Rama Ayasra, Production: Asmahan Bkerat - Arkima Productions, Jordan

OUR SEEDS (WT)

Director: Erhan Arik, Production: Meryem Yavuz - Horovel Films, Co-production: Rea Apostolides - Anemon Productions, Manuel Rees - Paradoks Filmproduktion, Türkiye, Greece, Germany

STRATUM

Directors: Daniel Kötter, Marko Grba Singh, Production: Jelena Angelovski - Obol Film, Co-production: Eroll Bilibani, Veton Nurkollari - DokuFest, Serbia, Kosovo*