Media / Press

20th TDF: The Awards

Two young Italians decide to devote themselves in natural, ecological, chemical-free beekeeping. They start full of passion. They try, succeed, fail, try again. This experiment tests their strength, their knowledge and their friendship, in Rossella Anitori and Darel Di Gregorio’s documentary The Time of the Bees, which was screened on Saturday, March 10 2018 at Tonia Marketaki theater, as part of the 20th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

The film forms part of this year’s TDF tribute “Brave New World”, implemented by the Operational Program “Public Administration Reform” and co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek national funds.

After the screening, the audience had the opportunity to talk with the Italian film directors who attended the event. Asked about the use of chemicals in the traditional beekeeping methods in Italy, the filmmakers said: “The use of chemicals is quite common in Italian beekeeping, which means that many people are now seeking alternatives. Both approaches, though, the traditional and the alternative one, deal with common problems, since very often a whole honey bee colony is wiped out before having time to bear fruits”, Rossella Anitori said. On his part, Darel Di Gregorio said that a large number of independent beekeepers have shown interest in this particular documentary, contributing significantly to the crowd-funding campaign launched for the film’s financing.

Consequently, the two film directors noted that their documentary was the product of a very close relationship with the two main characters, as well as the autonomous community they were living in. “We were recording their life from very close for a period of three and a half years, we were able to see their reactions and thoughts. The first contact with them was very easy, since Darel had been a member of this community in the past for six years, while I have written a book about this kind of communities in Italy”, Rossella Anitori said. She stressed that her Anthropology studies played a part in the way she approached and filmed the two main characters, and explained that the documentary was based on respect towards them and the least possible interventions. 

Darel Di Gregorio said that the material was more than 70 hours long, which made it extremely difficult to make the final selection. “At first, we had though to include interviews with the main characters in the final copy of the film, but we chose to rather show the feeling, than the details of what was happening”, he said. As he explained, the key concept in the documentary is time, that alters, forms and molds human relations and plans. “As you may have noticed, our documentary initially revolves around bees and alternative beekeeping, but eventually takes a different path, emphasizing more on people and their interaction”, he concluded.

A special event dedicated to the magic world of books took place in a particularly friendly and warm atmosphere on Saturday, March 10, 2018 in Warehouse C, within the framework of the 20^th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

 On the occasion of Frederick Wiseman’s latest film Ex Libris: Τhe New York Public Library screening in this year’s event, the festival audience had the opportunity to exchange their favorite books and participate in a conversation with Ioannis Trohopoulos, Head of the Athens 2018 World Book Capital organization, under the umbrella of the Municipality of Athens and UNESCO’s distinction.

Ioannis Trohopoulos shared with the audience some of his thoughts after viewing the documentary Ex Libris: Τhe New York Public Library, a film that presents every corner of this building, revealing a welcoming, open space for everyone, a venue of cultural exchange and education. Mr. Trohopoulos stressed: "I have some thoughts, feelings and words that were born from the very first time I watched this film. Repose and relaxation are two of them... Also, an idea: let's stay with these feelings without having envy or fear that we will never reach up to the standards of the New York Library. I also took notes of some words that I heard in the documentary or came to my mind as I watched it, words that describe a library today: bookstore, information hub, cultural center, shelter. And something oxymoron, in my personal view: in the documentary we saw some rich private donors who financially aided the library, a public organization, driven by their desire for a noble and tranquil world. And this can give food for thought about how culture is born”.

Mr. Trohopoulos also added: "My wish is to live with as less vanity as possible and certainty of self-conceit. We have to take small steps forward, that’s what we need to do, like for example this book exchange that is organized here today. And if I may, I will refer to my own experience as a director of the Veria Central Public Library where hundreds of people have been gathering, I will repeat that what matters are taking small steps without certainties and self-conceit”.

The unexpected, controversial cinema of Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, guests to the 20th anniversary edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, was at the heart of the event “A Look into the Bizarre: A Discussion with Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor” that took place on Friday 9 March 2018 in the Thessaloniki Center of Contemporary Art. The event was moderated by the film director Athena Rachel Tsangari.

Celebrating its 20^th anniversary, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival looks back at its first edition in 1999, seeking the filmmakers and heroes of two documentaries screened at the 1^st TDF, to find out what they did in the two decades that followed. In the context of this anniversary initiative, Nikos Grammatikos’ Nightflowers (1998) was screened on Friday March 9 2018 at Pavlos Zannas theatre, as part of the 20^th TDF, in the presence of the film director and protagonist, Manolis Diamantidis.

Before the beginning of the screening, the director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival Orestis Andreadakis warmly welcomed the two guests, noting: "Twenty years ago, when the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival began, a very sweet film by Nikos Grammatikos titled Nightflowers was presented. The protagonist was a 12-year-old boy, Manolis Diamantidis. It is a great pleasure to welcome them both today, after such a long time”.

Immediately after, Nikos Grammatikos, who was moved by the opportunity to meet some of his dear friends on the occasion of the screening, made special mention to Menelaos Tsaousis, mobility trainer and director of the Center for Education & Rehabilitation for the Blind (CERB), without the help of whom the documentary wouldn’t have been shot. Subsequently, the film’s protagonist Manolis Diamantidis thanked the audience for attending the event.

After the film’s screening, a discussion with the audience took place. Nikos Grammatikos spoke about how the original idea behind the documentary was born, underlining: "We have to go a long way back in November 1996, when I left Thessaloniki happy and satisfied as my film Truants/ Apontes had been awarded in the Thessaloniki IFF event that year. A few days later, I watched a news report on Seven-X television channel –which is no longer broadcasting- about the education of children who are born blind. It touched me deeply, I was literally shuddered by this; I must tell you that I'm terrified of the dark, it's probably something like the fear of a blind filmmaker like the one in Woody Allen's film Hollywood Ending, said the director.

The filmmaker went on to add that he contacted Menelaos Tsaousis and began filming the daily routine of the children of the CERB, resulting in having a total of 70 hours of material. "I then spoke with the actor Vangelis Mourikis, with whom we often work together, and we decided to turn this material into a film. Honestly, I do not know if we have recorded the best moments in the documentary, but what we had decided from the beginning was to focus on a particular person, and that was Manolis Diamantidis. I don’t think that Nightflowers is a film about blind children, but a film about how we overcome the difficulties and obstacles in life, obtaining strength from both our own resources as well as the help we get from the people around us. This is also the meaning behind the film’s last scene, in which Manolis climbs on the door fence of the CERB premises”, said the director.

On his part, the documentary’s protagonist Manolis Diamantidis, after saying that filming was a wonderful experience, despite having endured enough, was asked whether it is preferable for a blind child to join a school environment with children who don’t have vision problems or prefer a specialized school for children with vision problems. "I think that when you are part of an environment with people without such problems, you have to meet new people, face new situations, find ways to solve some new issues, which altogether will prove useful for you in the future. On the other hand, this is a very painful process, so it also depends on how each person handles the obstacles and difficulties they encounter, "he explained.

Nikos Grammatikos took the floor right after, stating that he refuses to deal with the children who are born blind as handicapped people. "Honestly, I think there is nothing these children can not cope with; one can even become the country’s Prime Minister. The difficulties faced by these children arise to a great extent from the obstacles posed by a society that has been made by people who see for people who see as well. As I have already said, this is essentially the subject of the film; the overcoming of difficulties and obstacles in life”, said the director.

Closing the conversation, Menelaos Tsaousis warmly thanked Nikos Grammatikos not only for making this documentary, but also for all the painstaking work he had done before finishing the film. "People need to know that Nikos Grammatikos first made sure he spent approximately two whole years with the children of CERB, in order to gain their trust and immerse into their world. This documentary travelled to many international festivals, was screened on the Greek television and enabled many people, especially children without visual impairments, to familiarize with the world of blind children and get to know better their potential and needs. Right now, we are trying to open up to the society, because I think we have to move from the stage of awareness to the stage of taking action. Our big goal at the moment is to increase the number of guide dogs and I hope you will soon see many of them in the streets of Thessaloniki”, he concluded.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival looks back at its first edition in 1999, seeking the makers and heroes of two films screened at the 1^st TDF, to find out what they did in the two decades that followed. In the context of this anniversary initiative, Fatima Jebli Ouazzani’s documentary In my Father’s House was screened on Thursday March 8 2018 at Pavlos Zannas theater, as part of the 20th TDF, in the presence of the film director.

The film In my Father’s House, which had premiered in the 1^st TDF, is about the position of women in Moroccan society seen through the film director’s personal history and her refusing to accept an oppressive marriage, as well as through the story of another woman, Naima, who chose a different path. The film touches upon subjects such as virginity in Islamic tradition, the husband and father dominance and inequality between women and men.    

In the discussion with the audience following the screening, the director talked about the experience of watching her film two decades after it was presented for the first time at the festival. She did not hide her frustration at seeing so few things having changed since, as to the role of women in Islamic tradition: “I was hoping that women’s role would change for the better after the Arab Spring, that some steps towards equality would be made. Not only such a thing did not happen, but things got worse in Egypt and Libya. The only Arab country where women and men are equal before the law is Tunisia. In all the other countries, men are women’s ‘patrons’. I understand that traditions are very difficult to change, they stick with girls since early ages. This becomes clear in the film. But the law can and needs to be changed. And I want to be alive when this happens. Besides, that’s the reason why I made this documentary. To help change things.”

The film director also spoke about the difficult relation with her father, which she deals with in the film, noting: “I chose to live my own life because I believe my body belongs to me. It belongs to me, not my husband, not my brother, not any master. But I missed my father. I couldn’t close that door. I had migraines, depression because of that. So I decided to face my demons and move on making the film. You could say that the film was the ‘excuse’ for me to approach my father. Of course, I was determined to make the documentary whether my father would, or would not agree to see me. In case he would not agree, I would show this too in the film”.

In an attempt such as this documentary, dealing with such an experiential, autobiographical material on a sensitive topic which is taboo for some communities, obstacles or difficulties are inevitable. “I wanted to make a film on the tradition of virginity, and of course I did not want to get married following this tradition. But all the stories of my family, either my mother’s or mine when I was a kid and started to figure out what virginity means, had happened in the past. So in order to recount those real facts I needed the actors and the dramatization I used in the film, to visualize the narrative. The story of the young Naima, who we see in the film choosing to follow the virginity tradition and getting married like this, is real and not dramatized. She is still married to her husband and they have two kids. The most difficult was finding a character like hers, who would give me the permission to film her story and marriage. It took me two years to find her”, the film director noted.

Another issue that deeply touches the filmmaker is immigration, since she moved to the Netherlands with her family when she was seven years old, and she lives there ever since. “I’m an immigrant, that’s why I have been able to change my life. I went from Morocco to the Netherlands and it only took a generation for things to change, for a Moroccan woman to be able to leave her home without being married and to make relevant documentaries”, the film director stressed. And added: “I believe EU does not treat Greece and Italy as it should, though these countries are dealing with the biggest immigration problem.  Poverty is what makes things explosive and worsens the situation. I can’t say I agree with this, but that’s the way things are. I believe you Greeks must fight, demand a change of things, first from your politicians. The film director concluded: “Coming from Amsterdam, I was hearing Greeks all around the plane. Many Greek families were going home. And I felt I was one of these people who left their country to go to the Netherlands, an immigrant among immigrants”.

The film has never been screened in any Islamic country, but the director hopes that this will change this summer. “In 1998, the film was awarded the National Prize in Casablanca and I found two distributors for its screening in Morocco. But my producer, who had the exclusive rights for distribution, did not want to proceed with this, because he was afraid the copy could be stolen. He had a similar experience in Russia and did not want to lose money. Perhaps this year, after 20 years, I will be able to go to Morocco in summer an organize a screening. I will do everything I can to make that happen”, the film director noted.