The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival presents an International Competition Section. Twelve films of over 70 minutes in length compete for the Golden Alexander and the Silver Alexander Award. The Golden Alexander award is accompanied by a €12,000 cash prize. The Silver Alexander Award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize. This year, the International Competition Jury members are: Valerie Kontakos, filmmaker and producer; Rachel Leah Jones, filmmaker and producer; and Sudeep Sharma, festival programmer.
Valerie Kontakos
Valerie Kontakos lives between Athens and New York. After graduating from New York University, she worked as a sound editor for the Maysles brothers, Deborah Dickson, Anita Thacher, and others. In 1989 she directed her first feature documentary A Quality of Light. In 1994 she became the deputy director of the Hellenic Foundation in NYC, where she started the NYC Greek Film Festival. Her second feature, Who’s on First? (2006), aired in the US, Greece, Finland, and South Korea. She founded production company Exile Films in Athens in 2007 and the non-profit Exile Room in 2009 focusing on social outreach through documentary films. Queen of the Deuce, her fourth feature, premiered at docNYC and subsequently screened at many other film festivals internationally. It will be released theatrically in the US by Greenwich Entertainment in May 2024.
Valerie Kontakos lives between Athens and New York. After graduating from New York University, she worked as a sound editor for the Maysles brothers, Deborah Dickson, Anita Thacher, and others. In 1989 she directed her first feature documentary A Quality of Light. In 1994 she became the deputy director of the Hellenic Foundation in NYC, where she started the NYC Greek Film Festival. Her second feature, Who’s on First? (2006), aired in the US, Greece, Finland, and South Korea. She founded production company Exile Films in Athens in 2007 and the non-profit Exile Room in 2009 focusing on social outreach through documentary films. Queen of the Deuce, her fourth feature, premiered at docNYC and subsequently screened at many other film festivals internationally. It will be released theatrically in the US by Greenwich Entertainment in May 2024.
Rachel Leah Jones
Rachel Leah Jones is an Emmy-winning nonfiction filmmaker whose trajectory in the field – from writer to producer to director to editor – has spanned two decades and three continents. Her work has been awarded by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy (APSA), nominated for the PGA and IDA awards, selected by the EFA, honored by Cinema Eye, and shortlisted for the Oscars. A two-time Sundance Festival and Institute alumna and member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, her critically acclaimed films, which have screened in festivals worldwide and aired on dozens of channels, include 500 Dunam on the Moon (2002), Ashkenaz (2007), Gypsy Davy (2012), and Advocate (2019) – which screened at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in 2019 and won Best Documentary and the FIPRESCI award.
Rachel Leah Jones is an Emmy-winning nonfiction filmmaker whose trajectory in the field – from writer to producer to director to editor – has spanned two decades and three continents. Her work has been awarded by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy (APSA), nominated for the PGA and IDA awards, selected by the EFA, honored by Cinema Eye, and shortlisted for the Oscars. A two-time Sundance Festival and Institute alumna and member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, her critically acclaimed films, which have screened in festivals worldwide and aired on dozens of channels, include 500 Dunam on the Moon (2002), Ashkenaz (2007), Gypsy Davy (2012), and Advocate (2019) – which screened at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in 2019 and won Best Documentary and the FIPRESCI award.
Sudeep Sharma
Sudeep Sharma is a Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival focusing on documentary feature films. He was Director of Programming for the Palm Spring International ShortFest 2020 to 2023 and served as Interim Artistic Director for the 2022 edition. He has worked in programming for festivals and organizations such as the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science. He has also served on numerous juries including at the Toronto International Film Festival, Dokufest, Hot Docs, and Cinema Eye Honors. He holds a PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA and has taught film and television courses at universities throughout Southern California.
Sudeep Sharma is a Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival focusing on documentary feature films. He was Director of Programming for the Palm Spring International ShortFest 2020 to 2023 and served as Interim Artistic Director for the 2022 edition. He has worked in programming for festivals and organizations such as the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science. He has also served on numerous juries including at the Toronto International Film Festival, Dokufest, Hot Docs, and Cinema Eye Honors. He holds a PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA and has taught film and television courses at universities throughout Southern California.
