67th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
5 NOVEMBER → 15 NOVEMBER 2026

11:00 – 12:30
Pavlos Zannas Theater
Admission is free, on the issue of a zero-value ticket.
An American director and artist. A Greek producer, a Turkish producer and a Portuguese producer. A Danish lead actress. A Greek editor. Filmmakers from around the world, most of whom met by chance at the Thessaloniki Film Festival; from that encounter a film was born, now already in post-production. How do festivals facilitate networking, and how can multicultural collaboration help a film grow?
Speakers: Sara Driver (director), Trine Dyrholm (actor), Konstantinos Kontovrakis (producer), Rodrigo Areias (producer), Yorgos Mavropsaridis (editor)
Moderator: Yorgos Krassakopoulos, Head of Programming, Thessaloniki Film Festival
The discussion will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Greek.

Sara Driver is a director, writer, producer, actor and curator. She's directed the films You Are Not I (1982), Sleepwalk (1986), When Pigs Fly (1993), The Bowery (short 1994), Boom for Real: The Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (2017). She produced Jim Jarmusch’s Permanent Vacation (1980) and Stranger Than Paradise (1984). She is currently in production on Charles Addams: Drawnand Quartered for Amazon (documentary feature), An Odd Enchantment (narrative feature) and in 2027/2028 Lee Quinones: We are our Times (documentary feature).

Trine Dyrholm is a renowned Danish actor and singer. She began her career as a singer at the age of 14 before establishing herself as one of Denmark’s most acclaimed actresses. She gained recognition for her debut film, Springflod (1990), and has since starred in numerous Danish and international productions, including In a Better World (2010), A Royal Affair (2012), The Commune (2016), Queen of Hearts (2019), Poison (2024), The Girl with the Needle (2024) and The Guest (2026).
Dyrholm is a multiple winner and nominee of Bodil, The Danish equivalent to the Academy Award but also a winner of Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in The Commune. Known for her versatility and powerful performances, Dyrholm is considered one of Denmark’s leading acting talents.

Konstantinos Kontovrakis has produced and co-produced more than 25 internationally acclaimed films, including Un Certain Regard winner How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker and Palme d’Or winner and Oscar nominated Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund. Kontovrakis received the ‘European Co-production Award’ at the European Film Awards, in 2018. His latest film, the Greek debut The Last Call directed by Sherif Francis and produced by Tanweer Productions, is the highest grossing title in the Greek B.O, for ’26 and he is currently in post-production of Sara Driver’s long-awaited feature fiction An Odd Enchantment.

Rodrigo Areias has produced over 150 films and has won many international awards including San Sebastian’s Golden Shell, 3 lions at Venice, 1 Locarno Leopard. Has produced films of veterans such as Jean-Luc Godard, Aki Kaurismaki, Peter Greenaway, Manoel Oliveira, Pedro Costa and Victor Erice and new directors such as Lois Patiño, Matias Piñeiro, Teddy Williams, Ana Rocha de Sousa. As a director has won over 50 awards, his last feature film, The Worst Man in London, premiered at Rotterdam’s Competition, and his last documentary NOVA ’78 premiered on the official selection of Locarno.

Yorgos Mavropsaridis is a film editor based in Athens, Greece, known for his work with director Yorgos Lanthimos. He is a graduate of the ‘Theatrical Workshop’ Drama School in Athens and ‘The London International Film School’. In his long career he has edited more than a hundred feature films and has numerous nominations and awards with the films, amongst others: Dogtooth (Hellenic Film Academy Editing Award); The Lobster (ACE Eddie nomination for best edited feature film- comedy, theatrical); The Favourite (Oscar and BAFTA nomination, Best European Film editor 2019, ACE Eddie Award (best edited feature film -comedy, theatrical)); Poor Things (Oscar and BAFTA nomination, ACE Eddie nomination, BFE Cut Above Award); Bugonia (ACE Eddie Award nomination, European Film Academy nomination for best edit)