The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the

Greek Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture and Sports ( el, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) is the government department of Greece entrusted with preserving the country's cultural heritage, promoting the arts, and overseeing sp ...

, is held every November in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

.TIFF features international competition sections, and its program includes tributes to major filmmakers and national cinemas, as well as sidebar events such as masterclasses, exhibitions, live concerts and workshops. In addition to TIFF, its parent cultural institution holds the annual

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF) is an international documentary festival held every March in Thessaloniki, Greece. TDF, founded in 1999, features competition sections and ranks among the world's leading documentary festivals. Since 20 ...

(TDF) in March.

Overview

Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2005 hoarding

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival focuses on independent cinema and emerging filmmakers from around the world. The festival serves as an essential platform for film professionals from Greece and Southeast Europe. The event attracts an audience of more than 80.000. Hundreds of Greek and foreign guests, including major figures of the international film scene, have attended TIFF. TIFF is held at the historical “Olympion” theater at the central Thessaloniki

Aristotelous Square Aristotelous Square ( el, Πλατεία Αριστοτέλους, , Aristotle Square) is the main city square of Thessaloniki, Greece and is located on Nikis avenue (on the city's waterfront), in the city center. It was designed by French people, ...

and, since 1999, at the Thessaloniki port, in four theaters housed at two newly-restored warehouses. The festival hub is Warehouse C, located at the city port; several sidebar events take place at the Thessaloniki Cinema Museum, also part of the Thessaloniki Film Festival Cultural Institution. TIFF comprises three competition sections: International Competition for the first or second feature film by emerging directors; “Meet the Neighbors” International Competition, for films from the region spanning from

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

to the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

; and

Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

(VR) Competition. Agora is the developmental section of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, reaching out to international film professionals. Agora is one of the most dynamic and constantly growing film markets globally.

History

Theodoros Angelopoulos Athens 26-4-2009-1

The Thessaloniki Film Festival was launched as a national film festival in 1960 under the name “Greek Film Week” with the contribution of “Techni” Macedonian Art Society. The event was renamed “Thessaloniki Greek Film Festival” in 1966 and continued as a national film festival until 1991. During these years, the festival closely followed the trends of the national film production, its program highlighting the emergence of the “New Greek Cinema”, while showcasing the work of world cinema auteurs. After the political changeover that followed the 7-year Greek military regime (1967-1974), the festival was intensely politicized, reflecting the political climate of the day, yet keeping its focus on art-house cinema. The event was subject to the Ministry of Trade by 1981 when it came under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. Following a new national law on cinema, an artistic director was appointed in 1986. In 1992, during its 33rd edition, TIFF became an international festival under the artistic direction of film critic Michalis Demopoulos. Film director

Theo Angelopoulos Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (; ; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely re ...

was appointed president. Since then, the festival has been committed to international independent cinema and the discovery of promising voices from around the world and from the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Further to showcasing the domestic film production, the festival presents independent films, premieres and tributes to major Greek and international filmmakers while hosting a large number of sidebar events.

Notable guests and tributes

Leading filmmakers that have attended TIFF include

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...

Nagisa Oshima NaGISA (Natural Geography in Shore Areas or Natural Geography of In-Shore Areas) is an international collaborative effort aimed at inventorying, cataloguing, and monitoring biodiversity of the in-shore area. So named for the Japanese word "nagisa ...

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wo ...

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...

Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist. Her pioneering work was central to the development of the widely influential French New Wave film ...

Béla Tarr Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film '' Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordi ...

Todd Solondz Todd Solondz (; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class America ...

Nuri Bilge Ceylan Nuri Bilge Ceylan (, born 26 January 1959) is a Turkish photographer, filmmaker and actor best known for the Palme d'Or winning ''Winter Sleep (film), Winter Sleep'' (2014). Early life Ceylan was born in Istanbul on 26 January 1959. His interes ...

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...

Fatih Akin Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head- ...

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Wonderland'' and '' 24 Hour Party People''� ...

Aki Kaurismäki Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (; born 4 April 1957) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996), ''The Man Without a Past'' (2002), ''Le Havre'' (2011) and ''The Other Side of Hope'' (20 ...

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (; born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for the films ''Citizen Ruth'' (1996), ''Election'' (1999), ''About Schmidt'' (2002), ''Sideways'' (2004), ''The Desc ...

Louie Psihoyos Louis (Louie) Psihoyos (born April 15, 1957) is an American photographer and documentary film director known for his still photography and contributions to National Geographic. Psihoyos, a certified SCUBA diver, has become increasingly concerned ...

and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

. Acclaimed actors, actresses and artists who visited TIFF either as guests or as member of the festival juries include

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden ...

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

and

Jean Marc Barr Jean-Marc Barr (born September 27, 1960) is a French-American film actor and director. He is best known for working on several films from Danish film director and frequent collaborator Lars von Trier since '' Europa'' (1991). Early life and ed ...

. TIFF has held the following tributes to acclaimed auteurs, national cinemas and movements: 60th Festival – 2019

Gregory Markopoulos Gregory J. Markopoulos (March 12, 1928 – November 12, 1992) was an American experimental filmmaker. Biography Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1928 to Greek immigrant parents, Markopoulos began making 8 mm films at an early age. He attended USC Film Sc ...

and

Robert Beavers Robert Beavers (born 1949) is an American experimental filmmaker. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he attended Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is ...

Albert Serra

Joanna Hogg Joanna Hogg (born 20 March 1960) is a British film director and screenwriter. She made her directorial and screenwriting feature film debut in 2007 with ''Unrelated'' followed by ''Archipelago'' (2010) and ''Exhibition'' (2013). Two of her film ...

Dušan Makavejev Dušan Makavejev ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Макавејев, ; 13 October 1932 – 25 January 2019) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s—many of wh ...

59th Festival – 2018

Jaime Rosales Jaime Heliberto Rosales Chirinos (born 8 June 1978) is a Honduran former football defender who last played for Platense. Club career Rosales started his professional career at Marathón and played for several clubs in the Honduran league. ...

yyyoungcut

Nanouk Leopold Nanouk Leopold (born 25 July 1968) is a Dutch film maker. She graduated from Dutch film school in 1997, starting off by making films for Dutch television. In 2001, she released her first feature film ''Îles flottantes'' (''"Floating Islands''), a ...

Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña Greek Queer Cinema Iordanis Ananiadis Before the Wave Breaks: the Road to New Romanian Cinema 58th Festival – 2017

Ruben Östlund Ruben Östlund (born 13 April 1974) is a Swedish filmmaker best known for his black comedic and satirical films ''Force Majeure'' (2014), '' The Square'' (2017) and ''Triangle of Sadness'' (2022), all of which received largely positive reviews and ...

Ildikó Enyedi Ildikó Enyedi (; born 15 November 1955) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Her 2017 film ''On Body and Soul'' won the top prize at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for a Foreign Language 90th ...

Armand Gatti Armand Gatti (; 26 January 1924 – 6 April 2017) was a French playwright, poet, journalist, screenwriter, filmmaker and World War II resistance fighter.Banham (1998, 413). His debut film ''Enclosure'' was entered into the 2nd Moscow Internati ...

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

From Words to Images: Balkan Literature and Cinema 57th Festival – 2016

Philippe Grandrieux Philippe Grandrieux (born 10 November 1954) is a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Grandrieux was born in Saint-Étienne. He studied film at the INSAS (Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle) in Belgium. He exhi ...

Leonardo Favio Fuad Jorge Jury (28 May 1938 – 5 November 2012), better known by his stage name Leonardo Favio (), was an Argentine singer, actor and filmmaker. He is considered one of Argentina's best film directors and one of the country's most enduring cul ...

Zeki Demirkubuz Zeki Demirkubuz (born 1 October 1964 in Isparta, Turkey) is a contemporary Turkish film director, screenwriter, producer and film editor. Biography Demirkubuz dropped out of high school and started working in a textile workshop. He then worke ...

56th Festival – 2015

Arnaud Desplechin Arnaud Desplechin (; born 31 October 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for ''My Golden Days'' (2015). Life and career Desplechin was born in Roubaix. He is the son of Robert and ...

Focus on New Austrian films

Mircea Daneliuc Mircea Daneliuc (; born 7 April 1943) is a Romanian film director, screenwriter and actor. He has directed 19 films since 1975. In 1993 his film '' The Conjugal Bed'' was entered into the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Two years later, ...

55th Festival – 2014

Ramin Bahrani Ramin Bahrani ( fa, رامین بحرانی; born March 20, 1975) is an American director and screenwriter. Film critic Roger Ebert ranked Bahrani's ''Chop Shop'' (2007) as the sixth-best film of the 2000s, calling him "the new director of the ...

Roy Andersson Roy Arne Lennart Andersson (born 31 March 1943) is a Swedish film director, best known for ''A Swedish Love Story'' (1970), '' About Endlessness'' (2019) and his "Living trilogy," which includes '' Songs from the Second Floor'' (2000), '' You, ...

Kornél Mundruczó Kornél Mundruczó (; born 3 April 1975) is a Hungarian film and theatre director. He has directed 18 short and feature films between 1998 and 2020. His film ''Johanna'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2005 Cannes Film Fest ...

Želimir Žilnik Želimir Žilnik ( sr-cyr, Желимир Жилник; ; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Žilnik was born in 19 ...

54th Festival – 2013 Contemporary Argentine Cinema Claire Simon

Alain Guiraudie Alain Guiraudie (; born 15 July 1964) is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed ten mostly LGBT-related films since 1990. He is openly gay. Work Guiraudie has named Georges Bataille as an important influence. His 2013 film ...

Balkan Survey 1994-2013 53rd Festival – 2012

Andreas Dresen Andreas Dresen (born 16 August 1963) is a German film director. His directing credits include '' Cloud 9'', '' Summer in Berlin'', ''Grill Point'' and ''Night Shapes''. His film '' Stopped on Track'' premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at ...

Bahman Ghobadi Bahman Ghobadi ( fa, بهمن قبادی; ; born 1 February 1969 in Baneh, Kurdistan province, Iran) is an Iranian Kurdish film director, producer and writer. He belongs to the " new wave" of Iranian cinema. Biography He was born in Baneh, a K ...

Cristian Mungiu Cristian Mungiu (; born 27 April 1968) is a Romanian filmmaker. He won the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for his film '' 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'', which he wrote and directed. He has also won the awards for Best Screenplay and ...

Costas Zapas

Lior Shamriz Lior Shamriz (born September 13, 1978) is a writer, producer, and film director. They reside in Santa Cruz, California. Career Born to an Iraqi-Iranian Jewish family in Ashkelon, a city in southern Israel, they skipped the army at 18 and moved to ...

52nd Festival – 2011

Ole Christian Madsen Ole Christian Madsen (born 18 June 1966) is a Danish film director and script writer. Among his most successful projects are the movies ''Flame & Citron'', '' Prag'', '' Angels in Fast Motion'' ( da. ''Nordkraft'') and the TV series ''Rejseholdet' ...

Sara Driver Sara Miller Driver (born December 15, 1955) is an American independent filmmaker and actress from Westfield, New Jersey. A participant in the independent film scene that flourished in lower Manhattan from the late 1970s through the 1990s, she gain ...

Paolo Sorentino

Ulrich Seidl Ulrich Maria Seidl (born 24 November 1952 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director, writer and producer. Among other awards, his film ''Dog Days'' won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice in 2001. His 2012 film '' Paradise: Love'' competed for the Palme ...

Erden Kıral Erden Kıral (10 April 1942 – 17 July 2022) was a Turkish film director and screenwriter. He directed 12 films from 1978 on. His 1979 film, '' The Canal'', was entered into the 11th Moscow International Film Festival, and his 1983 film, '' A S ...

Éric Baudelaire Dror Heller

Constantine Giannaris Constantine Giannaris, also Constantinos Giannaris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γιάνναρης; born 1959), is a Greek film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or ...

51st Festival – 2010

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films ''Brothers'' (2004), '' After the Wedding'' (2006), ''In a Better World'' (2010), and '' Bird Box'' (2018), and the TV miniseries ''The Night Mana ...

Dorota Kędzierzawska Dorota Kędzierzawska (; born 1 June 1957) is a Polish director of feature and documentary films. Kędzierzawska was born in Łódź. She graduated from the National Film School in Łódź in 1981 but prior to that had completed a course in cultu ...

Mohamed Al-Daradji Mohamed Al-Darraji (born 6 August 1978 in Baghdad, Iraq) is an Iraqi Dutch, Iraqi-Dutch film director. He studied theater in Iraq, and cinematography and directing in England. He is known for his drama films, which focus on political affairs in the ...

Werner Schröter Werner Schröter (born 28 June 1944) is a German former wrestler. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman 74 kg at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as ...

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong Weerasethakul ( th, อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; ; ) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, ...

Croatian Animation: from the Zagreb School to the Present Borivoj Dovniković-Bordo Martin Putz 50th Festival – 2009

Jeremy Thomas Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE (born 26 July 1949) is a British film producer, founder and chairman of Recorded Picture Company. He produced Bernardo Bertolucci's ''The Last Emperor'', which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he rece ...

Philippines Rising

Pinku eiga in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...

: beyond Pink

Goran Paskaljević Goran Paskaljević ( sr-cyr, Горан Паскаљевић; ; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director. Biography Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš in southern Serbia, foll ...

Ljubomir Šimunić Lubomir, Lyubomir, Lyubomyr, Lubomír, Ľubomír, or Ljubomir is a Slavic given name meaning lub (love) and mir (peace, world). Feminine forms are: Lubomira and Ljubica. Nicknames Lubor, Luboš, Luborek, Lubošek, Borek, Lubo, Ľubo, Ljubo, ...

49th Festival – 2008 Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

Manos Zacharias Manos Zacharias (Greek language, Greek: Μάνος Ζαχαρίαςc; born 9 July 1922) is a Greek film director and actor who was active in Greek and Cinema of the Soviet Union, Soviet cinematography. Life and career Zacharias was born on 9 J ...

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...

Haris Zambarloukos Haris Zambarloukos, B.S.C. (Greek: Χάρης Ζαμπαρλούκος; born 11 March 1970) is a Greek Cypriot cinematographer. He is known for his work in films such as ''Venus'' (2006), ''Sleuth'' (2007), '' Mamma Mia!'' (2008), ''Thor'' (201 ...

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...

Richard Jobson

Guillermo Navarro Guillermo Jorge Navarro Solares, (born July 29, 1955) is a Mexican cinematographer and television director.Scott, A. O. (November 21, 2001). ''The New York Times''The Devil's Backbone (review overview)./ref> He has worked in Hollywood since 199 ...

Division and Unity: Cinema in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Ousmane Sembène Ousmane Sembène (; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The ''Los Angeles Times'' consider ...

Terence Davies Terence Davies (born 10 November 1945) is an English screenwriter, film director, and novelist, seen by many critics as one of the greatest British filmmakers of his times. He is best known as the writer and director of autobiographical films ...

Contemporary Turkish Cinema Spotlight: Romanian Shorts

Ivan Ladislav Galeta Ivan Ladislav Galeta (9 May 1947 – 7 January 2014) was a Croatian multimedia artist, cinematographer and film director. Biography Galeta lived in Kraj Gornji, where he performed his Endart projects, and worked at the Academy of Fine Arts in ...

BB-Χ: Hungarian experimental film and the

Béla Balázs Béla Balázs (; 4 August 1884 in Szeged – 17 May 1949 in Budapest), born Herbert Béla Bauer, was a Hungarian film criticism, film critic, aesthetics, aesthetician, writer and poet of History of the Jews in Hungary, Jewish heritage. He was a ...

Studio 48th Festival – 2007

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and ''L ...

William Klein

Nikos Nikolaidis Nikos Georgiou Nikolaidis ( el, Νίκος Γεωργίου Νικολαΐδης; 25 October 1939 – 5 September 2007) was a Greek film director, screenwriter, film producer, writer, theatre director, assistant director, record producer, televi ...

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March ( OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years. Kazantzakis's no ...

Nikos Kourkoulos Nikos Kourkoulos ( el, Νίκος Κούρκουλος; December 5, 1934 in Athens, Greece – January 30, 2007) was a highly respected Greek theatrical and film performer, one of the most talented and recognizable actors in Greece of modern tim ...

Sotiris Moustakas Sotiris Moustakas ( el, Σωτήρης Μουστάκας) (17 September 1940 – 4 June 2007) was a Greek Cypriot actor born in Kato Platres, Limassol. His acting career lasted for over four decades, with 1960s–80s as his most successful y ...

Sokratis Kapsaskis Yorgos Skalenakis New Spanish Cinema

Nae Caranfil Nae Caranfil (; also Nicolae Caranfil) (born 7 September 1960) is a Romanian film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Bucharest, Nae Caranfil is the son of important Romanian film historian and critic Tudor Caranfil. He graduated in 1984 f ...

Lee Chang-dong

Yasmin Ahmad Yasmin binti Ahmad (7 January 1958 – 25 July 2009) was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia fo ...

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...

47th Festival – 2006

Stavros Tsiolis Dimos Theos

Alexis Damianos Alexis Damianos ( el, Αλέξης Δαμιανός; 1921–2006) was a Greek, film/theatre and television director. Biography Damianos was born in Athens on January 21, 1921. He studied at the National Theatre of Greece and the philosophy departme ...

Greek Screenwriters Spotlight Yannis Fafoutis

Maria Plyta Maria Plyta (27 November 1915 – 4 March 2006) was a Greek screenwriter and film director.Karalis p.60 Selected filmography * '' The She-Wolf'' (1951) * ''Eva Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainm ...

Brazilian Cinema New Cinema from China: Another View

Abderrahmane Sissako Abderrahmane Sissako (born 13 October 1961) is a Mauritanian-born Malian film director and producer. His film '' Waiting for Happiness'' (''Heremakono'') was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard, ...

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introdu ...

Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (; born 4 September 1934) is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his stop-motion animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Terr ...

46th Festival – 2005

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice ...

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...

Vittorio Storaro Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. (born 24 June 1940) is an Italian cinematographer widely recognized as one of the best and most influential in cinema history, for his work on numerous classic films including ''The Conformist,'' ''Apocalypse Now ...

Yorgos Panousopoulos

Nico Papatakis Nico Papatakis ( el, Νίκος Παπατάκης; 5 July 1918 – 17 December 2010)Death certificate registered by the Paris's City Hall (France) was an Ethiopian-born Greek filmmaker, who lived in France. Biography Papatakis was born in Addi ...

Antoinetta Angelidis

Park Chan-wook Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. H ...

Focus on

Mexican Cinema Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal ...

Focus on

Danish Cinema Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religiou ...

Focus on Irish Cinema

Kutluğ Ataman Kutluğ Ataman (born 1961 in Istanbul Turkey) is an acclaimed Turkish-American contemporary artist and feature filmmaker. Ataman's films are known for their strong characterization and humanity. His early art works examine the ways in which peo ...

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predo ...

Kim Jee-woon Kim Jee-woon (; born July 6, 1964) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Career Kim started out directing theater but has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in ...

45th Festival – 2004

Victor Erice The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic and a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Although he has worked in a variety of genres, Kurosawa is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre, his honorific ...

Katerina Thomadaki & Maria Klonari Kostas Sfikas

Iakovos Kambanellis Iakovos Kambanellis (Greek: Ιάκωβος Καμπανέλλης; 2 December 1921 – 29 March 2011) was a Greek poet, playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, and novelist. Biography Born 2 December 1921 in Hora on the island of Naxos, the sixth of ...

Movies of Our Time: the Best of the

New Argentine cinema Cinema of Argentina refers to the film industry based in Argentina. The Argentine cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Argentina or by Argentine filmmakers abroad. The Argentine film industry has histor ...

Argentine 2004: Wind of Change Still Blowing New French Cinema New Russian Cinema

Hirokazu Kore-eda is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including '' Nobody Knows'' (2004), '' Still Walking'' (2008), and '' After the Storm'' ( ...

Götz Spielmann Götz Spielmann (born 11 January 1961) is an Austrian director and scriptwriter. Life and career Spielmann was born in Wels, Austria, and grew up in Vienna. After High School, he lived in Paris for several months. From 1980 to 1987 he studied fi ...

Todd Verow Todd Verow (born November 11, 1966) is an American film director who resides in New York City. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the AFI Conservatory. With his creative partner James Derek Dwyer, he formed Bangor Films in 1995. ...

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...

44th Festival – 2003

Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...

Otar Iosseliani Otar Iosseliani ( ka, ოთარ იოსელიანი, born 2 February 1934) is a Georgian-born film director. He was born in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, where he studied at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and graduated in 1952 ...

João César Monteiro João César Monteiro Santos (2 February 1939, in Figueira da Foz – 3 February 2003, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese film director, actor, writer and film critic. Life and career João César Monteiro was born into a family with anti-clerical ...

Nikos Panayotopoulos Stars of the Steppe

Michael Snow Michael Snow (born December 10, 1928) is a Canadian artist working in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are ''Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Région Centrale'' (1971), with the f ...

Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese people, Japanese filmmaker, film producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, Film director, director, cinematographer, art director, production designer and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad ...

43rd Festival – 2002 Μarco Bellocchio

Bob Rafelson Robert Jay Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022) was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a ...

Pantelis Voulgaris Pantelis Voulgaris ( el, Παντελής Βούλγαρης; born 23 October 1940) is a Greek film director and screenwriter. His first feature film ''To proxenio tis Annas'' in 1972 won the first prize in Thessaloniki International Film Festiv ...

Giannis Dalianidis Giannis Dalianidis ( el, Γιάννης Δαλιανίδης; 31 December 1923 – 16 October 2010) was a Greek film director. His first film was ''Mousitsa'', released in 1959, which was followed by a series of musicals. Between 1974 and 1981, ...

Asian Vision

Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Delgado (22 January 1942 – 13 January 2020) was a Mexican film director, often compared to Spain's Pedro Almodóvar. Born in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, Hermosillo's films often explore the hypoc ...

Hong Sang-Soo Hong Sang-soo (홍상수, born 25 October 1960) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Early life Hong's parents owned the film production company Cinetel Soul. Hong took the entrance exam and entered the theater department at Chun ...

Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat ( fa, شیرین نشاط; born March 26, 1957 in Qazvin) is an Iranian visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and th ...

Aurelio Grimaldi Aurelio Grimaldi (born 22 November 1957) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. His film '' The Whores'' was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmography * '' Ragazzi fuori'' (1990) * '' The Rebel'' (1993) * '' The ...

42ο Festival – 2001

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), ...

Dinos Dimopoulos Dinos Dimopoulos ( el, Ντίνος Δημόπουλος; 22 August 1921 – 28 February 2003) was a Greek actor, film director, screenwriter and theatre director. He directed more than 40 films between 1953 and 1993. His 1959 film ''Astero ...

Stavros Tornes Argentinian Cinema: a Time of Changes German Cinema 2000 French Cinema 2000 US Independents 3x3:

Stanley Kwan Stanley Kwan (traditional Chinese: 關錦鵬; simplified Chinese: 关锦鹏); born 9 October 1957) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Kwan landed a job at TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College. ...

Rakhshān Banietemad Rakhshān Banietemad ( fa, رخشان بنی‌اعتماد; born April 3, 1954 in Tehran, Iran) is an internationally and critically acclaimed Iranian film director and screenwriter who is widely considered a premier female director and her film ...

Jan Hřebejk Jan Hřebejk (; born 27 June 1967) is a Czechs, Czech film director and actor. Life and career Born in Prague, Hřebejk graduated from high school in 1987 and continued his studies at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in ...

41st Festival – 2000

Jerzy Skolimowski Jerzy Skolimowski (, born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début ''Oko wykol' ...

Theodoros Angelopoulos Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (; ; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely re ...

New Russian Cinema: after Perestroika

Dinos Katsouridis Dinos Katsouridis (1927 - 28 November 2011) was a Greek Cypriot film director, cinematographer and editor. He had worked in a lot of Greek film sometimes as director, sometimes as film editor and sometimes as cinematographer as well as writer. He ...

New French Cinema New Austrian Cinema

Paulo Branco Paulo Branco (born 3 June 1950) is a Portuguese film producer. Life and career Paulo Branco was born in Lisbon, and attended the undergraduate program in chemical engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico but he did not graduate. He starte ...

40th Festival – 1999

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

Amos Gitai Amos Gitai ( he, עמוס גיתאי; born 11 October 1950) is an Israeli filmmaker, who was trained as an architect. Gitai's work was presented in several major retrospectives in Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and L ...

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors in the world. Life and work Guerra was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna. Accor ...

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

Portuguese Cinema: the Portuguese Spring Vassilis Georgiadis US Independents New German Cinema New French Cinema Alison Anders 39ο Festival – 1998

Jean-Daniel Pollet Jean-Daniel Pollet (; 1936–2004) was a French film director and screenwriter who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. He was associated with two approaches to filmmaking: comedies which blended burlesque and melancholic elements, and poetic fil ...

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

Asian Vision 3x3: Marcel Grier,

François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...

Ventura Pons Ventura Pons Sala (; born 25 July 1945, in Barcelona, Spain) is a Spanish movie director. He mainly directs films in Catalan but also in Spanish and English. Pons has directed 32 feature films and is one of the best-known Catalan film directors ...

US Independents New French Cinema 38ο Festival – 1997

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...

Manoel De Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wo ...

Irene Papas Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...

Takis Kanellopoulos Takis Kanellopoulos ( el, Τάκης Κανελλόπουλος; 26 October 1933 – 21 September 1990) was a Greek film director and screenwriter. He directed ten films between 1960 and 1980. Filmography * ''Sonia'' (1980) * '' Romantik ...

Tsai Ming-liang Tsai Ming-liang (; born 27 October 1957) is a Malaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker. Tsai has written and directed 11 feature films, many short films, and television films. He is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese ...

Aleksandr Sokurov Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Сокуров; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a s ...

3x3:

Tony Gatlif Tony Gatlif (born as Michel Dahmani on 10 September 1948 in Algiers) is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer. Personal Gatlif was born in Algeria of Pied noir ancestry. Af ...

Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of its subjects. In 2003, his documentary film '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara ...

, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson Views of the New French Cinema 37ο Festival – 1996

Grigoris Grigoriou

Lucian Pintilie Lucian Pintilie (; 9 November 1933 – 16 May 2018Lucian Pi ...

3x3:

Jan Svěrák Jan Svěrák () (born 6 February 1965 in Žatec) is a Czech film director. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák. He studied documentary filmmaking at the FAMU. He and his films have received awards including the Academy Award, ...

Sergei Bodrov Sergei Vladimirovich Bodrov ( rus, Серге́й Влади́мирович Бодро́в, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈdrof; born June 28, 1948) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2003 he was the President of the Jury at the 2 ...

Carlo Mazzacurati Carlo Mazzacurati (2 March 1956 – 22 January 2014) was an Italian film director and screenwriter born in Padua. He started his cinema career in 1980. His better known films include ''Il Toro'' (1994) and ''La lingua del santo'' (2000). H ...

American Independents 36th Festival – 1995

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994) ...

Frida Liapa

Michael Cacoyannis Michael Cacoyannis ( el, Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης, ''Michalis Kakogiannis''; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), sometimes credited as Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot theatre and film director, writer, produce ...

Treasures of

Iranian Cinema The Cinema of Iran (Persian: سینمای ایران), also known as the Cinema of Persia, refers to the cinema and film industries in Iran which produce a variety of commercial films annually. Iranian art films have garnered international fame a ...

Mohsen Makhmalbaf Mohsen Makhmalbaf ( fa, محسن مخملباف, ''Mohsen Makhmalbaaf''; born May 29, 1957) is an Iranian film director, writer, film editor, and producer. He has made more than 20 feature films, won some 50 awards and been a juror in more than 1 ...

American Independents Cine Documenta

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...

35th Festival – 1994

Yorgos Tzavelas

Tonia Marketaki Tonia Marketaki ( el, Τώνια Μαρκετάκη; 28 July 1942 – 26 July 1994) was a Greek film director and screenwriter. She was born in Pireas and spent many of her childhood years in the Zografou district of Athens. Her maternal ori ...

Russian Cinema The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed in the Soviet Union and in the years following its dissolution, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognized. In the 21st century, Russian cinema has become k ...

Charles Burnett

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

34th Festival – 1993

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

Hal Hartley Hal Hartley (born November 3, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and composer who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and '90s. He is best known for his films '' The Unbelievable T ...

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin (December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, whe ...

Pavlos Zannas

Festival sections

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival comprises the following sections: * International Competition section, screening the first or second film by emerging directors from around the world. * “Meet the Neighbors” International Competition section, screening films from the region spanning from Southeast Europe to the Middle East. * Virtual Reality (VR) International Competition section. * “Open Horizons” program, a selection of cutting-edge and avant-garde independent films. * Greek Film Festival, a showcase of the year’s Greek film production. * “Balkan Survey”, monitoring contemporary trends of Balkan cinema. * “Youth screen”, featuring special screenings for schoolchildren and youths. TIFF’s line-up further includes Out-of-Competition films, special screenings and “Carte Blanche” special programs.

Agora

TIFF's "Agora" was launched in 2005, establishing a productive and unique form of helping and introducing professionals visiting Thessaloniki from Southeast Europe, the Mediterranean region and the rest of the world to the industry professionals, consultants, tutors, and potential collaborators invited to the festival. The Agora includes the following activities: ''Agora Film Market'' The Agora Film Market promotes the majority of the feature films participating in the official sections of the Festival. Additionally, more titles from the countries that the Agora focuses on are presented, even if they are not part of the festival’s main program. In this way, they will have the opportunity to find their way to other international film festivals, sales agents and distributors. The Agora Film Market also includes previous films by the Crossroads participants and a selection of Greek films produced within the last year. ''Crossroads Co-Production Forum'' Crossroads chooses projects based on the quality of the script, the creative team and the likelihood of their being produced. Crossroads aims to support the producers of feature-length film projects that are linked to Central Europe, the Mediterranean or Balkan countries. ''Agora Works in Progress'' This industry activity gives the opportunity to selected sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers from all over the world to be the first to discover feature films from the Mediterranean and Balkan countries, in the stage just before completion. ''Agora Talks'' New directors and producers get the opportunity to learn from renowned film professionals. A day full of discussions where people who wish to establish themselves in the industry can exchange ideas, methods, and approaches about the development of the audiovisual sector. ''Thessaloniki Locarno Industry Academy International'' Thessaloniki International Film Festival in collaboration with

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

launched in 2016 the Thessaloniki Locarno Industry Academy International in Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean. The Thessaloniki Locarno Industry Academy International is a training program created to help young professionals of the cinema industry –sales agents, distributors, and new media professionals– to extend their experience and networking in the fields of international sales, marketing, distribution and programming. ''Meet the Future'' A new initiative of the Thessaloniki IFF and the Agora that focuses on the younger generation of Greek filmmakers.

Awards

The films of the International Competition program are eligible for the Best Full-length Feature Film Award “Theo Angelopoulos” (Golden Alexander, 15.000 euros cash prize), the Special Jury Award (Silver Alexander, 8.000 euros cash prize), the Special Jury Award for Best Director (Bronze Alexander), the Best Actor and Actress Awards, and the Best Artistic Achievement or Screenplay Award. The awards are selected by a five-member international jury. The Best Full-length Feature Film Award (Golden Alexander, 3.000 euros cash prize) is bestowed on a film competing at the “Meet the Neighbors” competition section, awarded by a three-member international jury. The Best VR Film award (accompanied by a 3.000 euros cash prize) is awarded to the best film in the VR Competition Section. Independent juries hand parallel awards, including the “Mermaid Award” for the best

LGBTQI ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

-themed film, the Youth Jury Awards, the “Human Values Award” granted by the

Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...

, the awards of the Greek Film Center, the

Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ( el, Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση AE, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi SA) or ERT () is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Greece. History Overview ERT b ...

Award, the “J.F. Costopoulos Foundation Award” for a Greek film holding its premiere at the festival, and the “

WIFT WIFT (102.1 FM, "Bigfoot Country 102.1 & 101.3") is a country music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to DuBois, Pennsylvania, serving the DuBois/ Punxsutawney/ Clearfield area. WIFT is owned and operated by Kristin Cantrell, through ...

GR Award” for the best woman’s contribution and presence in front or behind the camera. Further awards are handed by the International Film Critics’ Association (

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

) and the Greek Association of Film Critics. Audience Awards are presented to films participating both in the international and the Greek program of the festival.

Award-winning films

I. Thessaloniki Greek Film Festival (1960-1991)

*1960: - *1961: - *1962: ''

Electra (1962 film) ''Electra'' ( el, Ηλέκτρα ''Ilektra'') is a 1962 Greek film based on the play ''Electra (Euripides), Electra'', written by Euripides. It was directed by Michael Cacoyannis, as the first installment of his "Greek tragedy" trilogy, followed by ...

'',

*1963: ''

Young Aphrodites ''Young Aphrodites'' ( el, Μικρές Αφροδίτες, translit. Mikres Afrodites) is a drama film of 1963 directed by Nikos Koundouros based on a script of Vassilis Vassilikos. Plot In 200 BC, a nomadic group of shepherds, in search o ...

'',

Nikos Koundouros Nikos Koundouros ( el, Νίκος Κούνδουρος; 15 December 1926 – 22 February 2017) was a Greek film director. Biography Koundouros was born in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in 1926. He studied painting and sculpture at the Athens School of F ...

*1964: '' Diogmos'', Grigoris Grigoriou *1965: '' No Mr. Johnson'',

Michalis Grigoriou Michalis Grigoriou ( gr, Μιχάλης Γρηγορίου; born 19 December 1973) is a Greek professional football manager who is the current manager of Super League club Ionikos. Playing career Grigoriou played for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. at c ...

*1966: '' Forgotten Heroes (film)'', Nikos Gardelis *1967: '' Silouettes'', Kostas Zois *1968: '' Parenthesi'',

/'' Girls in the Sun'',

Vasilis Georgiadis Vasilis Georgiadis ( el, Βασίλης Γεωργιάδης; 12 August 1921 – 30 April 2000) was a Greek film director and actor. His films '' The Red Lanterns'' (1963) and ''Blood on the Land'' (1966) were nominated for the Academy Award f ...

*1969: ''

The Girl of 17 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', Petros Lykas *1970: '' Reconstitution'',

*1971: ''

What Did You Do in the War, Thanasi? ''What did you do in the war, Thanasis?'' ( el, Τι έκανες στον πόλεμο, Θανάση;, translit=Ti ekanes ston polemo, Thanasi?) is a 1971 Greek satirical drama film. It starred Thanasis Veggos as Thanasis, a poor labourer trying ...

'',

*1972: '' To proxenio tis Annas'',

*1973: '' Lavete Theseis'',

*1974: '' Kierion'', Dimos Theos/'' Modelo (film)'', Kostas Sfikas *1975: ''

The Travelling Players ''The Travelling Players'' ( el, Ο Θίασος, translit. ''O Thiasos'', "The Troupe") is a 1975 Greek historical drama film written and directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos that traces the history of mid-20th-century Greece from 1939 to 19 ...

'',

*1976: ''

Happy Day (1977 film) Happy Day may refer to: * ''The Happy Day'', a 1916 musical comedy * ''Happy Day'' (album), a 2008 album by Tim Hughes * "The Happy Day" (''Ashes to Ashes''), an episode of ''Ashes to Ashes'' * Hap Day (1901–1990), Canadian professional hockey ...

'',

*1977: ''

Iphigenia (film) ''Iphigenia'' ( el, Ιφιγένεια) is a 1977 Greek film directed by Michael Cacoyannis, based on the Greek myth of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who was ordered by the goddess Artemis to be sacrificed. Cacoyannis ad ...

'',

*1978: ''

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

'',

*1979: '' Anatoliki Perifereia'',

Vasilis Vafeas Vassilios or Vassileios, also transliterated Vasileios, Vasilios, Vassilis or Vasilis ( el, Βασίλειος or Βασίλης), is a Greek given name, the origin of Basil (name), Basil. In ancient/medieval/Byzantine context, it is also transliter ...

*1980: '' Alexander the Great (1980 film)'',

*1981: '' Ergostasio'', Tasos Psaras *1982: '' Aggelos (film)'', Giorgos Kantakouzenos *1983: ''

Rembetiko (film) ''Rembetiko'' ( el, Ρεμπέτικο) is a 1983 film directed by Costas Ferris and written by Costas Ferris and Sotiria Leonardou, with original music by Stavros Xarchakos. The film is based on the life of rebetiko singer Marika Ninou and gained ...

'',

Costas Ferris Costas Ferris ( el, Κώστας Φέρρης; born 18 April 1935) is a Greek film director, writer, actor, and producer. He wrote the lyrics of Aphrodite's Child's album ''666''. His 1983 film ''Rembetiko'' won the Silver Bear at the 34th Berli ...

*1984: ''

Loafing and Camouflage ''Loafing and Camouflage'' ( el, Λούφα και Παραλλαγή, translit=Lufa kai Paralagi; 1984) is a Greek comedy film directed by Nikos Perakis. It was followed by the motion picture Living Dangerously ( Greek: BiOS + πολιτεία, ...

'',

Nikos Perakis Nikos Perakis ( el, Νίκος Περάκης; born 11 September 1944) is a Greek writer and film director. He studied at the Fine Arts Academy of Munich. At that time he worked as a set and costume designer. His 1984 film ''Loafing and Camouflag ...

*1985: '' Stone Years'',

*1986: '' Knock-Out (film)'', Pavlos Tasios/'' Karavan Serai'', Tasos Psaras *1987: '' Theophilos (film)'', Lakis Papastathis/'' Ta Paidia tis Chelidonas'', Kostas Vrettakos *1988: '' Akatanikitoi erastes'', Stavros Tsiolis *1989: - *1990: '' Erotas sti Chourmadia'', Stavros Tsiolis *1991: -

II. Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Golden Alexander, 1992- )

John Malkovich press conference, TIFF 2007

References

External links

Thessaloniki International Film Festival
- official website
Photos
- Thessaloniki International Film Festival Flickr Group's Pool

Gallery

File:Ο Γουίλεμ Ντεφόου στο Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Θεσσαλονίκης στο λιμάνι (2008).jpg, Willem Defoe at the Thessaloniki Film Festival (2008) File:Ο Βιμ και η Ντονάτα Βέντερς σε έκθεση φωτογραφίας στο πλαίσιο του Φεστιβάλ (2006.jpg, Wim and Donata Wenders at a photo exhibition at TIFF (2006) File:Η Ιζαμπέλ Ιπέρ στον κινηματογράφο Ολύμπιον (2004).jpg, Isabelle Huppert at the Olympion theater (2004) File:Ο Όλιβερ Στόουν με τον Χρυσό Αλέξανδρο ανά χείρας (2008).jpg, Oliver Stone with Golden Alexander in hand File:Ο Τζιμ Τζάρμους υπογράφει αυτόγραφα στο Φεστιβάλ (2015).jpg, Jim Jarmousch signing at the Thessaloniki Film Festival (2015) File:Ο Βέρνερ Χέρτζογκ παραλαμβάνει τον τιμητικό Χρυσό Αλέξανδρο (2009).jpg, Werner Herzog receiving the honorary Golden Alexander (2009) File:Ο Φράνσις Φορντ Κόπολα στη Θεσσαλονίκη (2005).jpg, Francis Ford Coppola at TIFF (2005) File:Ο Αλεξάντερ Πέιν κατά τη διάρκεια συνέντευξης Τύπου στο Φεστιβάλ (2017).jpg, Alexander Payne at a press conference at TIFF (2017) File:Ο Τζον Μάλκοβιτς στο λιμάνι της Θεσσαλονίκης (2007).jpg, John Malkovich at the Thessaloniki port (2007) File:Ο Ζαν Μαρκ Μπαρ μπροστά από την αφίσα του Φεστιβάλ (2017).jpg, Jean Marc Barre before TIFF poster (2017) File:Ο Φατίχ Ακίν σε πάρτι του Φεστιβάλ (2009).jpg, Fatih Akin at a TIFF party (2009)
{{Authority control Recurring events established in 1992 Tourist attractions in Thessaloniki Annual events in Thessaloniki

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Film festivals in Greece Greek film awards