The Thessaloniki International Film Festival celebrates 60 years of Festival with an inviting program of films and events and a new competition section in the city of Thessaloniki from October 31 to November 10th. The famous illustrator John Mavroudis designed the posters of the 60th TIFF and the official spots were directed by the Palme D’ Or winner for short film, Vasilis Kekatos.
OPENING AND CLOSING FILM
The Festival starts on Thursday, October 31 with “Marriage Story” by Noah Baumbach, while the closing ceremony of the 60th TIFF takes place on Sunday, November 10 with “Jojo Rabbit” by Taika Waititi.
“Jojo Rabbit”, dir. Taika Waititi (2018)
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM
The 60th TIFF sees the 14 films of the International Competition section through the prism of the Overview Effect, the experience of watching the earth from space, an experience that can shake the human intellect to its core. Eight films will be screened in the VR Competition section. A new international competition section, Meet the Neighbors, is launched with 10 films by filmmakers from Southeast Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East, with their first or second films. Nine feature and five selected shorts constitute this year’s Balkan Survey where patriarchy in a changing world is a recurrent issue,
“Not to be unpleasant but we need to have a serious talk”, dir. Giorgos Georgopoulos (2018)
JURIES
The International Competition Jury is consisted by director and visual artist Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė (Lithuania), curator and producer Jacqui Davies (United Kingdom), actress and director Ariane Labed, actress Angeliki Papoulia (Greece) and director and festival programmer Wieland Speck (Germany). The Meet the Neighbors Jury consists of director Tarık Aktaş, film consultant, critic, and journalist Pamela Biénzobas and visual artist Maria Kriara. The VR Juries are consisted by directors Babis Makridis and Ιrini Vianelli and film critic Simon Johansen.
“Winona”, dir. Alexandros Voulgaris (2018)
GREEK FILM FESTIVAL
Thessaloniki International Film Festival is also the showcase the present and future of Greek cinema with 26 feature and 17 short Greek films that will be screened at the 60th TIFF.
First Run section: 17 films produced in Greece and in co-production with other countries will have their Greek premiere in Thessaloniki, with “Exile” by Vassilis Mazomenos, “Not to be unpleasant but we need to have a serious talk” by Giorgos Georgopoulos, “Winona” by Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy) and “Zizotek” by Vardis Marinakis among them. “The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea” by Syllas Tzoumerkas will have its Greek premiere after Berlin IFF.
“The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea”, dir. Syllas Tzoumerkas (2018)
Seven rare and beloved Greek films: Five films from the 1st Week of Greek cinema, held in 1960, return to the Festival: “The River” by Nikos Koundouros, “Madalena” by Dinos Dimopoulos, “Murder Backstage” by Dinos Katsouridis, “Macedonian Wedding” by Takis Kanellopoulos, “Thieves Rejoice Only Once” by Dimitris Ioannopoulos will be screened at the Festival. It will also host two accessibility format screenings for two films: “The River” by Nikos Koundouros and “In the Shadow of Fear” (1988) by late director Giorgos Karypidis. Finally, honoring late director Takis Spyridakis, the Festival will screen the film “The Garden of God” (1988).
“The Garden of God”, dir. Takis Spyridakis (1988)
Beyond Borders: 2 films shot in Greece or with Greek themes, “Common Birds” by Silvia Maglioni and Graeme Thomson and “I Will Cross Tomorrow” by Sepideh Farsi. A film that has already had its Greek premiere, “Meltem” by Basile Doganis, will be screened in Second Viewing section, while the 16 award-winning films of the 2019 International Short Film Festival in Drama will also be screened.
TRIBUTES
The Festival audience will enjoy a John Waters three-day experience. The daring American director and iconic representative of cult cinema will be in Thessaloniki from the 6th until the 8th of November 2019 and will be bestowed the Golden Alexander award for his contribution to cinema.
The “Pope of Trash”, as William Burroughs once called him, is given a carte blanche in the anniversary TIFF to select 10 of his favorite films. His choices are alarmingly hilarious feature films and documentaries that reflect his love of the extreme in both art and exploitation films. On November 6, he will perform a standup comedy show, offer an open masterclass on November 7 as well as an exclusive workshop for young filmmakers.
Finally, the 60thThessaloniki International Film Festival will honor John Waters with the Golden Alexander award, during a special event, in which his film “Female Trouble’ will be screened.
“Montenegro – Or Pigs and Pearls”, dir. Dusan Makavejev (1981)
The subversive Catalan director Albert Serra will be in Thessaloniki for a retrospective of his work. There are tributes to the work of the British filmmaker Joanna Hogg, who will also be in Thessaloniki, to the cinema of Gregory Markopoulos and Robert Beavers with rare films. Director and musician The Boy will choose 10 films full of horror, humor, and tenderness from the ’80s for the Growing up in the 80s tribute. There is also a tribute to the great anarchist of Yugoslav cinema, Dusan Makavejev. The tribute “Different but Same” comprises of films that revolve around the notion of respect towards minorities and diversity.
EXHIBITIONS
This year’s edition discovers the unknown artistic world of Nikos Koundouros in an exhibition that hosts paintings by the director, many of which are shown for the first time, sketches, letters, notes and personal effects –such as his favorite palette with his self-portrait- will be presented in the exhibition. “In Nikos Koundouros’ cinematic work, in each shot, we felt the look of the painter. Now, in this exhibition, we will discover the origins of this look, a look which in fact determines the birth of contemporary Greek cinema” said the artistic director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Orestis Andreadakis.
Nikos Koundouros’ palette with his self-portrait
Works from young artists who were inspired by the 14 films from the International Competition section are presented in the exhibition Overview Effect – Encountering the Cosmos. An exhibition at the Cinema Museum of Thessaloniki celebrating 60 years of the Thessaloniki Film Festival about the moments, the people and the trends that defined its course and evolution, while 120 photos of stars, red carpets, the gangs, the historic spots will be exhibited in shops, restaurants, bars of Thessaloniki in the context of “Spot the Festival exhibition.
COMIC
The 60th TIFF comes with its own comic, FESTIVAL, a comic for all the things that compose the past, present, and future of the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Comic artists George Goussis, Panagiotis Pantazis, and Georgia Zahari created a love story that deals with film, art, and life itself.
AGORA
Meet the Future: A new initiative looks at the future of Greek cinema. Filmmakers who have traveled with their short films in the 13th biggest international Festivals will come at the 60th TIFF to present their next projects, while beloved Greek actor Giorgos Pyrpasopoulos will bring in contact film professionals with the greek film community and will present the Agora awards of the 60th TIFFn acting as Agora’s ambassador.
