The 59th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, running from November 1st to 11th, is focussing on independent cinema. In addition to an international programme, the public will discover the best of current Greek cinema with the screening of 17 films made in 2017 and 2018. Parallel events, such as exhibitions, concerts and round tables, will enrich the festival.
For the first time in Greece, a tribute will be paid to Greek queer films (dealing with the LGBT theme), with the screening of 38 short and feature films, dating from the 1960’s to today. Spectators will be able to discover on the big screen Nikos Koundouros’ The Face of Medusa, Angelos by Giorgos Katakouzinos and Angelos Frantzis’ In the Woods. All the programming can be found here.
On the industry side, from November 3rd to 10th a platform for professionals, the Agora, brings together film people from all over the world, allowing participating producers and directors to promote their film with distributors, buyers and festival programmers. The Agora has several activities:
– the Agora Film Market
– Agora Works in Progress
– Cross-roads Co-production Forum
– Industry Academy International programme.
This last-mentioned is a training programme offered in partnership with the Locarno International Film Festival. It is aimed at young industry professionals who want to increase their experience and expand their networking in international sales, marketing, distribution and programming.
The festival opened with the winner of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Shoplifters, by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-Eda. It will close with a screening of Lukas Dhont’s Girl, featuring the superb performance of his young actor Victor Polster.
Sources: greece.greekreporter.com, Cineuropa
