It will be held online starting on November 5 through 15 the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival, with the slogan «SCinema in every sense of the word» and 177 science fiction films that «interpret» what we are experiencing today, pioneering European voices, independent cinema from around the world, recent Greek productions, as well as classic comedy favorites.
«No matter what happens, the 61st Film Festival will take place. It is a a dynamic and resilient institution», notes the Elise Zalanto, General Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, comparing the daily life that the pandemic has «imposed» to a science-fiction scenario.
«Everything we took for granted until a few months ago is no longer true,» notes the director of this year’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival in a video—in lieu of a press conference—for the festival, Orestis Andreadakis, adding that «Cinema is, in every way, this year a a way of love and understanding, »a way for us, too, to establish some rules of our own on top of the rules imposed on us by the novel coronavirus—a way to respond to the upside-down world we’ve entered.”.
The 61st Thessaloniki Film Festival will open on Thursday, November 5, 2020, with «The Whale's Journey» of Philip Yuriev and will take place on Sunday, November 15, 2020, with a screening of the film «It won't snow again» of Maugozata Simovska and Michael Engler. The festival will feature 18 Greek feature-length films and 21 short films: 15 films making their debut, 3 films that have already premiered in the «A Second Look,» and 2 classic favorites, all of which are universally accessible via their online screenings. Also to be screened are the award-winning short films from the recent 43rd Drama Short Film Festival.
International program
The lens through which the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival views the 12 films in the International Competition is «Intimacy: A Modern Tyranny», inspired by his book American sociologist Richard Sennett, «The Tyranny of Intimacy» (Nefeli Publications). Three Greek films are also participating in the section. These are «Apples» by Christos Nikos, «Kala Azar» by Janis Raphaelidou, and «Digger» by Giorgos Grigorakis.
The «Ψ» competition section features 10 films, including three Greek ones. These are «Daniel ’16» by Dimitris Koutsabasakos, «All the Pretty Little Horses» by Michalis Konstantatos, and «Fine» by Fokion Bogris. This section features young filmmakers from Southeast Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The “Open Horizons” and “Views of the Balkans” sections continue.
Spotlights
«Prophecies from Another World: Sci-fi and Cli-fi (1950–1990)» is the title of this year’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s major special section featuring cult, funny, and thrilling science fiction films. «It will help us understand and interpret the current situation,» notes Elise Zalando. The 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival also showcases two leading voices in European cinema: Norwegian director Anja Braien, a friend of Theodoros Angelopoulos, a favorite filmmaker of Ingmar Bergman, and a pioneer of feminist cinema in Scandinavia; and the Czech filmmaker Vera Chytilová (1929–2014), a subversive filmmaker and member of the «Czech New Wave.».
«Market» with Katia Goulioni
Exciting events, awards, and collaborations will be featured this year at the Agora, which will take place online. With actress Katia Gkoulioni («Happiness»), the «Market» will bring together international industry professionals with the Greek film community. The Thessaloniki International Film Festival's «Market,» which is supported by the «Creative Europe MEDIA»…and in which awards and cash prizes totaling 200,000 euros are presented, will take place online from November 6 to 14, 2020.".
Exhibitions in Public Spaces
The exhibition «Intimacy, a Modern Tyranny,» inspired by works from the International Competition, was originally conceived at MOMus – Experimental Arts Center (Warehouse B1, Port of Thessaloniki). Due to the pandemic, it will not take place there; however, there will be reproductions on canvas banners at various locations throughout the city. In addition, 12 large canvas reproductions will be displayed on the exterior walls of buildings along the port’s pier. At the port, photographs from Giorgos Drivas’s video installation, *Events of a Future That Has Already Happened*, as well as the works of the 12 visual artists, will be displayed on banners.
In the same venue—specifically at the former daycare center—is the installation «The Glasshouse Project» by visual artist and photographer Nikos Rakkas, and on the harbor pier, the visual installation designed exclusively for the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival by Olga Sfetsa.
The Festival program, as well as more information about the films, is available at www.filmfestival.gr. Advance ticket sales will begin on Tuesday, November 3.
The 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival, held online, is taking place with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the NSRF program of the Regional Operational Program for Central Macedonia 2014-2020 Regional Operational Program for Central Macedonia, and the MEDIA program. As the organizers note, the support provided by ERT, COSMOTE TV—the Festival’s Major Sponsor— Alpha Bank, the accessibility sponsor; Mastercard, the official payment card; Aegean, the official airline; and Fischer, the sponsor of the audience awards.
