Greek cinema is having strong and much-awaited participations at the 55th Thessaloniki Film Festival (31/10 – 9/11).
The festival is honouring the hundredth anniversary of Greek cinema along with filmmakers and the audience, in a big celebration full of classics and favorite films, premieres, and recent productions that caused sensation. 36 Greek films will be screened at this year’s festival, with 10 projects being presented in the Agora section.
The audience was eager to participate at this year’s anniversary, voting for their favourite Greek film out of the 200 Thessaloniki FF official site had listed for them since September. The top 20 films -most voted- will be screened at the festival, in the “1914 – 2014: 100 years of Greek cinema” retrospective.
The Counterfeit Coin by Giorgos Tzavellas
Social Decay by Stelios Tatasopoulos, 1932
The Counterfeit Coin by Giorgos Tzavellas, 1955
Stella by Michael Cacoyannis, 1955
The Ogre of Athens by Nikos Koundouros, 1956
A Neighborhood Named The Dream by Alekos Alexandrakis, 1961
Evdokia by Alexis Damianos, 1971
The Travelling Players by Theo Angelopoulos, 1975
The Idlers of the Fertile Valley by Nikos Panagiotopoulos, 1978
Sweet Bunch by Nikos Nikolaidis, 1983
The Price of Love by Tonia Marketaki, 1983
Happy Homecoming, Comrade - Beloiannisz by Lefteris Xanthopoulos, 1986
It’s a Long Road by Pantelis Voulgaris, 1998
From the Edge of the City by Konstantinos Giannaris, 1998
Still Looking for Morphine by Yannis Fagras, 2001
Save Me by Stratos Tzitzis, 2001
The Valiants of Samothrace by Stamatis Tsarouchas, 2003
A Touch of Spice by Tasos Boulmetis, 2003
Strella by Panos H. Koutras, 2009
Dogtooth by Giorgos Lanthimos, 2009
Little England by Pantelis Voulgaris, 2013
Evdokia by Alexis Damianos
The first film of the list, Social Decay by Stelios Tatasopoulos, back from 1932, will be presented in company of live music composed for the film by Charis Gatzoflias.
As each year, Premieres will draw the audience’s attention, showing 7 new productions. Yannis Veslemes’ Norway, tells the story of a photophobic vampire, while Forget Me Not by Yannis Fagras focuses on two lovers in the far side of the world. Other new films presented, will be Vladimiros Nikolouzos & Nikos Nikolopoulos’ Polk, To the Bone by Thodoris Koutsaftis, Dionysus’ Revenge by Dimitris Kollatos, Queen Antigone by Tilemachos Alexiou and Dark Illusion by Manos Karystinos.
9 recent films, already screened for the Greek audience, will be screened completing the hundredth anniversary. Xenia by Panos H. Koutras, Stratos by Yannis Economides, A Blast by Syllas Tzoumerkas, Margarita Manda’s Forever and Petros Sevastikoglou΄s Electra, 7 Wraths by Christos Voupouras, Mitriarchy by Nikos Kornilios, Fan by Dimitris Bitos and A by Stathis Athanasiou.
Norway by Yannis Veslemes
Greek films are also competing strongly at the Agora Industry section of the festival (1-8 November), participating at the Crossroads and the Works in Progress sections. 6 Greek projects are participating this year at the 10th Crossroads Co-production Forum:
Ark by Aristotelis Maragos, (Vasilis Crysanthopoulos - Producer), Plays2place Productions, Greece
Green house by Nikos Kritikos, (Foteini Economopoulou - Producer), Oh My Dog!, Greece
Kila by Dimitris Koutsiabasakos, (Giorgos Kyriakos - Producer), View Master, Greece
A Pack of Sheep by Dimitris Kanellopoulos, (Konstantina Stavrianou, Elina Psykou – Producers) Graal Films, Greece
Tailor by Sonia Liza Kenterman, (Fenia Kossovitsa – Producer) Blonde Audiovisual S.A., Greece
There, Where No One Knew How To Cry by Giorgos Panousopoulos, (Eleni Kossyfidou – Producer), Black Bird Productions, Greece
Moroever, in the Works in Progress section of Agora, will participate he following Greek films:
Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos, (Fedra Vokali – Producer) Marni Films, Greece
Heatwave by Joyce A. Nashawati, (Fenia Kossovitsa – Producer), Blonde Audiovisual S.A., co-produced by Good Lap Production, To Be Continued, Greece/France
Symptom by Aggelos Frantzis, (Aggelos Frantzis – Producer), The Gardens & Filmiki Productions, Greece
Ursus Minor by Elissavet Chronopoulou, (Elissavet Chronopoulou - Producer), Greece
Nima (working title) by The Boy, (Eleni Berte – Producer), Longline Film Essentials, Greece
