Public television’s responsibility to support film and the institution of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival is greater in times of crisis, said Nikos Tellis, president of Greece’s public broadcasting system ERT. 

“Art, especially film, records the processes and undercurrents, it provides the breath we need to get through difficult times,” he told reporters at a news conference on November 8 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. “Supporting it is within public television’s social role.”

During the news conference mr. Tellis presented ERT’s new policy on cinema, and made special mention of the assistance provided by ERT board member Haris Papadopoulos in shaping it. 

The so-called 1.5% committee would be renamed "the Committee for Managing Resources for Film" and said that the cooperation agreement between ERT and the Greek Film Center would be revised. 

Mr. Tellis said the state broadcaster would fund 35 films this year but that it would also produce several films itself and support the production of ready films. He said ERT would also undertake a range of initiatives to help promote film, such as providing free advertizing time, and would contribute towards the screening and promotion costs of Greek films at international festivals. ERT will also produce special shows aimed at promoting film and establishing screening zones on its stations—ET1, NET, and ET3. 

Mr. Tellis added that attention would be focused on developing and supporting short films aimed at improving their quality and increasing their quantity, in accordance with available resources each year. ERT’s program on short films, Microfilm, will also be included in the 1.5%--the public broadcaster’s policy of allocating 1.5 per cent of its gross income each year for film production. 

Mr. Papadopoulos spoke extensively on ERT’s determination to unblock financing for film and allocate, by decision of managing director Nikos Simos, the sum of 3,450,000 euros for the production of 35 films in the 2012-2013 season. 

Mr. Papadopoulos also referred to ERT’s decision to move ahead with film exchanges with other members of the European Broadcasting Union aimed at promoting Greek film to a larger foreign audience. Networking through international organizations will also be used to promote the screening and distribution of Greek films, he added. 

To boost film in the domestic market, a new festival-style film “marathon” will be organized with the "Attikon" and "Apollon" film theaters in Athens during which 100 films by Greek directors will be screened.

Mr. Kostas Bliakas, managing director of ET3, spoke about ERT’s support for film and especially the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which it also supports financially. 

“In these difficult circumstances, culture finds a way to blossom, providing inspiration for creativity but also for stimulating the public,” he said. 

The ERT executives were introduced by TIFF director Dimitris Eipidis, who thanked the public broadcaster for its continuing support. “The Festival owes ERT a lot and exists because of the support it provides every year.”