The 17th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Images of the 21st Century, part of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, presents approximately 185 films (shorts and features) by directors from all over the world, as well as a full parallel events program.
FILM PREMIERES
The 17th TDF presents 5 world, 9 international, 3 European and 125 Greek premieres:
World Premieres:
A Nuclear Story, Matteo GAGLIARDI, Italy, 2014, 84’ - Habitat
Transfixed, Alon KOL, Canada, 2014, 75’ - Portraits
The Limb of Morocco, Bruno ROCCHI, Italy, 2015, 62’ - Society
Ikaria, Arnaud GAILLARD, France, 2014, 52’ - Society
Nowhere to be Found, Alex MORATTO, USA, 2015, 8’ - Stories to Tell
International Premieres:
Limbo, Matteo CALORE, Gustav HOFER, Italy, 2014, 54’ - Human Rights
To Russia with Love, Noam GONICK, USA, Canada, 2014, 80’ - Human Rights
I Am a Visitor in Your World, Miguel SILVEIRA, USA, 2014, 82’ - Portraits
Following Shira's Journey: A Greek Jewish Odyssey, Natalie CUNNINGHAM, Carol GORDON, Australia, 2014, 50’ - Recordings of Memory
Plaza Man, Kasper VERKAIK, Netherlands, 2014, 60’ - Recordings of Memory
Every Face Has a Name, Magnus GERTTEN, Sweden, 2015, 76’ - Recordings of Memory
Crisis Document. A Survival Guide, Elisabeth MARJANOVIC CRONVALL, Marta DAULIUTE, Sweden, 2015, 15’ - Society
Made in Kasama (Kasamayaki), Yuki KOKUBO, USA, Japan, 2014, 78’ - Stories to Tell
The Age of Love, Steven LORING, USA, 2014, 79’ - Stories to Tell
European Premieres:
The Pawn, Jean-Cosme DELALOYE, Switzerland, 2014, 78’ - Society
Spirit Berlin, Kordula HILDEBRANDT, Germany, 2014, 89’ - Stories to Tell
The Empire of Scents, Kim NGUYEN, Canada, 2014, 84’ - Stories to Tell
FIPRESCI JURY
An international FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) jury will hand out one award to a Greek documentary andone award to a foreign documentary.
The five-member FIPRESCI Jury is composed of:
Massimo Lechi, Italy, President
Joana Pavlova, Bulgaria
Kirsten Kieninger, Germany
Mo Abdi, U.K., and
Gia Giovani, Greece
OPENING FILM
Hip Hop-eration by Bryn Evans, New Zealand, 2014
Dance your heart away: the 17th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival opening film (Friday, March 13th, at the Olympion theater) celebrates the joy of life. Bryn Evans’ Hip Hop-eration follows the adventure of a group of nonagenarians who, wheelchairs polished and walking sticks honed, travel from New Zealand to the US to take part in the Las Vegas Hip Hop Dance Championships. Funny and thrilling, Evan’s documentary stands as a testament to the saying: Age is just a number.
SIDEBAR EVENTS
LIVE CINEMA: THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS
Sunday 15 March, 20.30, Olympion Theater
In collaboration with the US Embassy in Greece.
A new live-cinema performance from Academy-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground). Part of Green’s ongoing exploration of the “live-documentary” genre, The Measure of All Things is a project that combines his own narration onstage with photos, film footage and interview clips, while a live band performs the soundtrack. It is a meditation on fate, time and the outer contours of the human experience that is loosely inspired by the Guinness Book of Records. The film will be screened with a live soundtrack performed by the chamber group yMusic.
HUBERT SAUPER: OPEN DISCUSSION
Friday 20 March, 13.30, Pavlos Zannas Theater
The acclaimed Austrian director Hubert Sauper will have an open discussion with the public of Thessaloniki, where he will describe his approach to documentary filmmaking and his experience from his travels to Africa.
Moderator: Dimitris Kerkinos
ONE-DAY CONFERENCE: OUT HERE
Thursday 19 March, 12.00 noon, Olympion Theater
In collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The 17th TDF presents a one-day conference, in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. As part of the event, there will be a screening of Thomas Kiaos’ documentary Out Here, which was realized on the occasion of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s “Initiative Against the Crisis” program. In addition to the screening, there will be a discussion on how the crisis affects Greek and worldwide everyday reality.
THESSALONIKI CINEMATHEQUE LIBRARY
Inaugurated in March 2013, the Thessaloniki Cinematheque Library, yet another institution of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, is the largest film library in the country, containing Greek and international books and magazines covering a wide range of topics regarding information, study and research on the art of film. Approximately 10,000 books, and Greek and international magazines on film constitute the collection, part of which is already digitized for prosperity and easier access to the public. The Thessaloniki Film Library is hosted at the Cinema Museum – Cinematheque, in Warehouse A at the City Port.
JUST TALKING
15-21 March (inclusive), 16.00–17.30
Electra Palace Hotel ground floor, Excelsior Room
The Just Talking event, introduced in 2006, brings filmmakers from various parts of the world together and creates a platform of communication, promoting creativity and forging collaboration. Daily discussion groups of directors and producers revolve around issues that concern documentary filmmakers. Apart from the groups, all other accredited festival attendees are admitted to the sessions and can either simply listen or participate.
