OPENING CEREMONY of the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century. 14-23 March 2014

The curtain rose on the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Images of the 21st Century with a discrete opening ceremony held on Friday, March 14, 2014, at a packed Olympion theater. Nastia Tarasova’s documentary Linar, which chronicles the touching adventure of a frail young boy, was screened after the ceremony.

In his opening remarks, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival director, Dimitri Eipides, welcomed the audience, government representatives and other dignitaries, noting: “Thanks to the continuing support of the city’s audience and our partners, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival has succeeded in rapidly growing and claiming its place amongst the most important international film festivals. We all have the right to have access to the kind of independent, alternative information documentaries provide. Documentaries present us with images from our world, which are free from the influence of interests. The goal of documentaries is to not only highlight important events from around the world, but also to promote human interest stories that entertain, inform and move the audience.”

Commenting on the film line-up of the Festival’s 16th edition, Mr Eipides said: “The Festival will screen 191 films from 42 countries and will host 52 foreign filmmakers. It will also feature two tributes: one to the Festival’s long-time friend and tireless supporter, Peter Wintonick, who came to an untimely end; the second to French documentary filmmaker Nicolas Philibert. In collaboration with a number of greek municipalities and film societies, a selected part of the program will travel outside Thessaloniki to be screened in other Greek cities after the Festival. Furthermore, for a fourth consecutive year, the Documentary Festival will run its Live Streaming screenings, which includes the films of the Olympion theatre’s 20.30 slot – they will be simultaneously screened in a number of other Greek cities.” Mr. Eipides also stressed the importance of the Agora/Doc Market section of the Festival, which will welcome more than 140 buyers, representatives of TV stations and sales companies, producers and distributors, while the Festival will be attended by 62 international reporters and correspondents. Mr Eipides added: “As we do every year, we are collaborating once again with the European Documentary Network – Docs in Thessaloniki, with 70 participants from both Greece and abroad. Furthermore, we are again happy to welcome visiting student groups, who have come this year from the American University in Bulgaria, New York’s Columbia University and the University of Worcester in the UK.” In his final remarks, Mr Eipides said: “The Festival keeps evolving despite these taxing times. The international prestige of the institution promotes Thessaloniki’s international image as an alluring destination and cultural hub.”

Mr Eipides then invited Thessaloniki Mayor Yannis Boutaris to officially announce the 16th TDF opening. Mr Boutaris wished success to the Festival’s new administration, urging the board to “keep supporting an institution that is a significant force of the city of Thessaloniki, has been embraced by the international cinema community and is also very dear to the people of Thessaloniki.” Mr Boutaris then added: “the Municipality of Thessaloniki supports the Documentary Festival, considering it one of the most vibrant, dynamic and internationally acclaimed facets of the city. In my capacity as the mayor of Thessaloniki and as an avid filmgoer, I will provide every possible support to the Festival.” Mr Boutaris also took the opportunity to comment on the shutdown of Greece’s former state broadcaster, ERT, arguing that “an important sponsor of our documentary productions has been lost. I believe that the government should reconsider how ERT collaborated with the Film Festival, and offer a solution.”

Mr Eipides then called Nastia Tarasova on stage, to introduce the Festival’s opening film Linar. The filmmaker introduced the film, which is her first and took her five years to complete. “I hope you enjoy the film, despite its dramatic theme,” she said. Linar moved the audience, as it narrates the story of a six-year old boy from Russia, who travels to Italy to receive a heart transplant.

The parallel events of the 16th TDF are financed by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund for Central Macedonia, 2007-2013.

-OFFICIAL 16TH TDF PRESS RELEASE-

Edited by Vanessa McMahon