10th THESSALONIKI DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL March 7 – 16, 2008
Images of the 21st Century

The thematic Spotlight Faces of Fascism, to be presented during the 10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, will showcase films that take account of the numerous contemporary manifestations of fascism, taking as its historical departure point The Night of the Broken Glass, the first pogrom against the Jews on November 9, 1938. Kristallnacht, as it is otherwise known, was the first step to the systematic persecution and annihilation of the Jewish populations of Europe that took place during the World War II.

2008 marks the 70th anniversary of the events of Kristallnacht; throughout these seven decades humanity has borne witness to many similar events, during which mass oppression, the violation of human rights and the use of systematic violence have prevailed. The genocide in Rwanda, the Srebrenica massacre, the deaths of 1.5 million people during the Khmer Rouge reign in Cambodia, the Guantanamo concentration camp of the 21st century and the recent events in Burma, Darfur and Kenya, prove that fascism continues to thrive internationally, thus signifying this Spotlight not only as contemporary, but as essential.

Faces of Fascism will include films from several of the 10th TDF program sections, such as Recordings of Memory and Human Rights - Social Issues. Arto Halonen’s Shadow of the Holy Book, which exposes the synergies between dictatorial Turkmenistan and international companies, Sylvain Biegeleisen’s The Last Card, a personal, moving documentary about the memory of the Holocaust and Mary Ellen Davis’ Territories, about Canadian documentary photographer Larry Towell, are all pieces of the same predicament, the manifestations of fascism in the 21st century.

A panel discussion comprised of documentary directors, journalists and historical experts will accompany the Spotlight.

THE FILMS OF THE TRIBUTE


PURITY BEATS EVERYTHING by Jon Bang Carlsen, Denmark, 2007 (Recordings of Memory)
SHADOW OF THE HOLY BOOK by Arto Halonen, Finland, 2007(Recordings of Memory & Arto Halonen Tribute)
CHILDREN IN EXILE by Chris Swider, USA, 2007(Recordings of Memory)
THE LAST CARD by Sylvain Biegeleisen, Israel/France, 2007 (Recordings of Memory)
TO FIND TIGER KIM by Bon Hwan Ku, Korea, 2006 (Recordings of Memory)
AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES by Hilary Helstein, USA, 2007(Recordings of Memory)
THE TRUTH BE TOLD by Pimpaka Towira, Thailand, 2007 (Portraits: Human Journeys)
OPERATION HOMECOMING by Richard Robins, USA, 2007 (Human Rights - Social Issues)
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE by Alex Gibney, USA, 2007 (Human Rights - Social Issues)
UNDER THE HOOD: A VOYAGE INTO THE WORLD OF TORTURE by Patricio Henriquez, Canada, 2007(Human Rights - Social Issues)
CITIZEN NAWI by Nissim Mossek, Israel, 2007 (Human Rights - Social Issues)
TERRITORIES by Mary Ellen Davis, Canada, 2007(Human Rights - Social Issues)
THREE TIMES DIVORCED Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana, Israel, 2007 (Human Rights - Social Issues)
LILLIE AND LEANDER: A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE by Jeffrey Morgan, USA, 2007 (Human Rights - Social Issues)
EVEN IF SHE HAD BEEN A CRIMINAL by Jean Gabriel Peirot, France, 2006 (Human Rights - Social Issues)
NORTH KOREA: THE SHOW, Greece, 2005 (Tribute: War Zone)
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: VILINA VLAS - THE FAIRY'S HAIR, Greece, 2007 (Tribute: War Zone)
BURMA: TWO NAMES FOR ONE DICTATORSHIP, Greece, 2008 (Tribute: War Zone)

www.filmfestival.gr