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


THE INTERNATIONAL DOC MARKET

ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL, Byzantium Hall, 1st Floor, Aristotelous Sq.
March 10-15, 10.00 – 20.00

The International Doc Market, introduced in 1999, will be held this year for the first time in the Byzantium hall of the 1st floor of the Electra Palace Hotel at Aristotelous Sq next to the Festival headquarters, providing a much larger space to its participants, outfitted with 30 fully equipped booths for private viewing of the Market films. The market, organized in cooperation with the Greek National Television (ERT S.A.) and with the support of the Media Program of the European Union, caters to the needs of television networks from European countries and a wide range of professionals from various parts of the world.
Approximately 50 buyers will be attending from Europe, the US and Canada, among them Filippo D' Angelo (Vitagraph - Italy), Beatrice Desinte-Fumier (RTBF - Belgium), John Lawrence Re (Northern Arts Entertainment - USA), Luca Macciocca (RAI - Italy), Catherine Le Clef (Fortissimo – Netherlands), Simon Kilmury (American Documentary P.O.V - USA), Alain Johnon (Planete Multithematiques - France), Fatima Cavaco (RPT - Portugal), Jenny Westergard (YLE - Finland), Kathrin Brinkmann (ZDF/ARTE - Germany) and Ruben Fernandez-Loa (Sogecable - Viajar - Spain). Approximately 450 films will participate in this year’s Doc Market.


PITCHING FORUM 2008

Open Pitching Sessions: TONIA MARKETAKI Theatre (Warehouse D, Port)
Saturday, 15 March, 10.00-14.30, Sunday, 16 March, 10.00-13.00.

The European Documentary Network is a member-based organisation for professionals working with documentary feature and television projects and creating networks within the documentary sector in Europe. The Pitching Forum 2008 is organized by EDN and the 10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival- Images of the 21st Century with the support of the EU MEDIA Program. This annual workshop includes the development and pitching of new documentary projects from around the world through intense training sessions for the participants and open pitching sessions that welcome all festival guests.

PITCHING FORUM 2008 PROJECTS:

1. A League of its Own, produced by Thomas Mosebo, directed by Christoffer Dreyer, Cosmo Doc, Denmark
2. A Matter of Heart, produced by Anca Dragoi, directed by Corina Radu, Libra Films Productions, Romania
3. Are we all Americans?, produced by Ilaria Malagutti, directed by Fransesco Merini, Mammut Films, Italy
4. Arranged Marriages, produced and directed by Nebosjsa Slijepcevic, Fade In, Croatia
5. Ceremony produced and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, Haos Films, Greece
6. Chairs, produced by Noemi Schory, directed by Yossi Aviram, Belfilms, Israel
7. Dacia, An Adaptation, produced by Alexandru Solomon, directed by Julio Soto, Hi Film Productions & The ThinkLab Media, Romania & Spain
8. Europe on a Mission, produced by Judith Vreriks, directed by Marc Schmidt, Cobos Films, The Netherlands
9. Getting Ready for Life, produced by Ewa Zukowska, directed by Konrad Szolajski, ZK Studio, Poland
10. Israel Ltd, produced by Daniel Sivan & Ronen Bental, directed by Mor Loushy, Plan-B Production Israel
11. Joann Sfar Draws from Memory, produced by Estelle Fialon, Les Films du Poisson, France
12. Leaders of the Future, produced by Rea Apostolides, directed by Kimon Tsakiris, emon Productions, Greece
13. Life’s a Battle, produced by Sonia Otto, directed by Agostino Imondi, Indi Film, Germany
14. Modigliani’s Genuine Fake Head, produced by Giovanni Donfrancesco, directed by Lise Birk Pedersen, Altara Films, Italy
15. Moving Kiruna, produced by Niels Reise, directed by Karl-Emil Rikardsen, Laika Film & Television, Sweden
16. Not Everybody’s Darling, produced and directed by Nitsa Kakoseos, Electra Media Kakoseos Productions, Greece
17. Once upon a Time there was Football, produced and directed by Luigi Maria Perotti, Stamen Film, Italy
18. Pitching Lucifer, produced and directed by Helge Cramer & Brigit Mulders, Helge Cramer FilmProduktion, Germany
19. Singing for Living, produced and directed by Barbara Weissenbeck, Austria
20. The Old Men and the Fish, produced and directed by Nikos Stamboulopoulos, Greece
21. Who Saves Rosia Montan, produced and directed by Tibor, Flora Film International, Hungary

PITCHING FORUM 2008 COMMISSIONING EDITORS:

Vera Bonnier, SVT, Sweden
Cynthia Kane, ITVS, USA
Kathrin Brinkmann, ZDF/ARTE, Germany
Christiane Hinz, MDR, Germany
Michalis Lycoudis, ERT, Greece
Wim Van Rompaey, Lichtpunt, Belgium
Jenny Westergård, YLE FST, Finland
Κostas Spiropoulos, SKAI, Greece
Claudia Schreiner, MDR, Germany

PARALLEL EVENTS


The 10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Images of the 21st Century is hosting, as every year, a series of Masterclasses, Workshops and Discussions featuring the Festival’s guests, which are open to the public in order to encourage information and dialogue between industry professionals, students and the audiences of the Festival. The daily Just Talking events, as well as two concerts –one by foreign and one by local musicians- complement the 10th TDF’s calendar for 2008.


MASTERCLASSES

Masterclass: Joe Berlinger- Bruce Sinofsky
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Friday 14/03, 11.00 – 13.00

One of this year’s tributes brings to Thessaloniki the creative duo of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, co-directors of the successful documentaries Brother’s Keeper, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and Gray Matter. The two guests will present a Masterclass on the inception and production of documentary projects and various other issues relating to the documentary genre.


Masterclass: Michael Noer
I Am Trying to Combine YouTube with Aristotle
TONIA MARKETAKI Theatre (Warehouse D, Port)
Thursday 13/03, 15.00 – 17.00

“I am trying to combine YouTube with Aristotle” is Danish documentary director Michael Noer’s key phrase when you ask about how he has worked with his theatrical feature length youth documentary Vesterbro and his online documentary series doxwise developed for My Space TV. Noer’s method behind these projects is based on passing the camera to the protagonists of his stories, so they can film themselves at crucial moments, thus combining those private, intimate recordings with more traditional documentary methods. During the Masterclass, Noer will talk in detail about how he coaches his protagonists, will share details on the dramatic structure of a feature length film and an online series and will discuss how he promotes his films via the Internet.


WORKSHOPS

Workshop: Music in Documentary
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Sunday, 09/03, 11.00 – 13.00

Music and film have been kin arts from the early beginnings of cinema, much more so in regard to the documentary genre; their combination has produced a genre in its own right, the music documentary. Leonidas Antonopoulos, a Greek journalist specializing in music who has traveled to various places in the planet for the “Musicians of the World” TV series, will present a Workshop on the subject.


Workshop: Sotiris Danezis - Guerrilla Filmmaking
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Wednesday, 12/03, 11.00 – 13.00

Sotiris Danezis, presenter of the TV series War Zone to which the 10th TDF is holding a Tribute, will conduct a Workshop about reporting in dangerous regions of the planet, in both a theoretical and practical manner. Danezis will demonstrate various techniques that enable the War Zone crew to shed light to the events while shooting under extremely demanding conditions.


Workshop: Producing Documentaries
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Saturday, 15/03, 11.00– 13.00

Four documentary professionals will conduct this workshop, presenting their personal viewpoints and sharing their unique experiences on the subject. This year’s honored guest, Finnish director and DocPoint Founder Arto Halonen, Canadian producer, director and film critic Peter Wintonick, Greek producer Olga Abazoglou and Greek-American producer and director Valerie Kontakos will join forces for an enlightening workshop on how it is to make documentaries in different parts of the world.


DISCUSSIONS

Discussion: Approaching Nature
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Tuesday, 11/03, 11.00 – 14.00

A panel consisting of Greek professors and experts in geoponics will discuss the effects of all relevant technological revolutions on agriculture, the controversial methods of biotechnology and the value of traditional techniques. In the foyer of the theatre, the audience will be invited to taste biological fruits and vegetables.

Discussion: Faces of Fascism
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Thursday, 13/03, 11.00 – 14.00

A panel discussion accompanies the homonymous Festival section, showcasing films that deal with the various contemporary manifestations of fascism and taking Kristallnacht, the first pogrom against the Jews on November 9, 1938, as its departure point. The panel is comprised of university professors and historical experts, as well as the Vice President of the Greek Film Center, Dimitris Sofianopoulos and George Tsabropoulos, Head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees office in Greece.


Discussion: Red Cross – Volunteerism
OLYMPION Theatre, Aristotelous Sq.
Sunday, 16/03, 12:00–15:00

The Greek branch of the Red Cross, this year’s sponsor of the 10th TDF Audience Awards, will present a discussion on volunteerism, with participants such as Golden Olympic winner and Head of the Volunteer Department of the Greek Red Cross Voula Patoulidou, and the President of the Greek Red Cross, Andreas Martinis.


Discussion: Nanook in YouTube – Documentary in the Broadband Era
JOHN CASSAVETES Theatre (Warehouse A, Port)
Friday, 14/03, 13.00 – 15.00

The Greek Documentary Network will present a discussion concerning new technologies and innovative techniques of production and distribution, as well as the changes in the cinematic and aesthetic language “imposed” by these new possibilities in the documentary world.


JUST TALKING

ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL Ground Floor, Excelsior Room
March 9-16/03 (inclusive)
Daily 16.00 – 17.00

The Just Talking event, introduced in 2006, brings filmmakers and industry professionals from various parts of the world together and creates a platform of communication, expanding the borders of creativity and forging collaboration. Discussion groups of directors, journalists and buyers will be formed on a daily basis. The sessions revolve around a variety of issues that concern documentary filmmakers, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Apart from the groups, all other accredited festival attendees are admitted to the sessions and can either simply listen or participate.

CONCERTS

The Concretes
WAREHOUSE C, Port
Wednesday, 12/03, 22:30

A Swedish indie pop collective formed in 2000 and currently composed of seven members, The Concretes and their harmonious melodies are quite popular in the European post-rock circuit. With 5 albums under their belt, the most current being Hey Trouble (2007), the Concretes will be performing in Greece for the first time as part of the 10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

Yianis Aggelakas & Nikos Veliotis
OLYMPION THEATRE, Aristotelous Sq.
Tuesday, 11/03, 23:00,

Yianis Aggelakas is perhaps the single most influential figure in the Greek rock idiom of the past two decades. The front man of Tripes (i.e. Holes) a now-defunct, extremely popular band that shaped Greek rock from the 80s and 90s, he has now reinvented himself through various collaborations, one of them being with cellist Nikos Veliotis. This is their first concert in Thessaloniki after the release of their second album together, a distinctive blend of rock, folk and even ambient sounds.