"Michel
Demopoulos has given the Festival a new vitality, opening it up to a young audience.


During the Festival, in this town, you breathe not oxygen but cinema!"

Bernardo Bertolucci



Some history about the festival:

First held in 1960 as a modest "Week of Greek Cinema", the Thessaloniki International
Film Festival has become, 43 years later, an annual event focused on the discovery
and promotion of new directors from all over the world; a true celebration of
film.



For ten days in mid-November, audiences numbering approximately 70,000, as well
as hundreds of Greek and foreign Festival guests, attend screenings of more than
150 films in the city's cinemas.



Newcomers in the competitive section meet veteran filmmakers whose work is celebrated
through retrospectives and special screenings. All films are screened before the
young, vital, cinema-loving Thessaloniki audience, while in the Festival's parallel
events, such as concerts and art exhibitions, cinema is brought together with
the other arts.



The Festival assumed its present dynamic, international character in 1992, under
the direction of Michel Demopoulos, with the financial support of the Greek Ministry
of Culture, in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and other local
institutions, and with the unanimous support of the city's population.



The international recognition enjoyed by the Festival is illustrated by the participation
in its jury of celebrities such as Istvan Szabo, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Chantal
Akerman, Ivan Passer, Goran Paskalijevic, Yoichiro Takahashi, Nikos Papatakis,
Paul Leduc, Jerry Schatzberg, Georgi Chenguelaiia, Dariush Mehrjui, Elliot Stein,
Pascal Bonitzer, Lino Micciche, David Thewlis, Aurore Clement, Maia Morgenstern,
Dean Tavoularis, Adrienne Mancia, Beki Probst, Giuglielmo Biraghi, Eric Heumann,
Jerzy Skolimowski and many others.



See Picture reproduction of the 2003 Poster.

The 44th Festival poster was crafted by Tasos Pavlopoulos.



THE SPOTLIGHTS



The 44th Film Festival will pay tribute to the work of the noted Georgian filmmaker
Otar Iosseliani, who works in France, by screening his work in its entirety. Wong
Kar Wai, the innovative Chinese director will also be honoured, and on the Greek
side, there will be a retrospective of the work of Nikos Panayotopoulos. Of course,
just like every year, New Horizons, Greek Films, the Balkan Survey and many other
parallel events will comprise the edition's programme.

The Festival kicks off tonight with
Zatoichi

who will also open next Rotterdam festival and won People's choice at Toronto.

More coverage to follow.



Bruno Chatelin