Thessaloniki International. The Film Festival kicks off its 67th edition this week with an eclectic lineup of festival favorites, Oscar nominees and local films showcasing the diversity and dynamism of the Greek industry.

“This year’s festival takes place in one of the most difficult and volatile periods for humanity: wars, massacres, the rise of the far right and neo-fascism, social unrest, uncertainty regarding the development of artificial intelligence and the climate crisis,” Andreadakis said. Diversity. “All of this is part of our shared reality, and of course it is reflected in this year’s selection.

“We hope that with the 67th TIFF films we can offer some hope, alleviate suffering, and resist horror, polarization, hostility, and dehumanization,” he continues. “Films can broaden our horizons, sharpen our awareness and critical thinking, and shape us in unexpected ways.”

The festival opens with “Minotaur,” a stunning depiction of despair and corruption in Vladimir Putin’s Russia from two-time Academy Award nominee Andrey Zvyagintsev (“Leviathan,” “Loveless”), which won the Grand Prix at Cannes and will represent France in the international feature film Oscar race. Describing the film as “a powerful and brutal portrait of a society trapped in its own maze of fear and moral compromise,” Andreadakis says the film was a “natural choice” for the programming team.

“It is exactly the kind of cinema we believe in: brave, demanding and able to sharpen our awareness of the world we live in,” he says. The festival closes November 15 with May el-Toukhy’s Venice Golden Lion winner “Unknown Woman”, with the participation of Venice Best Actress winner Mathilde Arcel.

Other guests present in Thessaloniki will include Spanish filmmaker Oliver Laxe (“Sirat”), who won the festival’s Golden Alexander award in 2019 for his Un Certain Regard award-winning film “Fire Will Come”. Laxe has been tapped to curate a special programming sidebar, “Welcome to the Desert,” and will also deliver a talk for festival audiences.

Meanwhile, Turkish filmmaker Emin Alper will be feted with a tribute to his acclaimed works, including “Salvation,” which won this year’s Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, while German director Fatih Akın will be on hand to present his latest film, “Ghost Song,” which opened the San Sebastian Film Festival. At this year’s event, Greek composer and conductor Stavros Xarchakos and filmmaker Nikos Grammatikos will also receive the honorary Golden Alexander Award.

A total of 258 films will be screened in various sections of the festival and 10 films will compete for the Golden Alexander in the main international competition. These include Walter Thompson-Hernández’s “Will They Miss Me If I Go,” which premiered at Sundance, and Sarah Arnold’s French caper comedy “Too Many Beasts,” which earned a tribute at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Also in contention is Brazilian directors Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho’s gay erotic thriller “The Riverbank,” which won awards in Locarno and Rio.

Three Greek films are also in the running for major awards, including Konstantina Kotzamani’s Un Certain Regard premiere “Titanic Ocean,” Efthimis Kosemund Sanidis’ Karlovy Vary contender “A Whole Person Almost” and Jacqueline Lentzou’s “A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra,” which won best director in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section. These films are among the 26 features and 28 short films that will represent the host country at the premier film event, highlighting the fact that, as Andreadakis puts it, “Greek cinema is in a great place right now.”

“We are extremely happy, because this year the festival will screen a total of 26 Greek feature films, seven of which will be in our three international competition sections,” says Andreadakis. “The program includes the most exciting new voices in Greek cinema, as well as major, well-established filmmakers.”

Supporting the Greek film industry has always been a core part of the mission of the Thessaloniki Film Festival and its industry arm Agora; Andreadakis states that “the festival does more than include a film in its program.”

“In Thessaloniki, members of the Greek film community (directors, producers, distributors, screenwriters, technicians and actors) can network, establish international partnerships and find their way into international markets and festivals,” he says.

Arriving towards the end of the autumn term, the festival is becoming an increasingly popular meeting place for the international industry, particularly filmmakers from the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, and they are not alone as Agora continues to expand its geographical scope and strengthen collaborations with a number of partners from Europe and beyond.

It has been 10 years since the respected writer and film critic was handed over the reins of Greece’s oldest and most prestigious film festival, and looking back now, Andreadakis says that over the past decade the festival “had to overcome many challenges, the biggest of which was the COVID period, when we had to rethink the idea of ​​a film festival.”

“We had to make difficult decisions, but it also showed us how much a festival is needed as a meeting point,” he says. “As not only the world but also the way we experience cinema is changing rapidly, we hope that we can still continue to grow and change without losing focus.

“As audiences watch movies in new ways, we want to continue finding ways to bring people, especially younger viewers, back to the shared cinematic experience,” he continues. “At the same time, we want to further strengthen the Agora, making Thessaloniki an important center for European cinema, a place where projects are born, new ideas emerge, collaborations take place. Our aim is simple: to keep the festival a place where cinema is discovered and shared.”

Thessaloniki International. The Film Festival will be held between 5-15 November.