The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s business part, the Agora, ended with top awards for filmmakers from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The award-winning Greek film “African Grey” won the prestigious Onassis Film Award and the 10,000 euro prize that goes with it. The judges liked the film’s creative way of telling stories and its potential to change people’s perceptions of a classic genre.
The Crossroads Co-production Forum at the festival showed 15 projects from 17 countries. It was an essential place for filmmakers to meet people in the business and get money. Orestis Andreadakis, the artistic director, talked about how successful the event was and said that 13 of the films in the Official Selection had been to the Agora before.
The Turkish movie “The Hunchback” by Ahu Ozturk got another important award: the Two Thirty-Five (2|35) Award for post-production support. People liked how honest the project was about how women deal with loss and bounce back.
France’s CNC awarded Rakan Mayasi, a Palestinian director, an 8,000 euro script development award for his movie Passport. The judges praised the movie’s ability to turn personal events into interesting stories.
The festival also stressed the importance of making films that are good for the earth. Three movies—”The Hunchback” and “The Appalling Human Voice of the Animals”—won the Greener Screen Award for their dedication to being eco-friendly.
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The Bulgarian-French co-production “Fog” by Denis Spiridonov won the ArteKino International Award, and Ares Sporta was accredited to the Cannes Marché du Film Producer’s Network.
Angeliki Vergou, head of Agora, thanked everyone who came to the event when it was over. “We hope you leave with joy, constructive feedback, and potential new partnerships,” she stated.
The Thessaloniki Film Festival is still an important place for new directors in the region to meet and collaborate, encouraging artistic innovation and cooperation between countries.
