12/03/2018 - Simon Lereng Wilmont’s documentary has received the top prize, while Meteors and Baronesa shared the Special Jury Award at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

Director Stratis Chatzielenoudas and producer Ioanna Petinaraki receive the ERT SA Award for Back to the Top (© Motionteam)

Danish documentarian Simon Lereng Wilmont’s feature documentary The Distant Barking of Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] was the winner of the Golden Alexander for Best Documentary at the 20^th-anniversary edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF), which ran from 2-11 March. The prizes were given out yesterday at the closing ceremony, held in the Olympion Theatre.

The international jury, comprising Swedish film critic and journalist Annika Gustafsson, Sundance programmer Caroline Libresco, US director David Borenstein, Dutch sales agent-producer Jan Rofekamp and Greek director Lefteris Charitos, handed the €8,000 prize to the Danish documentary, which follows a boy growing up in the war zone of Donbass. However, the documentary was not content with just the Golden Alexander, as it also picked up the Best International Film Award from the FIPRESCI jury and the Human Values Award from the Hellenic Parliament.

The Locarno-awarded Dutch-Turkish political documentary Meteors [+see also:
film review
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interview: Gürcan Keltek
film profile] by Turkish documentarian Gürcan Keltek and the Brazilian documentary Baronesa by debutant Juliana Antunes split the Special Jury Award, accompanied by a €2,000 cash prize. 

Of the Greek documentaries that were taking part in the 20^th TDF, Stratis Chatzielenoudas’ debut doc Back to the Top [+see also:
trailer
film profile] snagged the Audience Award and the ERT’s main award, which comes with €3,000. The Greek Film Centre awarded Antonis’ Voice [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by debutant Christos Kapatos with a €3,000 cash prize. The FIPRESCI Award was handed to Marble Homeland [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Menios Karayannis and the Greek Film Critics Association (PEKK) Award to Kostis Papagiorgis, The Sweetest Misanthrope [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Eleni Alexandraki.

In the Virtual Reality Films Competition, which was organised for the first time for documentaries, the jury, comprising German film critic and editor Kirsten Kieninger, Greek visual artist-director George Drivas and Greek cinematographer Argyris Theos, awarded the British effort Limbo by Shehani Fernando and the Dutch title The Last Chair 1&2 by Anke Teunissen and Jessie van Vreden with the Greek Film Centre Best Film Award, worth €3,000, ex aequo.

Finally, the Peter Wintonick Audience Award was bestowed upon Of Fathers and Sons [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Talal Derki.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 20^th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival: 

Best Documentary Award - Golden Alexander
The Distant Barking of Dogs [+see also:
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film profile] - Simon Lereng Wilmont (Denmark/Finland/Sweden)

Special Jury Award – ex aequo
Meteors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gürcan Keltek
film profile] - Gürcan Keltek (Netherlands/Turkey)
Baronesa - Juliana Antunes (Brazil)

Virtual Reality Films Competition

Best Film – ex aequo
Limbo - Shehani Fernando (UK)
The Last Chair 1&2 - Anke Teunissen, Jessie van Vreden (Netherlands)

FIPRESCI awards

Best Film in the International Competition
The Distant Barking of Dogs - Simon Lereng Wilmont

Best Greek Film
Marble Homeland [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Menios Karayannis (Greece)

Greek Film Critics Association Award
Kostis Papagiorgis, The Sweetest Misanthrope [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Eleni Alexandraki  (Greece)

Human Values Award
The Distant Barking of Dogs - Simon Lereng Wilmont

ERT SA (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) awards

Best Documentary
Back to the Top [+see also:
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film profile] - Stratis Chatzielenoudas (Greece)

Greek Film Centre Award
Antonis’ Voice [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Christos Kapatos (Greece)

Amnesty International awards

Best Film Award
Everything’s Better Than a Hooker - Ovidie (France) 

Special Mention
Muhi – Generally Temporary [+see also:
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film profile] - Rina Castelnuovo, Tamir Elterman (Israel/Germany)

WWF Award
Thank You for the Rain [+see also:
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film profile] - Julia Dahr (UK/Norway/Kenya)

Youth Jury awards

Best Film Award
Obscuro Barroco [+see also:
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film profile] - Evangelia Kranioti (France/Greece) 

Special Youth Jury Award
A Tree Remembers [+see also:
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film profile] - Kostas Follas (Greece) 

Fischer Audience Awards 

Peter Wintonick Audience Award
Of Fathers and Sons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Talal Derki (Germany/Syria/Lebanon)

Audience Award for a Film Under 50’
The Last Honey Hunter - Ben Knight (Nepal) 

Audience Award for a Greek Film Over 50’
Back to the Top - Stratis Chatzielenoudas

Audience Award for a Greek Film Under 50’
Painting… - Dimitris Stamatis, Ioanna Neofytou (Greece)