11/03/2019 - Other winners include Midnight Traveler, The Silence of Others, In Touch, and the Greek titles The Band, Fossils and Irving Park, while the VR Films Award went to Songbird

The 21st Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF, 1-10 March) wrapped last night with Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche's Advocate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rachel Leah Jones, Lea Tsemel
film profile] winning the Golden Alexander Award for Best Documentary in the international competition, which comes with a cash prize of €8,000. The film also picked up the FIPRESCI Award.

The Israeli-Canadian-Swiss co-production, which had its international premiere at TDF, is the story of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli lawyer who has represented Palestinian defendants in court for nearly 50 years without a shred of prejudice: from feminists to fundamentalists; from non-violent demonstrators to armed militants. 

The Special Jury Award, worth €2,000, went to Hassan Fazili's Sundance title Midnight Traveler [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The jury consisted of founder and former director of IDFA Ally Derks, Canadian visual researcher Elizabeth Klinck, MEDIMED director Sergi Doladé, and filmmakers Simon Lereng Wilmont (Denmark) and Panayotis Evangelidis (Greece). 

Evangelidis' latest film, Irving Park, which screened out of competition but was eligible for the newly established Mermaid Award for Best LGBTQI+ Documentary, won this very prize, with Vadym Ilkov's My Father Is My Mother's Brother [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] receiving a Special Mention. 

The Danish-UK title Songbird by Lucy Greenwell triumphed in the VR Films competition and received €3,000. The movie is described as a fairy tale with a dark heart, whisking us away to the island of Kauai in 1984 and into a replica of a lush forest filled with colourful birds. 

Pawel Ziemilski's In Touch [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] picked up the Human Values Award from the Hellenic Parliament. The Band by Nikos Aslanidis won the Audience Award for Best Greek Film Over 50 Minutes, which comes with €3,000 from the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). In the international competition, audiences voted for Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar's EFA nominee The Silence of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Almudena Carracedo, Esther …
film profile]. 

The Greek Film Centre Award for Greek Debut Documentary Film Over 50 Minutes went to Fossils [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Panos Arvanitakis.

Here is the full list of TDF award winners: 

International Competition

Golden Alexander 
Advocate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rachel Leah Jones, Lea Tsemel
film profile] - Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche (Israel/Canada/Switzerland)

Special Jury Award
Midnight Traveler [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Hassan Fazili (USA/Qatar/Canada/UK)

VR/Virtual Reality Films Competition 
Songbird - Lucy Greenwell (Denmark/UK)

Human Values Award of the Hellenic Parliament
In Touch [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Paweł Ziemilski (Poland/Iceland)

ERT Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation Awards

Greek Documentary Over 50 Minutes
The Band - Nikos Aslanidis (Greece)

Doc on Air Award
Intimate Outsiders - Roser Corella (Germany)

Greek Film Centre Awards

Greek Debut Documentary Over 50 Minutes
Fossils [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Panos Arvanitakis (Greece)

Docs in Progress Award
School 54 - Dimitra Kouzi (Greece)

Amnesty International Award
#Female Pleasure [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Barbara Miller (Switzerland/Germany)

WWF Award for Best Film in Habitat Section
Soyalism - Enrico Parenti, Stefano Liberti (Italy)

FIPRESCI Award

International Competition
Advocate - Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche

Best Greek Film
When Tomatoes Met Wagner [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Marianna Economou (Greece)

Greek Film Critics’ Association (PEKK) Award
4 Levels of Existence - Iliana Danezi (Greece)

WIFT (Women in Film & Television) Award
#Female Pleasure - Barbara Miller

Mermaid Award
Irving Park - Panayotis Evangelidis (Greece)
Special Mention
My Father Is My Mother's Brother [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Vadym Ilkov (Ukraine)

Youth Jury Awards

Best Film Award 
Make the Economy Scream - Aris Chatzistefanou (Greece)

Special Jury Award
The Fig House - Pitzi Kampourouglou (Greece)

Fischer Audience Awards

The Peter Wintonick Audience Award for a Film Over 50 Minutes in the International Selection 
The Silence of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Almudena Carracedo, Esther …
film profile] - Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar (Spain) 

Film Under 50 Minutes in the International Selection 
Yesterday/Tomorrow - Raúl Riebenbauer (Spain)

Greek Film Over 50 Minutes
The Band - Nikos Aslanidis

Greek Film Under 50 Minutes
The Canaries - Giorgos Kivernitis (Greece)