29/08/2005

The Greek-French actor B>Georges Corraface, 52, has been named president of the Salonika Film Festival , replacing Greek filmmaker, Pantélis Voulgaris, who resigned in May following a disagreement among the cinema professionals.
The actor, born in 1952 in Paris of a Greek family, takes control of a position held for more than ten years by the top dog of Greek cinema, Théo Angelopoulos, sacked on the conservatives arrival in power in March 2004 making way for Voulgaris.

Having studied at the National Conservatoire for the Dramatic Arts in Paris, then joining the company of director Peter Brook, who gave him a part in his film Mahabharata, Georges Corraface has performed in numerous international productions.
He became very popular in Greece in 2003 playing the principal character in the film Politki Kouzina, about the bitter-sweet memories of the coexistence of Greeks and Turks in Istanbul. This physical youthful actor also appeared in numerous French TV movies, among them the Blue bicycle, alongside Laetitia Casta.

The choice of this "well-known Greek, with a strong presence on the international cultural scene" is in line with the "development of the country’s cultural potential, the reinforcement Greek culture at home and abroad", the minister Culture Konstantinos Karamanlis stated in the press release announcing the nomination.
Voulgaris, resigned in the face of a backlash in Greek and international film circles over the sacking of the previous team led by, Théo Angélopoulos and the director of the festival, Michel Démopoulos, who made the event a success. A petition gathered almost 500 signatures among them Nanni Moretti, Abbas Kiarostami, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch and Costa-Gavras, as well as those of cinematech directors, Serge Toubiana, and from the Pompidou Centre, Dominique Paini.

(Translated from Italian)