13/11/2006

A record number of 300 plus films have been programmed throughout over a dozen sections of the 47th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (November 17-26), which will kick off with Stephen Frears’ critically acclaimed The Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andy Harries
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] and close with Alain Resnais’ Venice winner, Private Fears in Public Places [+see also:
trailer
film profile], following the awards gala.

The jam-packed festival – whose particular focus this year is on the digital wave of Greek filmmakers (a competition section with a €15,000 prize), the Balkans (through its Balkan Survey) and Wim Wenders (with a complete retrospective, masterclass, photo exhibit and Golden Alexander Career Award) – features an official programme of 14 first and second films by emerging directors, including Markus Herling’s German title Schoner leben (Riding Up Front) and Roz (Pink) by Greek filmmaker Alexandros Voulgaris.

There will also be four out-of competition titles and a series of Special Screenings made up of some of the most lauded films from this year’s international festival circuit.

Further sections include the competitive Independence Days 06 (which carries a €15,000 prize), Greek Films (with the latest in feature, documentary and short film production), New Cinema From China (with a special tribute to Chen Kaige, who will receive a Golden Career Alexander), Homage to Brazilian Cinema, a highlight on legendary Russian film studio Mosfilm, Greek Screenwriters Spotlight, Award-Winning Short Films, Someone To Watch (featuring rising Austrian director Valeska Grisebach), and a Children’s Screening of the European co-production The Ugly Duckling and Me by Michael Hegner.

Tributes to numerous directors include European filmmakers (and local hero) Costa Gavras, who will also hold a masterclass on November 20; Nuri Bilge Ceylan, whose films will be accompanied by an exhibit of his photographs of his native Turkey; and the Czech Republic’s Jan Svankmajer, who will receive a Golden Alexander for his career and contribution to the art of filmmaking.

The festival is also screening the world premiere of London-based visual artist Eve Sussman’s new work, The Rape of the Sabine Women, and French actress Emanuelle Beart will be onhand to present her latest film, A Crime (Un Crime) by Manuel Pradal.

International Competition films:

Drama/Mex, Gerardo Naranjo Gonzalez, Mexico, 2006
Day Night Day Night, Julia Loktev, USA/Germany/France, 2006
Bled Number One (Back Home), Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche, France/Algeria, 2005
Gajokeui tansaeng (Family Ties), Tae-yong Kim, Korea, 2006
Schoner leben (Riding Up Front), Markus Herling, Germany, 2006
The Point, Joshua Dorsey, Canada, 2006
Z odzysku (Retrieval), Slawomir Fabicki, Poland, 2006
Blodbond (Thicker Than Water), Arni Olafur Asgeirsson, Iceland/Denmark/Germany, 2006
Guang Rong De Fen Nu (Trouble Makers), Cao Baoping, China, 2006
O Ceu de Suely (Suely in the Sky), Karim Ainouz, Brazil/Germany/France/Portugal, 2006
Roma wa la n'touma (Rome Rather Than You), Tariq Teguia, Algeria/Germany/France, 2006
Asr e-Jome (On a Friday Afternoon), Mona Zandi Haghighi, Iran, 2006
Roz (Pink), Alexandros Voulgaris, Greece, 2006
I psyhi sto stoma (Soul Kicking), Yannis Economidis, Greece, 2006

Out-of-Competition films:

Montag kommen die Fenster (Windows on Monday), Ulrich Kohler, Germany, 2006
Kythera, Peter Meszaros, Hungary, 2006
Khadak, Peter Bosens, Jessica Woodworth, Belgium/Germany/Netherlands, 2006
Mon Colonel (The Colonel), Laurent Herbiet, France/Belgium/Algeria, 2006