The debut feature by Mexican film director-screenwriter-editor Fernanda Valadez, Identifying Features [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], has won the “Theo Angelopoulos” Golden Alexander for Best Feature Film at the 61^st Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which ran from 5-15 November entirely online and attracted more than 80,000 viewers and film-industry professionals.

The international jury, comprising Macedonian writer-director Teona Strugar Mitevska, director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Vanja Kaludjerčić, Greek director Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, Iranian actress Melika Foroutan, and Icelandic sound designer and mixer Björn Viktorsson, handed the €15,000 prize to the Mexican-Spanish road movie, as they were “impressed by the directorial approach to the cinematic form, a form that never overpasses the natural flow of the story, but constantly elevates it to a higher and deeper stance and proposition”.

The second award, the Special Jury Award - Silver Alexander, valued at €8,000, was bestowed upon Digger [+lee también:
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entrevista: Georgis Grigorakis
ficha de la película], the debut feature by Greek writer-director Georgis Grigorakis, as “with cinematic force, it enters the woods and nature, to dig into a transforming rural community of people, so local and yet so universal”. The film also received the Greek Film Centre (GFC) Best Greek Debut Award, the JF Costopoulos Foundation Award, the Best Feature Film Award from the Youth Jury as well as the Audience Award.

Furthermore, the Bronze Alexander for Best Director went to Anders Ølholm and Frederik Louis Hviid for their debut, Shorta [+lee también:
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entrevista: Anders Ølholm y Frederik L…
ficha de la película]. In the jury’s words: “By unravelling excessive police brutality, social unrest and systemic racism, the directors cleverly confront us with fiery topical issues of stigma and hatred in our society.” The Danish crime-drama also received the FIPRESCI Award for the International Competition.

Joanna Scanlan snagged the Best Actress Award for her performance in Aleem Khan’s After Love [+lee también:
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entrevista: Aleem Khan
ficha de la película], in which she positions her character “away from the usual stereotypes and graces her with a remarkable dignity that requires true contemplation and mastery of her art”. Greek thesp Aris Servetalis was recognised with the Best Actor Award for his “quiet and subtle, yet powerful and memorable performance, while his expressive face, his intelligent sense of humour and the full control he has over his body give us a tragically funny impersonation of a man supposedly suffering from amnesia”, in Christos Nikou’s debut, Apples [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christos Nikou
ficha de la película]. Finally, Philippe Lacôte received the Best Artistic Achievement Award for Night of the Kings [+lee también:
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entrevista: Philippe Lacôte
ficha de la película], thanks to the fact that its “carefully choreographed scenes are masterfully filmed with radiance and freshness, increasing our emotional charge”.

In the Meet the Neighbors competition, 200 Meters [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ameen Nayfeh
ficha de la película], the first work by Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh, received the section’s Golden Alexander and the Bronze Alexander for Best Director. The Special Jury Award went to the topical Should the Wind Drop [+lee también:
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entrevista: Nora Martirosyan
ficha de la película] by Armenian first-time filmmaker Nora Martirosyan. Also, Luxor [+lee también:
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entrevista: Zeina Durra
ficha de la película] by Zeina Durra and Spiral [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Cecília Felméri both received the Special Jury Award.

The Best Location Award from the Hellenic Film Commission went to Vassilis Dinopoulos, location manager for Janis Rafa’s feature debut, Kala azar [+lee también:
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entrevista: Janis Rafa
ficha de la película], who selected “locations of rich narrative power, capable of implying their own, rough stories”. As for the film critics’ awards, FIPRESCI picked Tailor [+lee también:
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entrevista: Sonia Liza Kenterman
ficha de la película] by Sonia Liza Kenterman as the Best Film in the Greek Film Festival, and it also received the Special Youth Jury Award. Finally, Ghosts [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by first-time Turkish writer-director Azra Deniz Okyay received the Human Values Award from the Hellenic Parliament and the WIFT Award.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 61^st Thessaloniki International Film Festival:

International Competition

Best Feature Film Award - “Theo Angelopoulos” Golden Alexander
Identifying Features [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] - Fernanda Valadez (Mexico/Spain)

Special Jury Award - Silver Alexander
Digger [+lee también:
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entrevista: Georgis Grigorakis
ficha de la película] - Georgis Grigorakis (Greece/France)

Special Jury Award for Best Director - Bronze Alexander
Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid - Shorta [+lee también:
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entrevista: Anders Ølholm y Frederik L…
ficha de la película] (Denmark)

Best Actress Award
Joanna Scanlan - After Love [+lee también:
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entrevista: Aleem Khan
ficha de la película] (UK)

Best Actor Award
Aris Servetalis - Apples [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christos Nikou
ficha de la película] (Greece/Poland/Slovenia)

Best Artistic Achievement Award
Philippe Lacôte - Night of the Kings [+lee también:
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entrevista: Philippe Lacôte
ficha de la película] (France/Ivory Coast/Canada/Senegal)

Meet the Neighbors

Best Feature Film Award - Golden Alexander
200 Meters [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ameen Nayfeh
ficha de la película] - Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine/Jordan/Italy/Qatar/Sweden)

Special Jury Award - Silver Alexander
Should the Wind Drop [+lee también:
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entrevista: Nora Martirosyan
ficha de la película] - Nora Martirosyan (France/Belgium/Armenia)

Special Jury Award for Best Director - Bronze Alexander
Ameen Nayfeh - 200 Meters

Special Jury Award (ex aequo)
Luxor [+lee también:
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entrevista: Zeina Durra
ficha de la película] - Zeina Durra (UK/Egypt/UAE)
Spiral [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] - Cecília Felméri (Hungary)

Other awards

Greek Film Centre Award for Best Greek Debut
Digger - Georgis Grigorakis

Hellenic Film Commission Best Location Award
Vassilis Dinopoulos - Kala azar [+lee también:
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entrevista: Janis Rafa
ficha de la película] (Netherlands/Greece)

Human Values Award
Ghosts [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] - Azra Deniz Okyay (Turkey/France/Qatar)

J F Costopoulos Foundation Award
Digger - Georgis Grigorakis

Mermaid Award
Days - Tsai Ming-Liang (Taiwan)

FIPRESCI awards

Best Film in the International Competition
Shorta - Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid

Best Film in the Greek Film Festival
Tailor [+lee también:
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entrevista: Sonia Liza Kenterman
ficha de la película] - Sonia Liza Kenterman (Greece/Germany/Belgium)

WIFT Award
Ghosts - Azra Deniz Okyay

Youth jury awards

Best Feature Film Award
Digger - Georgis Grigorakis

Special Youth Jury Award
Tailor - Sonia Liza Kenterman

Fischer Audience Awards

International Competition Award
Digger - Georgis Grigorakis

Greek Film Festival – Michael Cacoyannis Award
Vasy’s Odyssey - Vasilis Papatheocharis (Spain)

Meet the Neighbors/Balkan Survey Award
Daniel ’16 [+lee también:
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Open Horizons Award
My Tender Matador - Rodrigo Sepúlveda (Chile/Argentina/Mexico)