The International Thessaloniki Film Festival
Announces Selections
for Upcoming 38th Festival November 21-30, 1997
Line-Up Includes Zoran Solomun's "Tired Companions," Lee Chang-Dong's
"Green Fish," and Abbas Kiarostami's "Taste of Cherries"
The International Thessaloniki Film Festival has announced four of the 13
films that will comprise this year's International Competition. The
selection covers a wide range of first or second features by emerging
directors. The slate so far includes: Tired Companions by Zoran Solomun
(Germany), Twentyfour Seven by Shane Meadows (UK), Knut Erik Jensen's Burnt
By Frost (Norway) and Lee Chang-Dong's Green Fish (Korea).
Also included in the titles announced are three films in the popular New
Horizons section, programmed by Dimitri Eipides: Taste of Cherries by Abbas
Kiarostami (Iran), Janos Szasz's The Witman Boys (Hungary), and Takeshi
Kitano's Hana-Bi (Japan). New Horizons continues its 3X3 spotlight again
this year (3 films by 3 directors) -- set to take part in the program is
well-known U.S. documentary filmmaker Errol Morris.
Since 1994, the International Thessaloniki Film Festival also has served as
a gathering point for filmmakers from the Balkans through the annual Balkan
Survey. After overcoming nearly insurmountable odds to produce films in
countries like Albania, Bosnia and Bulgaria, filmmakers have the
opportunity to bring their work to Thessaloniki and present it to large
audiences. This year, a special subsection to Balkan Survey will be
presented -- The Balkans: Times of Turmoil will focus on the conflict in
the former Yugoslavia and neighboring countries. The line-up includes
Calling the Ghosts by Mandy Jacobson and Karmen Jelincic (USA/Croatia),
Nikolaus Geyrhalter's The Year After Dayton (Austria), and Ademir Kenovic's
The Perfect Circle (Bosnia/France).
This year the festival is very proud to present a retrospective of renowned
French director Claude Chabrol. Twenty-five films will be offered,
including Chabrol's latest production, Rien Na Va Plus, which opens the
Festival on Friday, November 21 (the film, Chabrol's 50th, won both the
Golden Shell and Best Director awards at the recent San Sebastian Film
Festival). This program will be the largest retrospective of Chabrol's
films ever mounted, starting with Chabrol's first, Le Beau Serge (1957-58)
and covering the whole spectrum through Rien Na Va Plus. In addition, a
book of essays on Chabrol and his films will be published to coincide with
the retrospective.
Another exciting offering this year will be the tribute to Mexican master
Arturo Ripstein, widely considered to be the most important and innovative
Mexican director. Ripstein's reputation as the leading figure of Mexican
film has taken off in recent years in Europe. Starting in 1965 with his
first film, Tiempo De Morir, Ripstein has made more than 20 feature films.
Of those films, 12 will be screened in Thessaloniki -- the largest
screening of Ripstein's films in Europe to date, including El Castillo De
La Pureza (1972), El Imperio De La Fortuna (1985), La Mujer Del Puerto
(1991), and Lecumberri, El Palacio Negro (1976), which has never-before
been shown outside of Mexico. The tribute is being organized in
collaboration with the Festival International Cinema Giovani of Torino.
As previously announced, additional spotlights will focus on selected works
by Portugal's Manoel de Oliveira and Russia's Alexander Sokurov.
Since its inception 38 years ago as a "Week of Greek Cinema," the
Thessaloniki Festival has had a Greek Competition section. Greek cinema has
been reinvigorated in recent years, with a number of local films faring
very well at the local box office. There already is a buzz about many of
the approximately 13 films selected for the Greek section -- films that
break new ground for Greek cinema. This year, the Festival's Greek section
will include a tribute to legendary Greek actress Irene Papas - known
worldwide for her roles in director Michael Cacoyannis' screen adaptions of
ancient Greek tragedies.
Most significantly, on Friday, October 3, the newly renovated Olympion
Cinema center was inaugurated -- the center now serves as the Festival's
home in Thessaloniki. A 10-day retrospective of Federico Fellini - Tutto
Fellini - is the first program to kick off the new state-of-the-art
theatres in the center . Two theatres seat 700 and 200 people,
respectively. The Fellini retrospective travels to Athens' Pallas Theatre
between October 13 and 21.
