A is for Almodovar.
The Pedro Almodovar Retrospective continues. Fans who had a taste of the director's zesty perspective on teetering heels and nervous breakdowns can see his new "All About My Mother" this afternoon. The film is about a woman who loses her teenage son in a freak accident and embarks on a journey to find his father. The story moves audiences from the director's beloved Madrid to Barcelona, and unwinds in an inverse puzzle. The intriguing film as close to "subtle" and "mellow" as anything the flashy director with a penchant for melodrama can get. The festival awaits star Marisa Paredes on Wednesday.

B is for the Balkans.
Born in Belgrade and trained in Prague, Srdjian Karonovic has shifted from comedies to historical dramas to modern tragedies in his seven feature films. But despite the different tone of each story, Karonovic's protagonists are always caged-in personalities seeking release. Today's film in an ongoing tribute to the director (and international jury member) is called "Petria's Wreath." It shows a woman's thirty-year struggle through life's hardships and love's disappointments.

C is for Co-productions.
Making innovative cinema often requires convincing colleagues in other countries of one's vision. Five of the seven New Horizons films on today's program required collaboration across borders. Some of the more interesting co- productions were those between Austria, Germany, Russia and France for the imaginative, tender "Luna Papa" (narrated, incidentally, by a fetus in Central Asia), and a collaboration between Italy and China for "Seventeen Years" (a tale of unhealthy stepsibling rivalry).

D is for Drama.
In Greece, short films are a big deal, with not just newcomers involved, but frequently, established industry professionals as well. At 5pm sharp four award- winning shorts from this year's Drama Short Film Festival will be shown at the Olympion II. Cuban dance forms, Greek-San Franciscans, cafe ennui, and romantic reading feature large in, respectively, "The Car is Fine (Best Student Film Award)," "Americanos (Second Best Fiction Award)," "One More Step (Best Fiction Award)," and "Continuity of Parks (Best Overall Award)."

E is for Europa Cinema Awards.
This year, the Thessaloniki festival will host one of the most dynamic organizations promoting European film. The Europa Cinemas network was created in 1992, within the framework of the European Union's MEDIA program, to promote the distribution of European films. Today, the organization encompasses 831 screens throughout Europe. The second ever Europa Cinema Award of 10,000 Euros will be awarded at the festival to one of the following films: Pizza King, Qui Plume La Lune, Garage Olympo, Human Resources, Human Traffic, Following, Nordrand, The War Zone, and Paths in the Night.

F is for Film Music.
As part of last night's opening ceremony, the Nino Rotta music ensemble filled the Olympion theater with music from "La Strada", "Dolce Vita", "8 1/2" and "Camiria Nights". The ensemble, named after gifted Italian composer and Fedrico Fellini-collaborator, Nino Rotta, warmed audiences up for a week of films and festivities, such as the Opening Reception at Warehouse C, in the handy new Provlita complex.

G is for Garrel, Gedeon, Georgiadis, Guerra, Gitai, Goncalves and Gramatikos.
A few introductions ("there will be a test later"). Philippe Garrel is the French director whose "Le Vent de la Nuit", starring Catherine Deneuve (as a woman who takes on a young art student lover) makes its Greek debut tonight, in the presence of the awesome actress herself. Sasa Gedeon, from the Czech Republic, starts the international competition this afternoon, with the screening of his quietly hilarious "Return of the Idiot". Vassilis Georgiadis is the creator behind "The Seventh Day of Creation," who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Don't miss the screening of his 1966 neorealism-influenced film today at 12:30. "Screenwriter-confessor" is how the festival likes to think of Tonino Geurra, a man it is honouring for his work in leading some of the century's finest auteur directors into shaping the screenplays to match their visions. Three films in a row starting at 5pm, show the result of Guerra's collaboration with Fellini, Rosi and Antonioni. Vitor Goncalves is one of the new generation of Portuguese filmmakers (as well as an instructor at the country's Escola Superior de Cinema). His 1986 "A Girl in Summer" is about the sexual awakening of young Isabelle. Finally, Grammatikos is a name that some Thessaloniki students can't forget from back in 1996, when his film "Apontes" (about a group of friends on the track to "selling out") was shown to packed, appreciative audiences at the festival. Reversing the direction of the usual documentary-to-feature film path of most Greek directors, Grammatikos returns to Thessaloniki with a documentary. The director shows off his sensitivity and sense of humour both in "Nightflowers," a story about a straight-talking boy named Manolis, who was born blind, and has to learn things as tough as navigating his way independently over Athens sidewalks.

H is for Handy Info.
Journalist types out there: your press badge gives you access to ALL screenings and events of the International Thessaloniki Film Festival. Admittance to Press Screenings at Cine Provlita 1,2 and A is free upon flashing the nice person at the door your Press badge. Though the Press has priority, Guest badges may also give access to Press screenings (except for evening Press screenings at the Cine Provlita A, which are STRICTLY for the Press). Tickets, to be obtained in advance, may be needed to have access to all other screenings. Though you don't necessarily have to obtain a ticket in advance for the screenings you wish to attend, we would suggest you do so, if you wish to have a seat 100% secured for those particular screenings. Tickets can be collected from the ticket counters at Olympion and at the Warehouses 1 and D at the Pier (Provlita). Counters are open from 10.30am to 11pm. Up to six tickets a day can be booked. Tickets up to two consecutive days can be collected at the same time. It is not possible to collect tickets for other festival guests.

Z is for Zannas.
In a nod to its roots, the festival is honouring Pavlos Zannas, one of the festival's founders, today, by renaming the Olympion II screening theatre after him at 6pm. It was with Zannas' foresight that what began as the film section of Thessaloniki's post- war "Texni" cultural organization in the early 1950s developed into a cinema club, and finally, a film festival in 1960. In September of that year, Zannas and his cinema-loving colleagues organized "a Week of Greek Film".

Angelike Contis
First shot, #56, 13/11/1999