Creamy Bechamelle Sauce.
Panos Koutras spent many hours in his editing kitchen in Maroussi, Athens, perfecting the recipe for one of the campiest Greek films ever --"The Attack of the Giant Moussaka". Yesterday the director described the process of creating the film about a mega-Moussaka (inhabited by an alien) as a cathartic experience. He noted that the film served as a kind of "garbage can" that he filled with parts of himself he didn't want. Star Themis Bazaka, who plays a journalist in the media-spoofing film may be best known for dramatic roles, such as the heroine of Pantelis Voulgaris' "The Stone Years," but she chose to do the project out of a craving for well-written comedy.

Champagne and caviar.
Catherine Deneuve spoke to the press yesterday about everything from what it was like to be a woman in the film business, to her impressions of Theo Angelopoulos' films. While the press tried to find a chink in Ms. Deneuve's ever-articulate and clear-headed perspective on her work and life, the actress gave us level responses. On the fear of growing older, as an actress? "Any woman who says she isn't concerned about looking old isn't saying the truth… Because cinema is a visual art, aging is something that is not always easy to deal with… however since I've always had such good company -children, family- I'm not so worried." On "the perfect" project: "I don't know, because I don't see films as a kind of competition. I'm not a person with a 'sportsman-like' spirit." On her new Lars Von Trier film "Dancer in the Dark", a project so technologically-innovative that sometimes 100 video cameras were employed in the shooting: "New technology liberates actors from too many lights and crew members, placing them in an environment that makes them feel freer. But they have to know how to use that freedom." On why she is not in Hollywood: "There aren't many good roles in America for European actresses." On Las Vegas: "I was very surprised when I got to my hotel, very tired, drew the curtains and saw a replica of the Eiffel Tower just outside." On Thessaloniki: "There are a lot of people outdoors, lots of bars, cafes, people living with the warmth and pace of a Southern country." On being a woman in the "male dominated" film industry: "I've worked since I was very young with men and women. But because I experienced success from a young age, this changed the equilibrium of things." On the films of Theo Angelopoulos: "I think he is a great director. I sometimes have a problem with the length of his films, but I like them, as well as the director's personal vision."

Roast rabbit.
Ambiguity was what Czech director Sasa Gedeon told Thessaloniki he wanted to cultivate in his "The Return of the Idiot." Some of the best scenes of the international competition film feature "normal" characters around the kitchen table fighting to preserve outside appearances, while the returned "idiot" threatens to reveal the truth. Marco Bechis' "Garage Olimpo", another of the 14 films in the international competition, is also about a war of nerves. The film shows neighbours on opposite sides of the political divide during Argentina's military dictatorship.

A couple of soda pops for the boys.
"Are you a Romeo or a fundamentalist?" a boy asks his dreamy friend in the no-frills international competition film "Closed Doors." The film by Alef Hetata focuses on small details inside Egypt during the 1991 Persian Gulf war.

Flavourful tea.
The star of "Luna Papa" by Bakhtar Khudojnazarov, Chulpan Khamatova, has brought the boundless energy and expression that she exhibits in the vibrantly landscaped film to Thessaloniki. In the film, Khamatova plays an actress whose unusual nuclear family is shunned by her small community when she becomes pregnant. At her press conference yesterday the actress noted that the film's unusual tone --part hyper-real and part fantasy-- was inspired by artwork such as Chagall paintings.

Some fresh milk for the gentleman with the cell phone.
Audiences who didn't get a chance to see Abbas Kiorostami's "The Wind Will Carry Us" over the weekend, will not see it today also. You will be carried away by the wind on Friday 19/11 at 22.30 at the OLYMPION II theatre. In its place, you can watch "Fiona", by Amos Kollek. Kiarostami's film is about a man who finds himself in a remote village, with a cell phone that only works from the top of a hill, manages to both be tactile and direct, while preserving a strong sense of mystery and philosophical contemplation. "The Color of the Sky" is another Iranian film, about a blind child and his family, in today's program.

Sugar and spice.
"It's the year of the woman in Thessaloniki" according to New Horizons' director Dimitris Eipides. The festival spotlights the diverse talents of US indie director Allison Anders, Canada's Lea Pool and Hungary's Ildikü Enyedi this year. Eipides noted that all three women's work fits very much into New Horizons' mission to challenge its audiences. Despite all three directors' success, they still retain unique visions and a concern with issues that may sometimes get "ugly", but matter.

Chilled Gaspacho.
Can you think of anything more refreshing than being immersed in Pedro Almodovar's 1987 superhit "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" again?

War rations.
Last year the producers of "An Unexpected Walk" mentioned a young French director who collaborated with them in making their film about life within the eye of the storm of fighting in Sarajevo at the beginning of the decade. This year their friend Francois Lunel presents another tale about artists trying to find refuge from the madness of war in their home of Sarajevo with his film "Heroes". "Heroes" shows one couple's reaction to the Serbian invasion of their city and the husband's recruitment in the Bosnian army.

A taste for sushi.
Back in the late 1970s, Portuguese Paoulo Rocha started work on "The Island of Love," the story of the writer Wenceslau de Moraes, who left home for the Far East… and never returned. A most unusual life is documented in the film screening tonight at 10:30pm. De Moraes was born in the middle of the 19th century in Lisbon, but fell in love with the Far East, marrying and abandoning a Chinese wife, before establishing himself in Japan and achieving fame back home.

Israeli cuisine.
"Devarim", the first part of the trilogy of films by Amos Gitai showing at the festival, is set in Tel Aviv. Showing tonight at 8, the film (about a photographer seeking immediate gratification, and his more long-term-preoccupied roommate) shows director Gitai's concern with ancient and modern elements of Israeli life.

Quote/unquote:
"I don't show films that are sensationalistic, that have only a shock effect. I want just the opposite. I want people to leave the theatre enlightened, having had a positive experience." Dimitris Eipides, programmer of the festival's New Horizons section.

Angelike Contis
First shot, #58, 15/11/1999