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40th INTERNATIONAL THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER 12-21
VENTURA PONS (AMIC/AMAC)
OLGA MALEA (THE MATING GAME)
VASILIS VAFEAS (EVERY SATURDAY)
The 40th Thessaloniki Film Festival began its press conference program with an extremely interesting conversation concerning national cinematographies and the ability of expression of directors that use lesser-spoken languages.
The Catalan director Ventura Pons, who is participating in the New Horizons' program with his film, (Amic/Amat), reported that, without any disposition of nationalism, he demands the right to express himself liberally, that is, in the Catalan language, which is spoken by fourteen million people; the largest, as he stated, national group in Europe without a country of their own.
Olga Malea described festivals as an "alternative distribution circuit", as they provide a stimulated audience to films that simply cannot hold up for a week in cinema theaters. The director also noted that festivals offer a chance for anyone to see the "secret links" connecting films, which speak different languages, are derived from different cultures, yet share the same concerns.
"Festivals act as catacombs, were Christians work so they can exit from them one day", said Vasilis Vafeas. He noted the need for a new system of distribution, one which will give the chance to audiences to watch a film that has been introduced to theatres even two years ago, or some other foreign film like the one by VENTURA PONTS.
The huge success of "SAFE SEX" was also part of the conversation and was critiqued by the two directors, as an eminently optimistic message of the audience's return to cinema theaters where Greek films are shown.
As far as the fact that, in recent years comedies are the main attraction for audiences, (e.g. "Valkanizater", and "The cow's orgasm", etc.) and the possibility that this might constitute a "formula", Olga Malea characteristically claimed, "with comedies, people will go to the movie theaters, and then other things will happen".
Official Sponsors of the 40th International Thessaloniki Film Festival are:
ERT, TOYOTA YARIS, EOT
Dewars Audience Award
OLYMPION TSANTALIS
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