In 1995, when the Thessaloniki International Film Festival inaugurated the BALKAN SURVEY section, the projected films which were produced in countries of this region in turmoil and severe strain, were considered to be small "miracles". Regardless of the shattered environment, war, blood and pain, some neighboring countries succeeded in producing films, an Art that is most difficult and financially dependent, in a desperate and utmost effort of survival and dialogue.

These "miracles" have now reached maturity. Films from the Balkan region are not just samples of Resistance and Expression, in places ravaged by war and destruction. They have succeeded in widening their thematic, their cinematographic writing and their subjects.

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