Just past the festival midway point, forget the crowds, the articles, the critics' praise and flattery, and submerge yourself in the flickering cinema light. Don't be lost in the rush, but enjoy.

In Search of Equilibrium
What do you get when you combine a world-famous UK director, an Argentine critic, a pensive Turkish filmmaker, an up-and-coming Polish director, an actress from Belgrade, a Greek theater director and an outspoken Athenian writer? Heated arguments, according to the 42nd Thessaloniki Festival's jury. They cooled down enough to share the podium, addressing the press yesterday. The jury did not identify a trend in the competition films, but rather inquired: "What is film anyway?" Their intrepid leader, John Boorman, who apparently is playing the stabilising role, noted: "I am always looking for a vision, a film which has something to say and the skill with which to say it." He suggested making a film about festival juries, but more seriously said: "Though films are made with limited budgets, they shouldn't have limited ambitions." "Citizen Kane" after all, was a first film. A few of them noted they try to see the films as regular viewers, but have to check their reactions through a kind of "jury filter".

Crisis Management
The show goes on. Today's first competition film is "Stuff and Dough" (3.30pm) by director Cristi Puiu of Romania. In his film a man who wants to buy a kiosk is given a tempting offer by a mafioso. Then, at 10.30pm, is the European premiere of Christos Georgiou's "Under the Stars". The latter is about two Greek-Cypriots who voyage back to the Turkish side of the divided island.

Weighing the Odds
Early journalist birds had another nice surprise at the festival, newcomer Vangelis Seitanidis' assured first feature "Ghost of a Chance", the story of a medical student/professional gambler. The director and his crew spoke to the press about the simple, cleanly-shot film set almost entirely at the Loutraki casino, near Athens. "I won't do it again," Seitanidis said of his multiple roles: writing, casting, location (and "light") scouting, directing and co-producing. The script and pre-production took two years, and the making of the film another two years. "I'll find a screenwriter next time," the director noted, bravely adding: "I don't want to see the film again." The hardest part of the process were the eight days shooting at the 24-hour casino, where they had to be careful not to include real gamblers in shots. The music is made up of well-timed blares of Latin trumpets and a bit of Bob Dylan.

Towards a Lasting Peace
New Yorker John Gianvito is very proud of his competition film "The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein." While its release has not been widespread in the US due to its subject matter (the Persian Gulf War's aftermath), he is glad it has struck a chord among certain individuals. "I think," he said, "there is a hunger to see an alternative point of view, particularly since the events of September 11. People want to understand the deeper roots of the problem." He will take part in a project where different filmmakers make short films about the World Trade Center attacks.

Make Yourself at Home
Yesterday Nicosia-born Yannis Ioannou spoke to the press about his "...And the Train Goes to the Sky." In it a Greek and a Georgian boy meet in the USSR in 1937 and search for their "homeland". Unfortunately the film did not meet the criteria for "Greekness" , to participate in the State Quality Awards of Greece. In the end, the film was eliminated because the percentage of Greek dialogues was not high enough. "I guess silence doesn't count as Greek," the director noted. He added: "It's about time that we accepted that Russian and Turkish are also the languages of Hellenism". There is "good, serious and quiet work" being done in Cyprus' film industry Ioannou said.

Harmonious Language
It was risky, notes Stamatis Tsarouchas, but he decided to make a commissioned film. He made "Athanassios Christopoulos, A Forgotten Poet" for Kastoria. The straightforward, but interesting documentary traces the poet's path around Europe, his writing and many areas of expertise. Christopoulos is one of Greece's most influential, but least known and often misunderstood poets. The excerpts from his lyrical work praise wine and love, the Greek language and life. He passed away, unnoticed, in 1847.

Steal Another Reality
Antoinetta Angelidi, in preparing "Thief or Reality", worked individually with each actor (without group read-throughs). The film has strong references to ancient drama. Ultimately only a few takes were needed for each shot. One of the hardest parts of the shoot was the performance of an actress playing a blind woman, who had special lenses on, and truly couldn't see. The script was written mostly by correspondence - between Angelidi and then-university student Rea Walden.

Escape the Lowdown and Rotten Blues
The makers of excellent documentary "Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell On Me" were a bit down, after the film's lacklustre performance in Athens cinemas. The film's producers, from Ideefixe, noted that though it was shot on video "it wasn't as cheap as you'd think." Director Nikos Triandafyllidis added: "We don't mean to complain. We have to just make our own film and put our hope in digital cinema."

The Zen of Digital Technology
Directors intrigued -for financial or aesthetic reasons- by the digital video medium, would be wise to attend the "Digital Cinema and Creativity" panel discussion at the John Cassavetes theater today. Also in the digital realm is a new site launched by the Northern Union of Greek Filmmakers, www.theatis.gr, featuring their new magasine (in Greek).

Meeting of the Minds
Get acquainted with the Argentinos behind the films. Today (Thursday) at 12.30pm, six directors and cast/crew members from Argentina will hold a panel discussion about what's happening in their country's cinema. Get a quick taste beforehand with the 11am screening of three Argentine shorts. Meanwhile, one of Greece's most popular actor/directors, comedian Lakis Lazopoulos, speaks to the press today about his film "My Best Friend" (2.10pm). Other Greek films discussed today include "My Sweet Home", "Under the Stars", "Full Pink Ahead" and "Tomorrow is Another Day". The Greek Director's Union is holding their annual discussion at 3.10pm. Hopefully there will be a bit of fresh air in this annual conversation.

Quote/unquote:
"You could get pregnant just by looking at him." - Concert organiser Dimitra Manzouka on the star of Greek documentary "Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me"

Angelike Contis
First shot, #99, 15/11/2000