It has been ten years since "New Horizons" first appeared on the Greek scene of film events. On this, our tenth anniversary, we would like to take a look at the past; to examine the pathways that have since been opened in the fields of film and culture; and, finally, to trace the even newer horizons of our future work.

Ten years of "New Horizons" translate into screenings of a total of 462 films, hundreds of foreign guests and thousands of filmgoers. Ten years of "New Horizons" means a ceaseless contact with the Thessaloniki audience which, being mostly young and thus more open to our progressive and, often, courageous offerings, brings life to our work and gives it a reason for being. I, therefore, owe the greatest thanks of this tenth anniversary edition of "New Horizons" to its viewers.

Looking at this year's "New Horizons" program, one sees that it constitutes the essence of our ten-year-long effort. In other words, films by old acquaintances, who are now distinguished filmmakers, can be found side-by-side with young and often unknown directors, whom we hope, nonetheless, to come across again in the future. Thus, the wrenching portrait of a sexually repressed woman in The Piano Teacher may come to us bearing the signature of Michael Haneke -who was first presented by "New Horizons" in 1994- and accompanied by a slew of prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, but it will be found next to Ulrich Seidel's provocative Dog Days, winner of the Grand Special Prize at this year's Venice Film Festival, and Michiel van Jaarsveld's iconoclastic Adrift, both of which treat sensitive topics with maturity and insight. Equally, Mohsen Makhmalbaf's timely and prophetic Kandahar touches upon the subject of the violation of human rights in modern-day Afghanistan, in a way that approaches the outer limits of magic realism, while the award-winning film Hi, Tereska, by Robert Glinski, draws upon the documentary style in its treatment of crucial social issues.

The tributes to Independent American, German and New French cinema are on the same wavelength. Thus, the controversial Bully, by the multi-talented Larry Clark, takes the subject of his last feature, Kids, one step further, in an in-depth analysis of the problems facing youth today. At the same time, the smaller tributes to German and French cinema, giving a foretaste of the many different forms and developments of European cinema, feature the latest films by, among others, Catherine Breillat and Claire Denis.

In addition, this year sees the return of our 3x3 section, which will be presenting to the Thessaloniki public the work of three directors with very different artistic and cultural backgrounds, and yet with a common vision in the art of film: Stanley Kwan from Hong Kong, Jian Hrebejk from the Czech Republic, and Rakhshan Bani Etemad from Iran. Finally, the children in our audiences will be able to enjoy Atlantis: The Lost Continent and our regular children's party, while those slightly older will have the opportunity to experience somewhat more complex forms of entertainment through our nighttime program.