Marco Bellocchio, Lou Castel

The Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio is a special guest of this year's festival. The festival will present a comprehensive retrospective of all of Bellocchio's filmography, 28 in total, including short, feature and documentary films. Marco Bellocchio is also the President of the International Jury that will judge the films of the international competition.

The International Thessaloniki Film Festival is also proud to have as its guest Lou Castel, the star of many of Bellocchio's films.

Born in Columbia in 1943, Lou Castel made his film debut in 1963 as an extra in the Luchina Visconti film "O Gatopardos". His first substantial role was in Bellocchio's "Fists in the Pockets", the film that also established the director as a significant new voice in Italian cinema.

Lou Castel has starred in over 80 films for the big and small screen. His career can only be desribed as unconventional and expansive as he accepted roles on the basis of artistic merit and not commercial advantage.