History

First held in 1960 as a modest "Week of Greek Cinema", the Thessaloniki International Film Festival has become, 41 years later, an annual event focused on the discovery and promotion of new directors from all over the world; a true celebration of film.

For ten days in mid-November, audiences numbering approximately 70,000, as well as hundreds of Greek and foreign Festival guests, attend screenings of more than 150 films in the city's cinemas.

Newcomers in the competitive section meet veteran filmmakers whose work is celebrated through retrospectives and special screenings. All films are screened before the young, vital, cinema-loving Thessaloniki audience, while in the Festival's parallel events, such as concerts and art exhibitions, cinema is brought together with the other arts.

The Festival assumed its present dynamic, international character in 1992, under the direction of Michel Demopoulos, with the financial support of the Greek Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and other local institutions, and with the unanimous support of the city's population.

The international recognition enjoyed by the Festival is illustrated by the participation in its jury of celebrities such as Istvan Szabo, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Chantal Akerman, Ivan Passer, Goran Paskalijevic, Yoichiro Takahashi, Nikos Papatakis, Paul Leduc, Jerry Schatzberg, Georgi Chenguelaiia, Dariush Mehrjui, Elliot Stein, Pascal Bonitzer, Lino Micciche, David Thewlis, Aurore Clement, Maia Morgenstern, Dean Tavoularis, Adrienne Mancia, Beki Probst, Giuglielmo Biraghi, Eric Heumann, Jerzy Skolimowski and many others.