Special Screening: Giorgos Karipidis – In Memoriam (1946–2019)

Special Screening: Theofilos, The Painter

@Pavlos Zannas

The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival honors the memory of the recently deceased filmmaker with a special screening of a rarely seen short that won the First Prize and the Greek Film Critics Award at the Thessaloniki Festival in 1979. Giorgos Karipidis was born in Thessaloniki in 1946.

Always a restless spirit, after graduating from high-school, he went on to study painting at the Academy of Arts in Amsterdam and filmmaking at the Netherland’s Film Academy. His iconic film Last Station Kreuzberg, shot in Berlin, won second prize for short film in the 1975 Thessaloniki Film Festival. Politically active, a culturally and socially engaged artist, Karipidis also spent time writing articles and short stories for newspapers and magazines. He served as president of the Greek Directors’ Guild (1988–1990). He was among the planners of “Anti-war Cinema Week” (2003), the publishers of the magazine Zero for Conduct and the producers of the anthology film @thens Blogs. Giorgos Karipidis shined not only as an artist, but also as a good-natured and upstanding personality. His close ones speak of a man who lived his life in accordance with his values. A dreamer with an uncompromising sense of justice, a modest and kind person, empathetic towards others, especially those facing social injustice.

Theofilos, the Painter
Giorgos Karipidis
Greece 1979, Color 51΄

A documentary on the life and work of Theofilos, the most famous Greek naif painter.