Competition Sections
The 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival will present three international competition sections.
Feature Length International Competition
Participating documentaries of over 70 minutes in length. Among them, up to three Greek documentaries will have the opportunity to take part, and to compete for the “Golden Alexander” and the Special Jury Award. The “Golden Alexander” Award is accompanied by a cash prize of 5,000€.
Newcomers International Competition
Participating documentaries of over 50 minutes in length, that constitute the first or second films of emerging filmmakers. Among them, up to three Greek documentaries will have the opportunity to take part, and to compete for the “Golden Alexander Newcomers” and the Special Jury Award. The “Golden Alexander Newcomers” award is accompanied by a cash prize of 8,000€. The Special Jury Award is accompanied by a cash prize of 3,000€.
Film Forward International Competition
Participating documentaries of under 45 minutes in length that experiment with the concept of form, examining documentary filmmaking through a radical prism. Among them, up to two Greek documentaries will have the opportunity to take part, and to compete for the “Golden Alexander Film Forward” Award. The “Golden Alexander Film Forward” Award is accompanied by a cash prize of 3,000€.
The FIPRESCI Awards
The International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI, which comprises of distinguished professionals from the field of film criticism, will present two awards: one for the Best Documentary from the Feature Length International Competition and one for the best Greek film that participates in the international festival program.
“Human Values Award” of the Hellenic Parliament
The television station of the Hellenic Parliament (Hellenic Parliament TV) presents its “Human Values” award to a Newcomers International Competition section film.
Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation Awards (ERT)
Within the framework of the 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, ERT will present its first award, which is accompanied by a 3,000€ cash prize, to the Greek production that will win the FIPRESCI Award. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation will present the “ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum” Award, which is accompanied by a 2,000€ cash prize, to the best Greek project participating in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum, which will be selected by the Forum committee.
Greek Film Center Awards
In the framework of the 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the Greek Film Centre will award three prizes: A 3,000€ prize award to a documentary participating in the VR Competition, a 3,000€ prize award to a documentary participating in Agora Docs in Progress and a 3,000€ prize award to a debut documentary feature (min. 50 minutes) that premieres in the Greek Program.
Amnesty International Award
The Amnesty International Committee which comprises of experts within the field of human rights, will this year present its award to a documentary from the festival program with the hashtag #humanrights.
Fischer Audience Awards
Two Audience Awards for films over 50 minutes in length (one Greek and one foreign) and two Audience Awards for films under 50 minutes in length (one Greek and one foreign). All Greek films having their first public screening at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, either in the Official Selection (the International, Platform, or Screen to Screen programs), are all eligible for the Fischer Audience Αward for a Greek Film. All foreign films are eligible for the Fischer Audience Αward for a Foreign Film, except for those presented as part of the tributes.
Kids Audience Award
The «Kids Audience Award» will be presented to the film selected by the kids who will attend the Docs for Kids educational screenings.
Youth Jury Awards by the Students of the Thessaloniki Universities
The Youth Jury comprises of students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Macedonia and will be presenting the Best Film Award and the Special Jury Award. Eligible for these awards are the Greek films participating in the International Program.
The “Mermaid Award”
The Mermaid Award is an independent award presented by the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival to the best LGBTQI+ - themed film from the Festival’s official selection. The prize will be awarded to a documentary with the hashtag #LGBTQI+.
WIFT GR Award
The WIFT GR Award is presented by the Greek Chapter of WIFT (Women in Film & Television) to a woman filmmaker of a film selected from the official program of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Greek Association of Film Critics Award (PEKK)
The Greek Association of Film Critics (PEKK) awards the Best Greek Film that is screened in the official selection of the 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. The decision is made by the General Assembly of the members that have attended the Festival.
The Agora Awards
Agora Docs in Progress
Presented to documentaries, at the final stage before competition, from the Balkans and the Mediterranean, are:
- the 2|35 Award (post-production services)
- the MuSou Music Company Group Award (post-production services for sound or original composition)
- the Greek Film Centre Award of 3,000€ to a selected film
- free accreditation to the Visions du Réel Festival and a three-day accommodation to Nyon, Switzerland in April
- the Neaniko Plano Award (film subtitling services)
Thessaloniki Pitching Forum
The Thessaloniki Pitching Forum is the newly formed TDF co-production and co-financing platform for creative and television documentaries, as well as for new media (virtual and augmented reality) documentaries, that are heading towards film distribution, TV screenings and other forms of artistic exposition.
This year, the following awards will be presented:
- the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award (2,000€)
- the ERT - Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award granted to a Greek project (2,000€)
- the Mediterranean Institute of Cinema Award (MFI Script2Film Workshop), a Doc Lab Scholarship of 2,500€ and accommodation at Nisyros and Rhodes for the year 2020 to one of the selected projects
- the DAE – Documentary Association of Europe Award (counseling sessions and a free member subscription)
- the Aylon Productions Digital Services Award (digitalization of material by Aylon Productions)
- The Beldocs Award (accommodation and accreditation for the upcoming Beldocs International Documentary Festival).