TIFF CREATES THE MICHAEL CACOYANNIS AWARD
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival, wishing to honor the memory of celebrated director Michael Cacoyannis who passed away early last week, institutes the Michael Cacoyannis Award.
The award will be presented to a feature-length Greek film and will be given for the first time during the upcoming 52nd TIFF (November 4-13). It is a symbolic token of appreciation for an artist who paved the way for Greek filmmakers and Greek cinema, thus providing access to the global cinema industry, inspired many generations of filmmakers and left behind an exceptional body of work.
Michael Cacoyannis, the Thessaloniki Film Festival and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival were inseparably linked from his early career as a filmmaker; he won numerous awards over the years, from 1962 for Electra until 1999 for the Cherry Orchard. The director supported the Festival not only by screening his most recent works, but also by participating as an audience member and an honoured guest. The TIFF organized a retrospective of his work in 1995 during its 36th edition and awarded him with a Golden Alexander for the body of his work. The retrospective was accompanied by a special publication that is currently considered as one of the seminal books about Cacoyiannis’ career.
The Festival wishes that this award will provide an additional motive for creative Greek filmmakers, assisting in this manner their forays into international cinema.