With a series of strategic actions and programmes, as well as the participation in specialized networking initiatives with the aim of offering a boost to the Greek cinema community and the producers-filmmakers from Greece, the Thessaloniki Film Festival, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, is getting ready for a dynamic presence at the Cannes Festival (May 13-24, 2025).
Producers from Greece to Cannes Docs
The Thessaloniki Film Festival is presenting this year four producers from Greece at the prestigious programme Cannes Docs, at Cannes Festival’s Marché du Film, the biggest film market in the world. Since 2018, the Festival has embarked on an intensive effort for the promotion of Greek cinema at Cannes, foregrounding filmmakers and projects to audiovisual professionals from all over the world.
This year, the producers who had taken part at the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival’s Agora Docs in Progress, will present their work within the context of a special event held on May 18th 2025, to a wide range of professionals, with the goal of securing co-productions, international sales and a festival premiere. Greece is among the four guest delegations of this year’s Cannes Docs. The participation at Cannes Docs, targeted at tomorrow’s documentaries, is supported by the Recovery Fund within the framework of the integrated work “SUB 6.3 - Extroversion of the Market of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.”
This year’s Cannes Docs participants are:
Yuri Averof (Anemon Productions) with the project Home Court by Elpida Nikou and Rodrigo Hernandez, Maria Drandaki (Homemade Films) with the project Future Tenses by Christos Karakepelis, Leonidas Liambeys (Long Run Productions) with the project Six Letters for A River by Markos Holevas and Yorgos Tsourgiannis (Horsefly Films) with the project Dear Future by Christiana Cheiranagnostaki
Moreover, Agora will take part at the Co-production Night, an exciting event that includes the world’s biggest film markets, promoting the networking of filmmakers, producers and film markets, marking a grand celebration for the European co-productions, that will be held this year on May 17th, 2025.
The Greek Pavilion
The Greek Pavilion, set and staffed by EKKOMED - Creative Greece and the Thessaloniki Film Festival, has served over the last years as the ideal promotion and networking hub of Greek cinema in Cannes. It will be located at the number 133 of the Village International Riviera, alongside hundreds national pavilions from all over the world and will stand out as the focus of the entire gamut of activity for Greek filmmakers. It offers a working space to all Greek professionals of the film industry, as well as ideal conditions for meetings and networking.
The reception for Greek cinema
The time-honored reception for the promotion of Greek cinema to the international professionals attending the Cannes Festival will be held on May 18th, 2025. As every year, this reception offers a networking opportunity to Greek filmmakers amidst the most prestigious film market of the world, for the development of new projects and films, for securing co-productions, financing and new collaborations, as well as for highlighting Greece as a location destination for the shooting of international productions. The reception will be co-hosted by the Festival and EKKOMED.
Greek co-productions
Two Greek co-productions and a Cypriot co-production take part in this year’s Cannes Festival.
The short film I’m Glad You’re Dead Now by the Palestinian filmmaker Tawfeek Barhom was selected at the Cannes Festival’s short film competition section. The film is produced by Tawfeek Barhom, Akis Polyzos and Stelios Cotionis (Foss Productions), and co-produced by French company KIDAM, as well as Alexandre Perrier. The film was shot entirely in Greece by a Greek film crew in July 2024.
In addition, two Greek co-productions are screened at the Cannes Festival’s Immersive section. The first is Beyond the Vivid Unknown by John Fitzgerald and Godfrey Reggio, an installation with the use of Artificial Intelligence, produced by Onassis Foundation. The film is the outcome of a collaboration of Onassis ONX with the film and animation studio Asterial and the production company Pressman Films. The same section also hosts the film The Exploding Girl by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel. The film is produced by Atlas V and Byrd, the new cinema branch of the Greek company TopCut Modiano.
Furthermore, the new film of Navad Lapid titled Yes will be screened at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. The Cypriot production company AMP Filmworks, Marios Piperides, Zenon Pavlou and Cecilia Tselepidi are co-producing the film.
We send out our best wishes to all the filmmakers!
The extroversion actions during the Cannes Festival are supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Recovery Fund, within the framework of the integrated work “SUB 6.3 - Extroversion of the Market of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival”.
Co-hosting:
