The posters of the 66th International Film Festival (30/10-9/11/2025) bear the signature of the acclaimed Greek visual artist Stefanos Rokos, who created two original works for the Festival’s poster. These works also inspired the 66th TIFF’s spots, two short animation films, directed by Stefanos Rokos and film director and animator Fokion Xenos, and scored by Jim Sclavunos, frequent collaborator of legendary music artists such as Nick Cave, Grinderman, Sonic Youth, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (with Lydia Lunch) and The Cramps among others, as well as a permanent member of the Bad Seeds since 1994.
The 66th TIFF Posters and Spots:
Stefanos Rokos created two works titled “Plot Twist I & II: (Precious moments of inspiration and peace)” for the posters of the 66th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The works will be showcased for the first time from September 18th to September 22nd, 2025, within the framework of Art Athina, at the R1 Pavillion of Zoumboulakis Galleries.
“I chose to create two overloaded pluralistic painting works alluding to end credits in movies. A multitude of information and names, both in front of and behind the cameras, flash before our eyes, foregrounding the scale of each production. Somewhere in between, one can trace the inspiration that ties together so many dissimilar features, a beautiful fire that springs out the head of the crew and gives birth to a condition,” points out Stefanos Rokos.
“Am I allowed to say that, at least in a sense, I feel to be a part of cinema? I think of a story, I transform into a script in my mind, I select my main cast, I build characters, I place them under the light, the shadow or in a limbo between the two, and I create my own powerful images out of an inner need. In my painting works, everything is still, yet movement is all around, there’s no soundtrack, yet a musicality can be discerned. And their viewing lasts from a mere second up to many hours long, according to the viewer’s desires. I have watched films throughout my entire life, cinema is a source of both entertainment and inspiration for me. I have not missed out on a single Thessaloniki International Film Festival edition for the past 15 years, and I have always felt being a part of it, even if it was not the case,” stresses the talented visual artist.
The two works are accompanied by two short animation films, directed by Stefanos Rokos and Fokion Xenos, both scored by Jim Sclavunos. These animations, where two props take center stage, a telephone device and an avocado, will serve as the official spots of this year’s Festival. As Stefanos Rokos puts it: “In the former, the scene being shot is crowned with an utter success, while in the latter the scene ends in total disaster.” He goes on to add: “In all creative stages of every art work, success and failure are intertwined, always passing the torch to one another. This is common knowledge to us all, as a part of the creative process that serves the purpose of art. As soon as the idea is materialized, the artists wish for this adventure they went through to turn into a positive outcome. However, the greatest plot twist arrives when the final work oozes a sense of true inspiration and peace to the eyes of the beholder.”
The Festival’s spots will be unveiled to the public in October.
Who Is Stefanos Rokos:
Stefanos Rokos is a Greek contemporary artist. He was born in Athens in 1977. He studied Painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under T. Patraskidis. He also took a course in Printmaking under G. Milios. In 2002 he completed his post-graduate degree in Printmaking at the Wimbledon School of Art, London, where he studied under a scholarship from the Propontis Foundation. In 2005 he was awarded a two-year fellowship by the State Scholarships Foundation for a production of artistic work. In 2019, he attempted to visually approach the L.P. No More Shall We Part by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with the publication of the art book and three exhibitions in Athens (Benaki Museum) and Belgium (Bernaerts). He has had many solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, and participated in international Art Fairs. His works belong to private and public collections and have been used in cinema and theater, on album and book covers, and posters for concerts, theater, and film productions. He is represented by Zoumboulakis Galleries.
Who is Fokion Xenos:
Fokion Xenos is a film director and an animation designer based in Athens. Using humor and color as his basic tools, he intertwines practical and digital techniques to create unique visual narratives. His film Heatwave produced by the National Film & Television School has garnered awards in international film festivals such as Edinburgh Int. Film Festival, Cinekid, Athens International Film Festival and AnimaSyros. He has also taken part in more than 60 film festivals worldwide, among which Annecy, Anima Mundi, Encounters and LIAF, having also been nominated for the Student BAFTA Award in Los Angeles. Over the last years he has been living and working in Athens as an independent animation filmmaker, having co-directed the children’s animation series Gegone (2022) for the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). He holds a teaching position at the University of West Attica’s Animation Master Degree Program, and is working as a film and animation series producer. He also serves as secretary of the Hellenic Animation Association (ASIFA Hellas). In June 2025, he created the poster and the spot of the 4th Evia Film Project.
