The screening of the eight projects participating in this year’s Agora Works in Progress of the 66th TIFF took place on Tuesday, November 4th, at the Frida Liappa theatre, offering a fascinating perspective on the future of cinema. The Agora Works in Progress focuses on projects in the post-production stage from the Mediterranean region and Southeastern Europe.
Angeliki Vergou, Head of the Agora, welcomed the filmmakers and film industry professionals by expressing her joy for the screening of the eight films within the framework of Agora Works in Progress: “I am excited that today we will watch extracts of eight fascinating films. I would like to thank the jury, composed of internationally renowned professionals and of course all the colleagues who helped in this selection of films,” she said initially, giving the floor to Orestis Andreadakis, the Artistic Director of the Festival who, in his brief greeting, referred to the importance of the role of the Agora Ambassador, both to facilitate access to funding tools and promote and strengthen the Agora visibility: “We thank these wonderful people who help us make the Agora even more open to public. I welcome the Agora Ambassador, the famous chef Sotiris Kontizas.” The Ambassador of the 66th edition wished the filmmakers and the film industry professionals "to find what they are looking for", emphasizing that the most critical components in the completion stage of a film project are negotiation and strategy.
Afterwards, Thanos Stavropoulos, Agora Manager as well as Elena Gaitanarou, Works in Progress coordinator addressed the audience, thanking all those who attended the event, including the participants of the Thessaloniki Locarno Industry Academy and the Agora Short Film Lab. Then, Thanos Stavropoulos expressed special thanks to the Agora Works in Progress team and to the producer and consultant Katarína Tomková, (Kaleidoscope / Punkchart films), for the support she provided to the participants until today's presentation of their works.
At this point, he presented the Works in Progress awards:
The independent awards:
The jury of the Agora Works in Progress consists of: Danae Spathara – producer at Heretic (Greece), Dorian Magagnin – Acquisitions & Festivals Manager at Cercamon (UA), Barbara Wurm – Head at Berlinale Forum (Germany).
This was followed by the presentation of the films by the Agora moderator, director and consultant Zeynep Güzel: "It is my great pleasure and honor to meet and collaborate this year with the filmmakers and participants in Agora Works in Progress. Today we will get to know different stories from every part of the world, which are in different stages of their creation, through eight important film projects," she stated and invited the directors and producers of the films to share the themes of their films with the audiovisual professionals who were in the audience.
In particular, during the event, 8 films were screened in the post-production stage and connected to the Mediterranean region and Southeastern Europe.
The participating films:
THE BOY WITH THE LIGHT-BLUE EYES, Director: Thanasis Neofotistos, Production: Ioanna Bolomyti - Argonauts Productions S.A, Co-production: Atalante Productions S.A., YE Films Ltd., Sektor Film, Studio Corvus, Sense Production, Luna Film, Willa, Astrakan Films & Cold Iron Pictures, Greece, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and US
During the screening of the films, Zeynep Güzel and the filmmakers discussed the stories that inspired their films, as well as the messages they want to communicate. They also exchanged views on the remaining steps to complete their projects, as well as the stage their production is currently at.
