Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Overview

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is Greece's most important film festival. Founded in 1960 and held annually in November in Thessaloniki -- Greece's second city and a major Mediterranean port with a rich multicultural heritage -- the festival is FIAPF-accredited and presents competitive international and Greek cinema.

Thessaloniki's extraordinary history as a multicultural Mediterranean crossroads -- home to significant Jewish, Greek Orthodox, and Muslim communities over centuries, and a major city of the Ottoman Empire before becoming Greek in 1912 -- gives the festival a cultural depth that distinguishes it from Athens-centered Greek cultural institutions.

The festival has been particularly important for Greek cinema, providing a showcase for the remarkable generation of Greek filmmakers who have emerged since 2010 -- Yorgos Lanthimos, Athina Rachel Tsangari, and others associated with the Greek Weird Wave.

Key Sections

• International Competition -- films competing for the Golden Alexander
• Greek Film Competition -- new Greek features
• Balkan Survey -- films from the Balkan region
• Documentary Program -- nonfiction features
• Short Film Competition -- competitive short programs

What Filmmakers Should Know

Thessaloniki accepts open submissions for most sections. The Golden Alexander is one of the most important prizes in southeastern European cinema. For Greek filmmakers, the festival is the most important domestic platform. The Balkan Survey creates specific programming context for the region.

Major Awards

• Golden Alexander -- Best Film
• Silver Alexander -- Special Jury Prize
• Best Greek Film
• Audience Award

Festival History

Thessaloniki was founded in 1960 and has operated for over six decades as Greece's most important international film event.

See Also

For Greek cinema, see International Film Markets. For the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, see Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.