Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Overview

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) is a FIAPF-accredited Competitive Specialized Feature Film Festival held annually in November in Thessaloniki, Greece. The 67th edition runs November 5 to 15, 2026. TIFF is one of the few FIAPF-accredited festivals that accepts open submissions for its competition sections, which are restricted to first and second feature films. The festival screens approximately 150 films across competition and non-competition programs.

The 66th edition (October 30 to November 9, 2025) drew 92,000 attendees across its 11-day run. Three Golden Alexander awards were presented across the festival's competitive sections: Cotton Queen (dir. Suzannah Mirghani) won the Theo Angelopoulos Golden Alexander for Best Feature Film in the International Competition, The Last One for the Road (dir. Francesco Sossai) won the Michel Dimopoulos Golden Alexander in the Meet the Neighbors+ section, and 1001 Frames (dir. Mehrnoush Alia) won the Film Forward Golden Alexander. Honorary Golden Alexanders were presented to Isabelle Huppert and Greek filmmaker Giorgos Tsemberopoulos.

TIFF's industry platform, Agora, runs November 6 to 14, 2026, in a hybrid format. Agora focuses on Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region, offering the Crossroads Co-production Forum, Agora Series, Agora Film Market, and Works in Progress sessions. The Works in Progress program selects 8 to 10 fiction feature films in post-production from the wider region and presents them to sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers.

Submission Details

TIFF accepts open submissions through its Eventival portal. The festival regulations for the 67th edition specify:

Competition sections (first or second features only):

• International Competition: first or second feature-length fiction films from across the globe
• Meet the Neighbors+ Competition: first or second feature-length fiction films from Greece's extended neighborhood (see festival regulations for the list of eligible countries)
• Film Forward Competition: first or second feature-length fiction films with an innovative approach to cinema
• Immersive: All Around Cinema Competition: Immersive/XR films

Non-competition sections:

• Open Horizons, Survey Expanded, Special Screenings, Out of Competition, 'Round Midnight, NextGen (films focused on children and teenagers)

Submission fees (67th edition):

• Early bird (by May 31, 2026): EUR 40 per submission
• Regular (June 1 to July 17, 2026): EUR 60 per submission
• Immersive/XR projects: free of charge (deadline August 31, 2026)
• Greek film submissions open in June (separate deadline: June 10, 2026)

Eligibility requirements:

• Competition sections limited to first or second feature films
• National premiere required for Greece
• Films must be feature-length (over 60 minutes for competition sections)
• Submission fees are non-refundable

Key Sections

• International Competition - first or second feature fiction films competing for the Golden Alexander - Theo Angelopoulos (EUR 10,000 cash prize)
• Meet the Neighbors+ Competition - first or second features from Greece's extended neighborhood, competing for the Golden Alexander - Michel Dimopoulos (EUR 10,000)
• Film Forward Competition - innovative first or second features competing for the Golden Alexander (EUR 8,000)
• Immersive: All Around Cinema - XR/immersive projects competing for the Golden Alexander - Best Immersive (EUR 2,000)
• Open Horizons - non-competitive international program
• NextGen - films focused on children and teenagers
• Agora - industry program with Crossroads Co-production Forum, Agora Film Market, Works in Progress, and Agora Series (November 6-14, 2026)

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Debut and Second-Feature Filmmakers

TIFF is built around first and second features. If your debut or second feature is completed in 2025 or 2026 and has not screened in Greece, TIFF offers four distinct competition sections, each with a cash prize. The International Competition is open to filmmakers worldwide, while Meet the Neighbors+ restricts eligibility to countries in Greece's extended neighborhood (primarily Southeastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East). Film Forward targets innovative approaches to cinema. The EUR 10,000 top prize in the International Competition is a meaningful sum for a debut filmmaker.

The festival's open submission policy is notable. Most FIAPF A-list festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin) program their competitions by invitation only. TIFF accepts open submissions, which means your film does not need a sales agent or industry contact to be considered for the Golden Alexander.

For Southeastern European and Mediterranean Filmmakers

The Agora industry program is the primary reason many regional filmmakers attend TIFF. The Crossroads Co-production Forum supports projects in development seeking co-production partners. The Works in Progress program selects 8 to 10 fiction features in post-production from the region and presents them to sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers. The Works in Progress submission deadline is August 24, 2026, with selected projects presented November 7 to 12, 2026. A minimum of 25 minutes of excerpts is required for submission.

For Greek Filmmakers

TIFF is the most important domestic platform for Greek cinema. The festival's Greek film submissions open in June with a separate deadline of June 10, 2026. The festival has been a launchpad for the generation of Greek filmmakers who emerged since 2010, including Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari, associated with the Greek Weird Wave movement.

Major Awards

International Competition

• Golden Alexander - Theo Angelopoulos (Best Feature Film): EUR 10,000
• Silver Alexander (Best Direction)
• Best Actor Award
• Best Actress Award
• Best Screenplay Award
• Best Artistic Achievement (Cinematography)
• Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra Award (Best Score)

Meet the Neighbors+ Competition

• Golden Alexander - Michel Dimopoulos (Best Feature Film): EUR 10,000
• Best Director Award - City of Thessaloniki
• Best Actor Award

Film Forward Competition

• Golden Alexander (Best Feature Film): EUR 8,000

Immersive: All Around Cinema

• Golden Alexander - Best Immersive International Competition Award: EUR 2,000

66th Edition (2025) Award Winners

• Theo Angelopoulos Golden Alexander: Cotton Queen (dir. Suzannah Mirghani, Germany/France/Palestine/Egypt/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Sudan)
• Silver Alexander (Best Direction): Beachcomber (dir. Aristotelis Maragkos, Greece)
• Best Actor: Harry Melling (Pillion, UK/Ireland)
• Best Actress: Sabrina Amali (Maysoon, Germany/Greece)
• Michel Dimopoulos Golden Alexander: The Last One for the Road (dir. Francesco Sossai, Italy/Germany)
• Film Forward Golden Alexander: 1001 Frames (dir. Mehrnoush Alia, USA/Iran)

Festival History

TIFF was founded in 1960 as a week-long Greek film showcase. In its early decades, the festival focused primarily on Greek cinema, serving as the national platform for domestic filmmakers during the post-war period and the military junta years (1967-1974). The festival's international expansion began in the 1990s, when it broadened its scope to include international competition sections and established the Agora industry program to serve Southeastern European and Mediterranean filmmakers.

FIAPF accredited the festival as a Competitive Specialized Feature Film Festival, a category it shares with festivals including Istanbul, Kolkata, and Tallinn. The festival renamed its top prize the "Golden Alexander - Theo Angelopoulos" in honor of the late Greek filmmaker who was closely associated with the festival. The Meet the Neighbors+ section was named after Michel Dimopoulos, the festival's longtime artistic director.

The 66th edition in 2025 recorded 92,000 attendees across screenings and events at Warehouse C, the festival's primary venue in the Thessaloniki port complex. The festival also operates the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (held annually in March) as a separate event under the same organization.

See Also

For Southeastern European co-production strategies and regional film markets, see International Film Markets. For festival circuit planning and premiere strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate the financial return of festival submissions, see the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, see Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.