Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s Blissful Holidays has received the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for greatest movie on the sixty fifth Thessaloniki Worldwide Movie Competition, which ran from October 31-November 10.
The household drama centring on an Arab-speaking Israeli household premiered earlier this 12 months in Venice’s Horizons strand, profitable greatest screenplay. Copti had beforehand received the most effective movie and screenplay prizes at Thessaloniki in 2009 for his Academy Award nominated Ajami.
The Silver Alexander for greatest director went to Belgian Leonardo van Dijl for his debut characteristic Julie Retains Quiet, winner of the SACD award in Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar.
The jury of the worldwide competitors, reserved for first and second movies, comprised American director/producer Sara Driver, Canadian filmmaker Denis Cote and Greek producer and former Heretic co-founder Konstantinos Kontovrakis.
Mahmoud Bakri received greatest actor for his half as a Palestinian refugee stranded in Athens in Mahdi Fleifel’s To A Land Unknown which premiered earlier this 12 months in Cannes’ Administrators’ Fortnight.
Joana Santos was named greatest actress for her function in Laura Carreira’s social drama On Falling.
The pageant maintained for the second 12 months its controversial determination to not unveil its official awards through the conventional closing gala ceremony – as a substitute they have been handed out along with the aspect awards at a smaller occasion.
Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes have been in Thessaloniki to introduce The Return by Uberto Pasolini through which they star. Each obtained honorary Golden Alexanders. Matt Dillon was additionally on the town to host a screening of Jessica Palud’s Being Maria, through which he performs Marlon Brando. He additionally obtained an honorary Golden Alexander.
Pablo Larrain’s Maria, starring Angelina Jolie and partly shot in Greece, opened the pageant. The closing awards gala was marked by the information of the dying of Yiannis Boutaris, the previous president of the pageant and two- instances Thessaloniki mayor .
Business winners
Thessaloniki’s Agora trade strand noticed Turkish director Ahu Ozturk’s The Hunchback win the Crossroads Co-Manufacturing Discussion board-Two Thirty 5 award.
The Passport by Palestinian filmmaker Rakan Mayasi obtained the CNC-backed award for script growth in addition to the Mediterranean Movie Institute award.
The ArteKino Worldwide award went to Fog by Bulgarian Denis Spiridonov, whereas the Finos Movie award went to Greece’s Wake (Agrypnia) by Thelyia Petraki. One other Greek challenge, African Gray by Yorgos Gousis, obtained the Onassis Basis award.
Among the many Works in Progress most important winners have been two Greek initiatives: Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna Papadakis’ Greek-UK co-production Bearcave and Giorgos Georgopoulos’ Patty Is Such A Girly Identify.
The Agora awards in whole have been value €200,000 in money and in companies.
