It starts on Friday with a new section on underground cinema, 15 films in the International Competition section and 14 Greek premieres

The mayor of Thessaloniki G. Boutaris and the coordinator of the Festival El. Rammu
The dose of 31,5 di. euro is waiting (and) the Thessaloniki Film Festival to close the "hole" of 6,2 left by Despina Mouzaki from the anniversary event of 50 years it 2009.
Debts remained from that debt 2 million. euros that are expected to be covered by the tranche of 31,5 di. euro, while this year's 53rd event, which starts on Friday and will last until 11 November, it will cost 1,6 million. euros - a little more than last year and it will be brightened up by the presence of the internationally renowned Greek director, K. Gavras, on the occasion of the screening of his new film, «Capital».
A febrile infection kept Dim. Eipides and yesterday's press conference was given by his colleagues, while the president of the Festival and the mayor of Thessaloniki, C. Boutaris, he did not hide his desire "to have more actions during the year, but the economic situation does not help".

From this year and due to the crisis, the awards will be honorary and will not be accompanied by a monetary prize. Another innovation is the new section for those initiated into the "underground" side of cinema entitled "Night Images", which is inaugurated by the restless gaze of Costa Zappa and the experimental work of the Israeli Lior Shamriz.
They participate in the International Competition section 15 movies - both Greek, "The boy eats the bird's food" by E. Lygizou and "Hara" by H. Giannakakis- while the jury consists of: Thomas Elgesser (chairman)-professor in the Department of Cinema at the Universities of Amsterdam and Yale, Ole Christian Madsen - director from Denmark, Lovel Gudjonsdóttir - director of the Icelandic Film Center, Joao Pedro Rodriguez-director from Portugal and Greek cinematographer Thymios Bakatakis.
They will be shown in the Greek section 14 films premiering in Thessaloniki, while others 19 joined the Digital Library of the Market.
The directors
The 53rd Film Festival will honor with their presence important names in the cinema field. The much-loved Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, the multi-award-winning creator of Kurdish origin Bahman Ghobadi;, the German filmmaker Andreas Dresen, as well as Christian Mungiu, one of the most important representatives of contemporary Romanian cinema.

TRIBUTE TO TH. ANGELOPOULO

"Journey to Kythira" and jazz concert
The 53rd Film Festival includes a tribute to the work of Theodoros Angelopoulos, whose untimely death left an unfillable void in the field of cinema.
The tribute includes three movies-stations of the director - "The Troupe" (1974), "Journey to Kythira" (1984) and "Landscape in the Mist" (1988)- as well as a discussion and a concert by Eleni Karaindrou, at 9 November at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall with Dimitra Galani and the jazz trio "Human Touch".
In the discussion, which will take place on Thursday 8 November, collaborators of Th. Angelopoulos, among them the director M. Manda, the photographer D. Sophikite, the composer El. Karaindrou, the actors E. Kotamanidou and O. Antonutti.

Source : ethnos.gr