Thessaloniki Unveils Competition Lineups Led by Sundance Winners

By Marcus Bennett

The 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival has revealed the lineups for its Meet the Neighbors+ and Film Forward competitions, running Nov. 5 to 15. Two Sundance winners lead the field. A 10,000 euro ($11,240) Golden Alexander awaits the top film in each section.

Blerta Basholli, who won at Sundance with "Hive," returns with "Dua," a Kosovan War coming-of-age drama that took the SACD Award at Critics' Week in Cannes. Myrsini Aristidou competes with "Hold Onto Me," winner of the Audience Award in Sundance's World Cinema – Dramatic section. Variety's review described it as "a heartfelt drama" that "follows a plucky young girl smitten with her long-absent, scoundrel father."

Pierre Le Gall's gay trucker love story "Flesh and Fuel," best film winner at Zurich, joins them.

What does Meet the Neighbors+ showcase?

The section gathers debut or sophomore films from emerging directors. The festival said the selections "intend to offer us a deeper understanding on life, the human condition and the state of things in our wider geographical region or cast a glance at the world 'beyond our neighborhood' through a unique and innovative artistic prism."

The jury comprises Cristina Cassano, head of Contemporary Italian Cinema Promotion at Cinecittà; filmmaker Sofia Exarchou; and film editor Anne Østerud.

The full Meet the Neighbors+ lineup:

• "Chronicles From the Siege," Abdallah Al-Khatib, Algeria-France-Palestine
• "Dua," Blerta Basholli, Kosovo-Switzerland-France
• "Flesh and Fuel," Pierre Le Gall, France-Poland
• "Furies," Rami Kodeih, Lebanon-Brazil
• "The Lost Son," Darko Stante, Slovenia-Greece-Croatia-Italy-North Macedonia
• "Until the Day Ends," Jelena Maksimović, Serbia-Bulgaria-Slovenia-Montenegro-Germany-Croatia
• "Where Giants Sleep," Arthur Michel, Belgium-Kosovo (world premiere)
• "Elena's Shift," Stefanos Tsivopoulos, Greece
• "Recrucified," Theo Papadoulakis, Greece-Italy-Luxembourg-Cyprus (European premiere)
• "Hold Onto Me," Myrsini Aristidou, Cyprus-Greece-Denmark
• "The Lion at My Back," Tonia Mishiali, Cyprus-Luxembourg-Greece

Films compete for the Golden Alexander – Michel Dimopoulos Award with its 10,000 euro prize, and the Silver Alexander for best direction, worth 5,000 euros ($5,620). The jury will also name best actor and actress, and may add screenplay or artistic achievement awards.

Who judges Film Forward?

The Film Forward section hosts 10 films the festival calls "boundary-breaking." Its jury brings together Carlos Rodríguez Ríos, director of the D'A – Barcelona Film Festival; Ana Vujanović, researcher, writer, dramaturg and lecturer; and filmmaker Yorgos Zois.

The Film Forward lineup:

• "Chronovisor," Jack Auen, Kevin Walker, U.S.
• "Filipiñana," Rafael Manuel, Singapore-U.K.-Philippines-France-the Netherlands
• "I Plant My Hand in the Garden," Boris Hadžija, Hoda Taheri, Germany-Serbia-U.S.
• "Objet A," Ann Oren, Germany-Luxembourg-Greece
• "Ponderosa," Rob Rice, U.S.
• "Promised Spaces," Ivan Marković, France-Germany-Cambodia-Serbia
• "Snapshot," Joseph Archer, U.K.
• "The Golden Age," Bérenger Thouin, France-Italy
• "Particles of Dust," Argyris Germanidis, Greece-Germany (world premiere)
• "Under the Judas Tree," Christos Manson Chouliaras, Greece-Cyprus

Film Forward mirrors the same prize structure: a 10,000 euro Golden Alexander for best feature, a 5,000 euro Silver Alexander for direction, acting awards, and discretionary screenplay and artistic achievement honors.

What does this change for the filmmakers?

For Basholli and Aristidou, Thessaloniki offers a second major festival platform in a single year, with a 21-title competition field and juries drawn from Cinecittà, Barcelona and the Greek editing room. The two world premieres in each section, "Where Giants Sleep" and "Particles of Dust" among them, signal that the festival still functions as a launchpad for first and second features from the wider region and beyond.