Thessaloniki International Film Festival
November 10 - 19 (Greece)

Thessaloniki's International Film Festival has undergone as remarkable a metamorphosis as the northern Greek metropolis that hosts it. Jewel of the ancient kingdom of Macedonian (best known for exporting Alexander the Great), this beautiful, bustling port was in recent years the European Capital of Culture and is now awash with smart cafes, shops and stylishly renovated hotels and museums. There are some international connections directly into the local airport but more regular flights serve Athens to the south.

The festival began as a two-week event with an international competition for shorts and sundry features as previews to a separate, subsequent festival for Greek product. In the 1970s, Thessaloniki was famous for celebrity guests such as Rita Hayworth and ancillary entertainment such as earthquakes.

Revamped since 1992,with a sophisticated Athens-based artistic director Michel Demopoulos with a Toronto-programmer Dimitri Eipides offering invaluable assistance,for its 41st event, running 10th through 19th November,over a dozen sections beckon,aside from a strong international competition of some 14 features by "new" directors.

The official jury is presided over by US-based Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski (himself the subject of a 16-feature Retrospective). There us a Spotlight on Harvey Keitel, who may attend (if his current work with Istvan Szabo in Taking Sides permits him to leave Germany), and nods to Portuguese producer Paolo Branco and Belgian-born French legend Agnes Varda. Other programs focus on Balkan, Russian, Austrian and French cinema,which should keep the parallel FIPRESCI Jury busy.

The Greek State Awards for cinema will be announced on the day after the Festival's international cloture (which is on the night of the 19th with Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks as closing treat). On the 11th and 12th November there will be an International Symposium "Gazing into the world of Angelopoulos" and on the 15th and 16th,concerts of music composed for the film's of Greece's old master. A Liaison Office is newly created to help promote Greek films to the 500-odd guests and 120 foreign press expected to attend.

Given Thessaloniki's northerly location and the festival's later dating, do not be surprised if snow flurries enliven journeys 'twixt the two-screen Olympion Cinema Complex downtown and the Provlita (Pier) cultural center housing four cinemas, festival offices and bar in the restored port area.

Phillip Bergson