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The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece concluded its 28th edition this week, with the awards ceremony on Sunday announcing the winner of the Golden Alexander Grand Prize. Yorgos Krassasakopoulos, the festival's program director, confirmed that the event achieved remarkable success this year.
Krassasakopoulos told Deadline, "Things were going well, and the audience turnout was significant, which is always important. The number of participating filmmakers is continuously increasing, and this year we recorded a record attendance of more than 200 guests within the program, thanks to numerous world, international, and European premieres."
Festival Independence Despite Government Support
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is the first major international film festival held after the Berlin International Film Festival, which faced controversy last month due to political statements during its closing ceremony. Although Thessaloniki receives support from the Greek Ministry of Culture, Krassasakopoulos emphasized that the festival enjoys full independence in selecting its programs, without government interference in content.
He explained, "We are part of the Ministry of Culture, but we are completely independent. They do not intervene in our program, and we receive funding from multiple sources including European programs, local authorities, state television, and private sponsors. We are entirely free to choose what we screen."
Prominent Events and Positive Atmosphere
The festival featured the attendance of Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche, who presented her first documentary directorial work titled In-I In Motion. Krassasakopoulos also conducted a public conversation with her discussing her journey from acting to documentary directing.
Director Bill Morrison was honored with the Honorary Golden Alexander Award, presenting screenings of his works that rely on film archives, aligning with this year’s theme focusing on the importance of archives in documentary filmmaking.
It is worth noting that the festival has overcome previous crises, including controversy over a film addressing sensitive issues two years ago, yet this year it proceeded without any disturbances, reaffirming freedom of expression and artistic choice within a framework that respects human values.
This news has been re-edited based on a report published on deadline.com, maintaining the essential facts presented in the source.