THE AWARDS OF THE 62nd TIFF
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARDS
The International Competition Jury of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is comprised of Nanouk Leopold (director, screenwriter), Roland Vajs (sound designer) and Michelle Valley (actress).
The Best Feature Film Award – Golden Alexander “Theo Angelopoulos”, accompanied by a 10,000 euros cash prize, is bestowed to the film:
SOFTIE by Samuel Theis, France, 2021
The Special Jury Award – Silver Alexander, accompanied by a 5,000 euros cash prize, is bestowed to the film:
CLARA SOLA by Natalie Álvarez Mesén, Sweden-Costa Rica-Belgium-Germany, 2021
The Special Jury Award for Best Director – Bronze Alexander, supported by the Festival’s Grand Sponsor, COSMOTE TV, with a cash prize of 3,000 euros, is bestowed to:
LORENZO VIGAS for the film THE BOX, Mexico-USA, 2021
The Best Actress Award is bestowed to:
SOFIA KOKKALI for her performance in the film MOON, 66 QUESTIONS by Jacqueline Lentzou, Greece, 2021
The Best Actor Award is bestowed to:
ALIOCHA REINERT for his performance in the film SOFTIE by Samuel Theis, France, 2021
The Best Screenplay Award is bestowed to the film:
PILGRIMS by Laurynas Bareiša, Lithuania, 2021
A special mention, for its original and humanistic approach, is bestowed to the film:
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? by Alexandre Koberidze, Germany-Georgia, 2021
MEET THE NEIGHBORS AWARDS
Meet the Neighbors competition section showcases directors from the wider region of Southeastern Europe, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, who take part in the Festival with their debut or sophomore film. Meet the Neighbors Jury is comprised of Marie-Pierre Macia (producer), Daphne Patakia (actress) and Martin Schweighofer (journalist).
The Golden Alexander Meet the Neighbors award, accompanied by an 8,000 euros cash prize is bestowed to the film:
SMALL BODY by Laura Samani, Italy-France-Slovenia, 2021
Reasoning:
We were deeply moved by this road movie about love, life and death and life after death. A remarkable journey of a woman to save the soul of her daughter.
The Silver Alexander Meet the Neighbors award, accompanied by a 4,000 euros cash prize, is bestowed ex aequo to the films:
THE TALE OF KING CRAB by Alessio Rigo de Righi & Matteo Zoppis, Italy-Argentina-France, 2021
Reasoning:
A visually striking film which takes us from a very earthy naturalism to a surrealistic showdown at the end of the world.
and
VERA DREAMS OF THE SEA by Kaltrina Krasniqi, Kosovo*-North Macedonia-Albania
Reasoning:
What starts out as a simple story develops into a layered and subtle portrait of a courageous woman in a hostile environment through an amazing actress.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
>>FILM FORWARD AWARDS
The newly established competition section brings forth the work of young and daring directors, who question our ties with reality, attempting to renegotiate its definition, beyond the boundaries of genre conventions. The Jury of the >>Film Forward competition section is comprised of Lili Hinstin (artistic director), Irini Karayannopoulou (visual artist) and Dane Komljen (director).
The Golden Alexander >> Film Forward award, accompanied by a cash prize of 8,000 euros, is bestowed to the film:
MAGNETIC FIELDS by Yorgos Goussis, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
For narrating the adventure of an encounter through adventurous filmmaking in free flowing and humanistic way, we bestow the Golden Alexander >>Film Forward award to the film Magnetic Fields.
The Silver Alexander >>Film Forward award, accompanied by a cash prize of 4,000 euros, is bestowed to the film:
THE DAY TODAY by Maxence Stamatiadis, France, 2021
Reasoning:
For depicting in the most sensible and singular way our relationship to technology as a possible future and also a raw present, we give the >>Film Forward Silver Alexander award to the The Day Today.
A Special Mention is bestowed to the film:
SUPERIOR by Erin Vassilopoulos, USA, 2021
Reasoning:
For the personal and daring exploration of genre mechanisms and creating unique characters, we award the >>Film Forward Special Mention to the film Superior.
PODCAST AWARD
The Festival explores the affinities between cinema and podcasts. The Podcast Award Jury is comprised of Alexandra Daskalopoulos (founder & CEO of Frontstage SA), Aris Dimokidis (journalist, podcaster), Elissavet Chronopoulou (director, author).
The Podcast Award, accompanied by a 2,000 euros cash prize, is bestowed to the podcast:
THE LETTERS I HAVE READ ABOUT HER by Stratis Chatzielenoudas, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
Injecting the narrative tension of fiction into a documentary podcast, the podcaster extends her personal experience to a story that intrigues and moves the listener, while achieving in outlining the social and cultural profile of an era.
A Special Mention is bestowed to the podcast:
MY SUBURB by Camilla Bouchet, Sweden, 2021
Reasoning:
The podcaster, through a composition of refined intertwining of autobiographical narrations, music and sound effects, unveils the unseen human side of the ghettoized suburb of her childhood years and overturns the negative stereotypes attached to it, while conveying her feelings to the listener with modesty, sincerity and depth.
MERMAID AWARD
The Mermaid Award is bestowed to the best LGBTQI+-themed movie of TIFF’s official program, by a three-member jury, comprised this year of: Octavian Dǎncilǎ (film curator, festival programmer), Tzef Montana (artist, activist, actress) and Irini Vougioukalou (cofounder of the production and post-production company Graal).
The award is bestowed to the film:
CELTS by Milica Tomović, Serbia, 2021
Special Mentions are bestowed to the films:
MONEYBOYS by C.B. Yi, Austria-France-Taiwan-Belgium, 2021
and
DESERTO PARTICULAR by Aly Muritiba, Brazil, 2021
FIPRESCI AWARDS (The International Federation of Film Critics)
The Jury of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), comprised of Tereza Brdečková, Elias Frangoulis and Domenico Palatella, bestows two awards:
for the International Competition section to the film:
SILENT LAND by Aga Woszczyńska, Poland-Italy-Czech Republic, 2021
for a Greek film taking part at the Greek Film Festival and celebrating its premiere at the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival to the film:
MAGNETIC FIELDS by Yorgos Goussis, Greece, 2021
GREEK ASSOCIATION OF FILM CRITICS (PEKK) AWARDS
The Greek Association of Film Critics bestows its award to the film:
MAGNETIC FIELDS by Yorgos Goussis, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
Life and death coexist and confront each other viciously for quite some time now in an anywise ferocious battlefield. For this reason, the Greek Association of Film Critics stands by every attempt of the Festivals all over the world to remain alive, bestowing its award to a road movie inviting us to a journey that alludes to life. In the end of the road, the hope of a miracle. The film is no other than Magnetic Fields by Yorgos Goussis.
“HUMAN VALUES AWARD” OF THE HELLENIC PARLIAMENT
The Jury of the Hellenic Parliament TV, comprised of Aris Fatouros (program consultant, Hellenic Parliament TV), Kostas Dimos (program coordinator, Hellenic Parliament TV) and Anna Kotzia (head of the Youth Program, Hellenic Parliament TV), bestows its longstanding “Human Values” award to a movie of the International Competition section:
THE RUST by Juan Sebastián Mesa, Colombia-France, 2021
Reasoning:
The Hellenic Parliament bestows the “Human Values” Award to a film that contemplates on a young man’s devotion to the ancestral cultivation of the land, in the face of the desertion temptations, while highlighting with mastery the unparallel beauty of a natural landscape under threat.
HELLENIC BROADCSTING CORPORATION (ERT) AWARDS
Within the framework of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, ERT bestows two awards:
The first award of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, accompanied by a 3,000 euros cash prize, is bestowed to the Greek film that won the FIPRESCI Award:
MAGNETIC FIELDS by Yorgos Goussis, Greece, 2021
The second award of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, accompanied by a 2,000 euros cash prize, is bestowed to the Greek project that topped Agora’s Works in Progress section:
SILENCE 6-9, directed by Christos Passalis and produced by Maria Drandaki, Homemade Films (Greece)
GREEK FILM CENTRE AWARDS
Within the framework of the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Greek Film Centre bestows two awards.
The jury of the GFC, comprised of Giorgos Angelopoulos, director of development and production, Venia Vergou, Director of GFC’s Hellenic Film Commission, and Athena Kalkopoulou, director of promotion, bestows the 5,000 euros cash prize to a debut film by a first-time director in a Greek production included in the First Run section. The award is bestowed to the film:
MAGNETIC FIELDS by Yorgos Goussis, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
The award goes unanimously to a director who has the self-confidence to trust his actors and his team in order to make a tender road movie where the weaknesses of the heroes bring them face to face with their need for a new direction in life.
The jury of the Location Award by GFC’s Hellenic Film Commission, comprised of Dan Connolly, location manager member of the Board of Directors of Location Managers Guild International (LMGI – UK), Vassilis Dinopoulos, location manager, member of LMGI, and Venia Vergou director of the GFC’s Hellenic Film Commission, bestows the award to a location manager of a debut film by a first-time director in a Greek production that premieres in the Festival’s official selection (First Run). The award is bestowed to the film:
MAGNETIC FIELDS by Yorgos Goussis, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
As you probably know, the role of Location Manager in film making is integral to the creative whole, in a collaborative sense. It is a particular discipline that involves a unique combination of at first a creative eye, sensitive to the subtleties and demands of the script, and then later in the process the practical, diplomatic and logistical skills to make all this happen on location as a reality. With this particular film, we ALL felt that the understanding and knowledge shown by the Location Manager in their scouting showcased aspects of the Greek landscape (that whilst not the typically known tourist panoramas) which was none the less atmospheric, austere… and even epic. What we know in Latin as “Genius Loci” or “the Spirit of the Place”. In revealing the melancholy soul of this undiscovered side of a Greek island, the Location Manager creatively conveyed the tone and emotional landscape of the characters within the film. Therefore, the locations themselves spoke to us, and became yet another character within the film. We recognize that the Location Manager understood intuitively that, as with any elliptical Odyssey, it is the journey itself… not the destination that matters. It is for this reason that we give the Location Award to Marinos Sklavounakis for the film Magnetic Fields.
THE J.F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION AWARD
The J.F. Costopoulos Foundation Award is bestowed to a film that presents a comprehensive aesthetic proposition, promotes the art of cinema and demonstrates its affinities with the other arts. The members of this year’s independent jury that will bestow the award to a Greek film celebrating its premiere at the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival are: Angeliki Antoniou, director, Rea Apostolides, producer, and Yorgos Frentzos, cinematographer GSC.
The award is bestowed ex aequo to the films:
HOLY EMY by Araceli Lemos, Greece-France-USA, 2021
and
18 by Vassilis Douvlis, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
The award is bestowed ex aequo to two films that unveil unknown worlds of fellow citizens whom we overlook or avoid, even though they live next to us. Araceli Lemos in Holy Emy, with a lucid glance, introduces us to an unseen part of Greek reality. The female protagonist is growing up with her sister in the Filipino community of Piraeus, in the borderline between reality and imagination, in a world that we choose to overlook or avoid, even though it’s standing right next to us. An original film, short with directorial dexterity and strength, casting a realistic and insightful look, along with a heart-wrenching approach towards its protagonists and their feelings. Vassilis Douvlis, in 18, invites us to the crisis-stricken Athens and the lives of a group of high school students. With tension and realism, the director guides us into the heart of school bullying and the incontrollable violence, as its protagonists are introduced to the real face of fascism and are called to take a stand. An up-to-date, rough and tender at once portrait of today’s 18-year-olds, but also of contemporary Greek reality.
WIFT GR AWARD
The WIFT GR Award is presented by the Greek chapter of WIFT (Women in Film & Television) to a film taking part in the International Competition section or the Meet the Neighbors competition section or the >>Film Forward competition section, for the best woman’s contribution and presence in front of or behind the camera. The members of this year’s jury are: Antoinetta Angelidi (director), Rea Waldén (film theorist) and Effie Skrobola (creative producer).
The award is bestowed to the film:
HOLY EMY by Araceli Lemos, Greece-France-USA, 2021
Reasoning:
A brilliant take on the multiple facets of oppression and exploitation. Standing up against religious fanaticism, class prejudice, racism and sexism, the film crafts a story of resistance and solidarity of the oppressed, as well as of female empowerment.
YOUTH JURY AWARDS BY THE STUDENTS OF THE THESSALONIKI UNIVERSITIES
The Youth Jury, comprised of students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Macedonia, bestows its awards to Greek films premiering at the Greek Film Festival of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Youth Jury supervisor: Dr. Betty Kaklamanidou, Assistant Professor in Film and Television Theory & History, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The five-member jury is comprised of Eleni Santoli (president), Grigoris Lazaridis, Dimitra Pierrou, Emilia Tzotza and Sofia Tzotza.
Best Film Award:
ECHOES OF THE PAST by Nicholas Dimitropoulos, Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
We decided to award a film that, drawing its force from the historical facts, managed through fiction to “reveal” the magnitude of the Nazi atrocities, under the prism of the victimizer, who is seeking, even at the ultimate moment, a scant trace of humanity, bewildering audience and critics. We believe that the “spark” of this movie is necessary to turn into a flame both in our country and abroad, so that its clear – at least to us – message becomes evident to everyone: zero tolerance to fascism. The Youth Jury bestows the Best Film Award for a film taking part in the Greek Film Festival (First Run) to the film Echoes of the Past by Nicholas Dimitropoulos.
Special Jury Award:
.DOG by Yianna Americanou, Cyprus-Greece, 2021
Reasoning:
As to the Special Jury Award, our glance is focused on a movie that urges us, through an adolescent prism, to face the universal need to know our origins so that we can provide meaning to our existence and consolidate our place in the world. A movie about the notion of family, not in terms of biological blood bonds, which force an unconditional acceptance upon us, but in its real essence, through a supposedly “simple” friendship. In a society like ours, estranged and introverted, with fragile family foundations, the need of belonging seems more urgent than ever. Not just for us, young people, but for all those seeking a sort of inner liberation. The Special Jury Award is bestowed to the film .dog by Yianna Americanou.
FISCHER AUDIENCE AWARDS
The FISCHER Audience Award for an International Competition film of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is bestowed to the film:
PACK OF SHEEP by Dimitris Kanellopoulos, Greece-Serbia-Albania, 2021
The FISCHER Audience Award for a Greek film – “Michael Cacoyannis” Award for a film of the 62 TIFF’s Greek Film Festival (premiere), is bestowed to the film:
THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS by Stelios Kammitsis, Cyprus-Greece-Italy, 2020
The FISCHER Audience Award for a Meet the Neighbors competition section film of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is bestowed to the film:
THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS by Stelios Kammitsis, Cyprus-Greece-Italy, 2020
The FISCHER Audience Award for a film of the >>Film Forward competition section of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is bestowed to the film:
THE DAY TODAY by Maxence Stamatiadis, France, 2021
The FISCHER Audience Award for a film of the Open Horizons section of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is bestowed to the film:
WHISPERS OF WAR by Florian Hoffmann, Germany, 2021
The FISCHER Audience Award for a film of the Balkan Survey section of the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival is bestowed to the film:
HIVE by Blerta Basholli, Kosovo*-Switzerland-Albania-North Macedonia, 2021
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
The 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival was held with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Partnership Agreement of the Central Macedonia Regional Operational Program 2014-2020 and MEDIA program. Invaluable was the support of ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation), official communication sponsor of the Festival, COSMOTE TV, Grand Sponsor of the Festival, Alpha Bank, the Festival’s accessibility sponsor, MasterCard, the Festival’s official payment card, Aegean, the Festival’s official air-carrier, Fischer, the Audience Awards sponsor, the Greek Film Centre, the Greek National Tourism Organization, the National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME), the J.F. Costopoulos Foundation and Jameson.