Palestinian director Scandar Copti’s Glad Holidays has received the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for finest movie on the sixty fifth Thessaloniki Worldwide Movie Pageant, which ran from October 31-November 10.
The household drama centring on an Arab-speaking Israeli household premiered earlier this yr in Venice’s Horizons strand, successful finest screenplay. Copti had beforehand received one of the best movie and screenplay prizes at Thessaloniki in 2009 for his Academy Award nominated Ajami.
The Silver Alexander for finest director went to Belgian Leonardo van Dijl for his debut function Julie Retains Quiet, winner of the SACD award in Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar.
The jury of the worldwide competitors, reserved for first and second movies, comprised American director/producer Sara Driver, Canadian filmmaker Denis Cote and Greek producer and former Heretic co-founder Konstantinos Kontovrakis.
Mahmoud Bakri received finest actor for his half as a Palestinian refugee stranded in Athens in Mahdi Fleifel’s To A Land Unknown which premiered earlier this yr in Cannes’ Administrators’ Fortnight.
Joana Santos was named finest actress for her position in Laura Carreira’s social drama On Falling.
The competition maintained for the second yr its controversial resolution to not unveil its official awards in the course of the conventional closing gala ceremony – as a substitute they had been handed out along with the aspect awards at a smaller occasion.
Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes had been in Thessaloniki to introduce The Return by Uberto Pasolini wherein they star. Each acquired honorary Golden Alexanders. Matt Dillon was additionally on the town to host a screening of Jessica Palud’s Being Maria, wherein he performs Marlon Brando. He additionally acquired an honorary Golden Alexander.
Pablo Larrain’s Maria, starring Angelina Jolie and partly shot in Greece, opened the competition. The closing awards gala was marked by the information of the loss of life of Yiannis Boutaris, the previous president of the competition and two- instances Thessaloniki mayor .
Business winners
Thessaloniki’s Agora business strand noticed Turkish director Ahu Ozturk’s The Hunchback win the Crossroads Co-Manufacturing Discussion board-Two Thirty 5 award.
The Passport by Palestinian filmmaker Rakan Mayasi acquired the CNC-backed award for script growth in addition to the Mediterranean Movie Institute award.
The ArteKino Worldwide award went to Fog by Bulgarian Denis Spiridonov, whereas the Finos Movie award went to Greece’s Wake (Agrypnia) by Thelyia Petraki. One other Greek mission, African Gray by Yorgos Gousis, acquired the Onassis Basis award.
Among the many Works in Progress predominant winners had been two Greek tasks: Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna Papadakis’ Greek-UK co-production Bearcave and Giorgos Georgopoulos’ Patty Is Such A Girly Title.
The Agora awards in whole had been price €200,000 in money and in companies.