Greek cinema on the forefront

The Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights Conn-x continues its support towards the New Greek Wave and towards all the auteurs of Greek cinema who, having come out of the fog, are claiming and earning their rightful position.

So, for third consecutive year, the festival will give out the awards for the Breakthrough Artists of Greek Films: director and actors (male and female). The nominees are all first-time directors and actors in feature-length films that had at least one public ticketed screening, either in a regular theatre or at a film festival, in any area in Greece from 1st September 2010 until 31st August 2011.
The president of this year’s Jury will be the film director, and president of the Hellenic Film Academy, Tassos Boulmetis, and the award ceremony will take place on Saturday 24th September.
In addition, the festival is maintaining contact with all the auteurs and producers who have films currently in production and has so far secured the premieres of two highly-anticipated films.

“Hannibal At The Gates” by Elissavet Hronopoulou
A young stable girl from Koropi, a girl who has not even finished school and only knows how to take care of horses, seizes her only chance to escape her working-class family environment and enter the world of competitive equestrianism, which she imagines to be ideal.
The story of 20-year-old Chara, who is on the margins of society and is trying to alter her fate by claiming her right to live out her dream, is the first European film about competitive equestrianism.
The story of a dream that is trying to become American, with Alexia Terezaki, Yannis Kokiasmenos, Isabella Koyevina, Nikos Georgakis, Olga Pappa, Sagir Ahmet.

“Three Days Of Happiness” by Dimitris Athanitis
After “No Sympathy For The Devil”, “Planet Athens” and “Goodbye Berlin”, Dimitris Athanitis tells us three parallel stories which take place in the dark side of Athens and presents a low-budget production inspired by the diverse images of the Greek capital.
A journey in the land of emotions, where three young women, exiled from reality, are searching for a vision of happiness in the streets, the hotels, the cafés, and the taxis of Athens. Starring: Alexandra Aidini, Katerina Fotiadi, Nikolitsa Drizi, Dimitris Agartzidis, Errikos Litsis, Loukia Pistiola, Kostas Ksikominos, Alexandra Diamantopoulou and Kostantina Andriopoulou.
Dimitris Athanitis has also written the script, Yannis Fotou is the director of photography, Assi Dimitrolopoulou the art director and costume designer, Stamatis Magoulas the editor, Christina Schinioti the sound director and DNA Lab will provide the music.