Three new awards, retrospectives and surprises!

Three new awards, two much awaited Greek releases, twenty rare cult gems, a Danish pioneering filmmaker and a Polish poet that forever changed the way cinema is experienced are just some of the few surprises the 15th Athens International Film Festival has in store for this year.

The 15^th Athens International Film Festival is getting ready to welcome its audience from September 16 - 27, 2009 at the Attikon Cinemax Class, Apollo Cinemax Class and Danaos 1 & 2 theaters. Highlights of this year's Festival include two important openings for Greek cinema, a collection of 20 rare cult films and specials dedicated to two of the greatest contemporary film pioneers, the Danish Jørgen Leth and the Polish Zbigniew Rybczynski. The Festival will also feature its regular sections, as well as some surprises that will hopefully make your movie marathon organizing a little bit easier. Let’s take a closer look: 

Greek Film

Promoting the work of Greek filmmakers has always been one of the Festival’s main aims. This year, the Athens International Film Festival introduces three new awards bringing some of the best newcomers in the industry into the limelight. 

-         Award for Best First Time Director, presented to a Greek director whose first feature film has had at least one commercial screening in a film theater or a film festival anywhere in Greece from September 1st 2008 ? August 31, 2009.

-         Awards for Best First Time Actor & Actress, presented to newcomer actors and actresses, who participated in any Greek feature film that had at least one commercial screening during the same period. 

The winners will be picked out by an independent jury consisting of respected film professionals. Our aim is for the awards to be accompanied by a substantial cash prize. To this end we are currently in touch with potential sponsors both in the private and the public sector.  

But that is not all; 2009 will be the year in which contemporary Greek film makes its voice heard. Among else, the 15th Athens International Film Festival has already booked the Greek opening for Panos H. Koutras's latest feature Strella. After taking international festivals by storm and landing a sold-out international opening in Berlin, Koutras’s transsexual protagonist Strella arrives back home to tell her story to Greek audiences. Also, don’t miss the special 10^th anniversary screening of the director’s first feature Attack of the Giant Moussaka originally presented at the Athens International Film Festival.

Another Greek opening is in place for Yorgos Noussias. Four years after the premier of his iconic zombie splatter Evil at the 2005 Opening Nights, Noussias returns to the scene of the crime with his latest chiller Evil ? In the Time of Heroes.

We are currently in touch with other Greek directors who wish to participate in this year’s festival. Watch this space for a full list of participants.

Cult Gems

For its 20^th anniversary, Cinema magazine, the Festival’s co-organizer, brings you twenty rare gems that have achieved cult status. Lost in time, the copies of the off-beat and bizarre films comprising our cult special are something like the Holy Grail for Festival staff who have combed through old collections, universities and forgotten production companies to locate them.

Among the gems to look out for are: Enter the Dragon (1973), Bruce Lee’s first Hollywood appearance and last completed film; the surreal Polish masterpiece The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) by Wojciech Has, based on the eponymous novel by Jan Potocki, a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of different stories that intersect to bring about an unexpected ending; True Stories (1986) by Talking Heads’ David Byrne, a cult masterpiece about an imaginary town somewhere in the US; and Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap (1984), possibly the best (spoof) musical documentary of all time about a larger than life rock band. 

European Pioneers

The 15^th Athens International Film Festival is proud to present two of the most diverse European artists working today. The Danish Jørgen Leth is an anthropologist, jazz critic and poet, but we will get to know him through his groundbreaking documentaries, screened as part of the Jørgen Leth Special at this year’s Opening Nights. Leth was a teacher and mentor to Lars von Trier. Together they co-directed the 2003 iconic documentary The Five Obstructions, also to be screened during the Festival.

Also, the 15^th Athens International Film Festival will present a selection of Polish director’s Zbigniew Rybczynski’s finest films. Rybczynski, who received an Academy Award for his 1981 short animation Tango, is considered one of contemporary cinema’s greatest pioneers. His innovative use of state-of-the-art technology and special effects has transformed the cinematic experience as we know it.

Festival Sections

As always, the 15^th Athens International Film Festival - Opening Nights will include two Competition Sections.

In the International Competition section, young directors compete for the Golden Athena Award, which comes with a €10,000 cash prize. The winner is chosen by a European Youth Jury, consisting of 18-25 year old film students from various European Countries. The Award itself, courtesy of ZOLOTAS jewelers, is a replica of the statue of Athena during the battle between the Olympians and the Giants, as seen in eastern pediment of the old temple of the Acropolis (c. 510 BC,) now kept in the new Acropolis Museum. The European Youth Jury will also present the City of Athens Award and the Best Screenplay Award, while Festival audiences get to vote for their favorite film, which will be presented with the Audience Award.

For the third year in a row the Festival hosts the extremely popular Music & Film Competition section, whose winner will receive the Golden Athena, as well as a €10,000 cash prize. The five-member International Jury Panel will be a bit more special this year, as its members will come to Athens to discuss one of the most thorny issues in today’s art world. More details coming soon.

Regular Festival sections include:

Panorama, a hand-picked selection of last year’s productions;

Midnight Movies, whose late night screening times are not the only thing that will give you chills;

Premiers, the chance to be the first to watch some of the coning season’s best features;

Cinema on the Edge, for those not afraid of films taking it to the extreme;

Documentaries, because life is often more involving than fiction; and

Short Stories, because a cinematic experience can leave a mark irrespective of its length.

Tickets & Web

If you had ever wished you could jump the queue at the ticket sales, you’ll be happy to know that this year the 15^th Athens International Film Festival ? Opening Nights will be making your life a little bit easier.

As of this year, Festival fans will be able to purchase tickets for all venues online throughout the Festival. Tickets are payable by credit card and will be issued at the automatic machines located at the Attikon Cinemax, Apollo Cinemax Class, and Danaos 1 & 2 theaters.

Additionally, tickets can be obtained from four new venues in central Athens, while traditionalists can still head to the four film theaters hosting the Festival to book their tickets in advance. Festival fans may also want to hold on for the Festival Passes, available in September and as always coming complete with some neat privileges.

For regular Festival news and updates, log on to the 15^th Athens International Film Festival official website (www.aiff.gr), as well as the Cinema magazine website (www.cinemag.gr). Also, don’t forget to post your comments and opinions about everything happening inside and outside movie theaters at our fully revamped blog (http://nyxtespremieras.blogspot.com/), while social networking addicts can also find us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/nyxtespremieras). As always, we’d love to hear what you have to say!

We will all be here throughout the summer working hard for the good Festival times. Summer days might be long and scorching hot, but that’s nothing compared to the heat wave to take over the city when the 15^th Athens International Film Festival opens its gates!