Athens International Film Festival
aiff

Molly Manning Walker / How to Have Sex (Cinobo) 28.09.23 

Αward-winning writer/director and cinematographer, who graduated from the NFTS Cinematography course in 2019 and was picked as a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2021. Her debut feature film ‘How To Have Sex’ was awarded the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Agniia Galdanova / Queendom 28.09.23

Award-winning Sundance-supported filmmaker and writer based in Paris. Her work explores complex human relationships through a cinematic lens. Her latest film, ‘Queendom’, premiered at SXSW 2023 in competition and won NEXT:WAVE Jury Award at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen.

Fatih Akin / ‘Edge of Film’ Masterclass 29.09.23

Internationally successful writer, director and producer. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear for his film ‘Head-On’ (2004), Best Screenplay for ’The Edge of Heaven’ (2007) and the Best Foreign Language Golden Globe for  ‘’In The Fade’ (2017). With his newest film, ‘Rhinegold’, he achieved the highest box-office result in his career.

 

Zhao Bingrui / Carefree Days 28.09.23

Chinese actor. His notable works include Lou Ye's ‘Mystery’ (featured in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the 65th Cannes Film Festival) and ‘The Taste of Betel Nut’ (part of the Panorama section at the 67th Berlin Film Festival).

Xingchen Lyu / Carefree Days 28.09.23

Chinese actress. She won the Best Actress award at the 14th Shanghai International Film Festival for her role in the movie ‘Folk Songs Singing’. Her notable works include ‘Wisdom Tooth’ and ‘We Are Living Things’.

Liang Ming / Carefree Days 28.09.23

Chinese director and screenwriter, born in 1984. He studied Performance Arts in China. He worked as an actor and assistant director before he went behind the camera in 2019 with ‘Wisdom Tooth’, honored at the international festivals of Shanghai and Beijing. This is his second film.

Björn Elgerd / Opponent (AMA Films) 30.09.23

Actor and playwright who grew up in the north of Sweden. He did lead roles in the tv series ‘The Gambling Scandal’ and feature ‘Are We Lost Forever’. He’s been seen in series ‘Thin Blue Line’, ‘Top Dog’ and ‘Blinded’ and soon in the medieval saga ‘Ronja the Robber’s Daughter’. 

Babak Jalali / Fremont 29.09.23 & 1.10.23

Born in Northern Iran. His graduation short film received a BAFTA nomination. His debut feature film was developed at the Cannes film festival Cinefondation (Residence). Since then, he has written and directed four feature films. His latest film, ‘Fremont’, premiered in Sundance in 2023. He lives mainly in London.

Álvaro Gago Diaz / Matria (One From the Heart) 30.09.23

Born in 1986, Álvaro Gago’s early shorts have been screened and awarded all over the world. His debut feature ‘Matria’ had its world premiere at the Panorama Section of the 73rd edition of the Berlinale. Currently, he is developing his second feature film, ‘Porto Alegre’.

Asmae El Moudir / Mother of All Lies 30.09.23

Asmae El Moudir is an award winning Moroccan film director, screenwriter and producer. She studied at La Fémis in Paris and the Moroccan Film Academy. ‘The Mother of All Lies’ is her first feature film (Winner of Βest Director In Cannes 2023 + L’oeil d’or Cannes 2023).

Viktoria Stolpe / Universal Theory (Weirdwave) 2.10.23 & 3.10.23

Viktoria Stolpe studied at the Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg, and received a scholarship to study at UCLA in 2012. Her graduation film premiered in Venice and was nominated for the category of Best Film in the First Steps Awards. Together with Timm Kröger, she founded the production company THE BARRICADES in 2018.

Timm Kröger / Universal Theory (Weirdwave) 2.10.23 & 3.10.23

Timm Kröger studied at the European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark, then at Filmakademie BW in Ludwigsburg, Germany. His first feature and graduation film ‘The Council of Birds’ premiered in Venice in 2014 at the Settimana della Critica. ‘The Theory of Everything’ is Timm’s debut feature as a writer and director.

Anna Hints / Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Filmtrade) 2.10.23

Estonian film director with a background in contemporary art and experimental folk music. Having deep roots in the distinct culture of South Estonia, Anna’s second home is in India. Anna’s debut feature documentary ‘Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’ won the Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival 2023. 

Jane Giles / Scala!!! Or, the incredibly strange rise and fall of the world's wildest cinema and how it influenced a mixed-up generation of weirdos and misfits 2.10.23 

Jane Giles is a writer whose film books include ‘Criminal Desires’ (Creation Press, 2002), ‘The Crying Game’ (BFI Modern Classics, 1997), ‘The Cinema of Jean Genet’ (BFI, 1991) and the award-winning ‘Scala Cinema 1978-1993’ (FAB Press, 2018) which inspired this documentary. She was a programmer at Scala from 1988-1992.

Ali Catterall / Scala!!! Or, the incredibly strange rise and fall of the world's wildest cinema and how it influenced a mixed-up generation of weirdos and misfits 2.10.23

Ali Catterall is an award-winning writer and journalist who cut his moviegoing teeth during the 1980s at the Scala, which he credits for turning him into a film critic. In 2001, he co-authored ‘Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties’, and edited ‘Scala Cinema 1978-1993’. He is currently working on a memoir about his bizarre childhood.

Jason Motlagh / Riders on The Storm 2.10.23 & 3.10.23

Jason Motlagh is an Iranian-American filmmaker and journalist drawn to under-reported stories in challenging environments, with a focus on conflict, migration, and human rights. He started reporting from Afghanistan in 2006 and has worked in more than 60 countries.

Martin Skovbjerg / Copenhagen Does Not Exist  4.10.23

Martin Skovbjerg is an extremely versatile director who manages to infuse all kinds of films with his own sensibility. He has directed two award winning features (‘Sticks and Stones’, 2018 and ‘Copenhagen Does Not Exist’, 2023) and a wide variety of documentaries, music videos, commercials and TV series.

Deniz Celiloğlu / About Dry Grasses (Weirdwave) 4.10.23

Turkish actor born in Bulgaria in 1986. He has been involved in various television and cinema projects along with theater work for over 15 years. He started his cinema career with Caner Özyurtlu's movie ‘Ev’. His latest cinema project was Nuri Bilge Ceylan's ‘About dry Grasses’. Apart from his acting career, Celiloğlu is interested in taking photographs and writing.

Leonie Benesch / The Teachers’ Lounge (Cinobo) 4.10.23

German actress, formally trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her breakout role was in Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winner ‘The White Ribbon’. Won a German Film Award LOLA for Best leading Actress in Ilker Çatak’s ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’.

Sam H. Freeman / Femme 4.10.23

Writer/director. He worked in television while, in cooperation with Ng Ping, they delivered their short ‘Femme’ which is a precursor to their homonymous feature film debut.

NG Choon Ping / Femme 4.10.23

Awarded director, a graduate from York University. He is originally from Singapore, where he has worked with the Singapore Repertory Theatre. This is also his feature film debut.

Michel Franco  / Memory 5.10.23

Mexican director, screenwriter, editor and producer, born in 1979. His works deal with the theme of dysfunctional families. Recognized in a multitude of international festivals, winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes.

Sara Summa / Arthur & Diana 6.10.23

Sara Summa studied Film in France, Italy, the USA and Germany. After several short films, her first feature length film ‘The Last to See Them’ celebrated its world premiere at the 69th Berlinale. Her sophomore feature ‘Arthur & Diana’ is celebrating its world premiere in Canada at TIFF 2023.

András Kécza / There was a tower: A portrait of Mihaly Vig (Carousel) 6.10.23

Hungarian director, born in 1965. He studied theatrical direction and later on cinema direction under the great Károly Makk. Assistant director to Béla Tarr, published author and producer of TV work, Kécza worked on this documentary for five years before completing it.

Baloji / Omen 5.10.23 & 6.10.23

Belgian director, rapper and hip hop artist, born in Congo. Delivered his first short, ‘Zombie’, in 2019 and this is his feature film debut which won New Voice Prize in ‘Un Certain Regard’ in Cannes Film Festival. 

Pier-Philippe Chevigny / Richelieu 6.10.23 

Pier-Philippe Chevigny is a filmmaker from Montreal, Quebec. His films explore social justice issues with suspenseful storytelling and anxiety-inducing camerawork. His debut feature ‘Richelieu’ had its world premiere at Tribeca, quickly followed by European and National Premieres at Karlovy Vary and Fantasia respectively. He is currently working on a follow-up feature.

Susanne Ritter / "Inside the Mind of a Casting Director" Masterclass 5.10.23

In 2004 she started her casting office. Since then she has focused on German and European feature films – and has cast both first and second feature films as well as films of very well-known directors. In 2013 she was awarded the German Casting Prize.



    Publication date: 2023-09-20 14:56:37