Press conference: In celebration of the 30th Athens International Film Festival

The Press Conference of the 30th Athens International Film Festival was held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at the French Institute of Greece in Athens, by the Artistic Director of the AIFF, Loukas Katsikas, in the presence of the President of the Athens Film Society, Ms. Maria Bobola. The General Director, Ms. Tatiana Pappa, and Loukas Katsikas, welcomed the audience that attended the Press Conference in the Auditorium and in a live broadcast via the Festival's social media:

Watch the video of the Press Conference here.

The 30th AIFF promo spot

Tatiana Pappa welcomed the audience and started the event by talking about the 14th Athens Open Air Film Festival powered by DEI which was completed only recently. The summer Festival (see the video HERE) was co-organized by the Culture, Sports and Youth Organization of the Municipality of Athens, while in the context of the long lasting cooperation with the Municipality of Athens, days before welcoming the 30th anniversary edition, we hosted the midnight screenings of ATHINAs CAR FREE DAY with the This is Athens-City Festival.

Afterwards, Tatiana Pappa thanked the Minister of Culture, Mrs. Lina Mendoni and the Under-Secretary of Culture, Mr. Iason Fotilas, for the Auspice and the Region of Attica and all the members of the Managing Authority who have been supporting the Festival for years. She welcomed on stage Mr. Ioannis Selimis, Executive Secretary of the Region of Attica, who pointed that “the new Authority of the Attica Region and Mr. Hardalias have created a special sector for Culture and they are ready to place new directives for the cultural institutions to utilize”.

Ioannis Selimis, Executive Secretary of Region of Attica and Tatiana Pappa, General Director of the AIFF

Afterwards, Tatiana Pappa warmly thanked the Culture, Sports and Youth Organization of the Municipality of Athens for co-organizing and fully contributing to the Festival, and invited the President of OPANDA, Ms. Eleni Zontirou, to briefly address the audience on behalf of the Mayor of Athens, Mr. Haris Doukas. Ms. Zontirou heartily mentioned the deep connection of the Festival to the cultural life of Athens during these 30 years, providing assurances that "we will continue to support such important cultural events that promote our city" and ended her speech wishing that "the theaters will be sold out with audiences enjoying the unique cinema experience, one that is incomparable to any other screening experience, and that no more theaters should close and turn into shopping malls".

Eleni Zontirou, President of OPANDA, and AIFF’s General Director, Tatiana Pappa

Then, Ms. Pappa referred to the private initiative that actively supports the Athens International Film Festival, inviting on stage Ms Agapi Kefalogiannis, Senior Programme Manager Nova, member of United Group, the leading telecommunications and media provider in Southeastern Europe and Major Sponsor of the Festival. Ms. Kefalogiannis said: "We are delighted that for the 3rd year Nova supports the AIFF, this great cultural event of our city, as a Major Sponsor. At Nova we feel that our selection of films and specials are in sync with the Festival. Especially for this anniversary year we are planning a series of activities, including the premiere of How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker, on Sunday, October 6th, which won the Golden Athena last year. In addition, selections from masterful films that have been hosted at the festival from time to time will be available at EON, including The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall, Decision to Leave, Lost in Translation, Dogtooth, and Twelve Monkeys among several others. Especially for the 30th anniversary, we have also prepared a series of shows and podcasts, curated and presented by Nova film critic Polly Lycourgou, creators and contributors of the event. We wish you a Happy Birthday and hope next year we will be together again!"

  Senior Programme Manager Nova, Ms. Agapi Kefalogiannis

LINE UP PRESENTATION

Next, the Artistic Director of the Festival, Loukas Katsikas, welcomed the audience and proceeded to present the 30th Anniversary AIFF lineup, a truly rich, diverse, politically relevant and unique lineup, filled with great artistic filmmaking input as well as the most anticipated films of the year from all over the world.

Loukas Katsikas, AIFF’s Artistic Director

OPENING AND CLOSING FILMS 

The 30th Athens International Film Festival opens on Wednesday, October 2nd at the Megaron The Athens Concert Hall, with this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes, Sean Baker's ANORA, courtesy of Tanweer.

The curtain will fall on this year's event on Monday, October 14th, at PALLAS, with the Festival’s Closing Ceremony and the Awards Ceremony of the Competition Sections as well as the nationwide premiere of one of the cinematic events of the year: Pedro Almodovar’s THE ROOM NEXT DOOR, released by Tanweer.

GREEK SHORT STORIES 

The Head of the Greek Short Film Competition Section and Editor-in-Chief of cinemagazine.gr, Panos Gkenas, presented one of the most popular and dynamic sections of the Festival, the GREEK SHORT STORIES. Mr. Gkenas said that "AIFF may be entering its thirties, but a section of the Festival is now entering its adolescence. I am referring, of course, to the Greek Short Stories competition section, which turns 13 this year and is proving restless, rebellious, with a willingness to experiment and explore, just like someone in adolescence." Mr. Gkenas thanked everyone for their trust, and for the record number of submissions (373), which were all met with great joy and sense of responsibility. 

He then proceeded to present the 46 competing short films, that "test the possibilities of form, comment creatively on contemporary affairs, feature exciting performances, including thought-provoking documentaries, inventive animation and LGBTQ+ content, films that have excelled at foreign festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Clermont-Ferrand, Locarno, Annecy, but also films we are presenting for the first time." 

Head of the Greek Short Film Competition Section
and Editor-in-Chief of cinemagazine.gr, Mr. Panos Gkenas 

Before concluding the presentation, Mr. Gkenas enthusiastically mentioned the Intimacy Coordination WORKSHOP that will be hosted this year in the context of the 30th edition of the festival and the Greek Short Stories Competition: Friday, October 4th, from 11 am to 5 pm, at the "Giannis Marinos" Hall of the "The Friends of Music Society”, at MEGARON The Athens Concert Hall. The 30th Athens International Film Festival and the Athens Film Office of the Municipality of Athens are co-organizing an exciting workshop on Intimacy Coordination with the internationally renowned Intimacy Coordinator, Elle McAlpine, who counts among her several top collaborations Giorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, the high-profile TV series Baby Reindeer, as well as One Day, Wednesday, The Great etc. 

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION SECTIONS

Head of Programme Selection, Mr. Thodoris Karamanolis, presented the International Competition Sections of the Festival with the films competing for our international awards this year and the Juries that will award them.

Head of Programme Selection, Mr. Thodoris Karamanolis,
and Artistic Director of the AIFF, Mr. Loukas Katsikas

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Mr. Karamanolis presented the 16 films from all over the world that will compete this year for the GOLDEN ATHENA, City of Athens Best Director Award, Best Screenplay Award and Fischer Audience Award and referred to the directors, actors and producers who will honor us with their presence at the screenings of the section. This year's lineup, richer and more extensive than ever, includes masterpiece debuts, works of profound and disarming tenderness, existential thrillers, Oscar favorites and coming-of-age gems from new directors. 

STRANGER THAN FICTION INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

He then presented the Stranger Than Fiction International Competition, our Documentary section, which this year hosts deeply political films with a strong social and topical interest that have divided the international festival circuit, while we will also screen environmental documentaries and phantasmagoric cinematic experiences on the conception of art and creation. 

TRIBUTE AKIRA KUROSAWA 

For the first time in Greece, the Athens International Film Festival organized a substantial tribute to the eternal Samurai of cinema, the unsurpassed sensei of world cinema, the leading and most influential Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa. The tribute, a long-standing dream of the Festival, taking place on the 30th birthday of the institution, coincides with the Japan-Greece "2024: Year of Culture and Tourism" and is supported by the Embassy of Japan in Greece and sponsored by the shipping company M/Maritime. 

Mr. Katsikas invited onstage the Cultural Αttaché of Japan’s Embassy in Greece, Mr. Shiratori, and the Corporate Communications Manager of M/Maritime, Ms. Elisa Gerouki, thanks to whose valuable support this year’s great tribute was realized, and who spoke warmly about their cooperation expressing joy for this Tribute: 

"We are particularly excited that the AIFF, the established cinematic institution in the artistic side of Athens, managed, with the valuable support of M/Maritime, to secure for the Greek audience a significant number of the masterworks of the great Japanese director", Mr. Shiratori stated.  

"When there are ideas, dreams and behind them people who believe and communicate them, there is always a solution. It is a great honor for M/Maritime to support the tribute to Akira Kurosawa in a very important year when we honor tourism, culture and the relations between the two countries. We are happy to be here to support initiatives and ideas that honor and respect the country of Japan", Elisa Gerouki added. 

The films of the tribute are: RASHOMON, THE IDIOT, IKIRU, SEVEN SAMURAI, THE THRONE OF BLOOD, HIDDEN FORTRESS, THE BAD SLEEP WELL, YOJIMBO, HIGH AND LOW, RED BEARD, DODES'KA-DEN, RAN, DREAMS.

Cultural Αttaché of Japan’s Embassy in Greece, Mr. Shiratori and Corporate Communications Manager of M/Maritime, Ms. Elisa Gerouki.

TRIBUTE THIS IS ENGLAND

As part of the celebration of the British Council's 85 years in Greece, the 30th Athens International Film Festival pays tribute to the last truly great and revolutionary era of British cinema: the 1980s. 

The films that will be screened are: RADIO ON by Christopher Petit, BAD TIMING by Nicolas Roeg, BABYLON by Franco Ross, THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY by John Mackenzie, THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT by Peter Greenaway, MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE by Stephen Frears,  MONA LISA by Neil Jordan, SID AND NANCY by Alex Cox, WISH YOU WERE HERE by David Leland, WITHNAIL AND I by Bruce Robinson, RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO  by Alan Clarke, HIGH HOPES by Mike Leigh και DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES  by Terence Davies.  

CYCLADIC SCREENINGS

Then, Mr. Katsikas invited the Cycladic Friends Development Coordinator of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Ms. Deligina Priftis, to present the synergy that was launched this year between the two institutions entitled CYCLADIC SCREENINGS. In the framework of the exhibition Cindy Sherman: Early Works, the synergy presents a unique cinematic experience. On October Thursday 3rd and Saturday 5th, two historical and radical films, selected by the artist herself, will be screened: the bold, feminist noir THE NAKED KISS, by Samuel Fuller and the outrageously subversive BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, by Russ Meyer, while viewers will have the opportunity to tour the exhibition with the same ticket. 

The films will be introduced by: Thodoris Koutsogiannopoulos, Akis Kapranos, Jacqueline Lentzou and Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy).

Ms. Priftis spoke enthusiastically about the Museum’s exhibition of the iconic photographer and warmly thanked the Festival’s team for the realization of this special artistic encounter.

Cycladic Friends Development Coordinator of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Ms. Deligina Priftis, and Artistic Director of the AIFF, Mr. Loukas Katsikas

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED  PREMIERE SCREENINGS

This year's lineup includes the most anticipated films of the year such as MEGALOPOLIS, by Francis Ford Coppola, as well as dynamic national premieres that have won major awards at international festivals (Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Sundance, etc. ) and come with Oscar buzz: EMILIA PÉREZ, by Jacques Audiard, THE BRUTALIST, by Brady Corbet, CONCLAVE, by Edward Berger, THE ELIXIR OF THE SON / THE SUBSTANCE, by Coralie Fargeat, NO OTHER LAND by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, BIRD by Andrea Arnold, FLOW by Gints Zilbalodis, APRIL by Dea Kulumbegashvili, ENO by Gary Hustwit, THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof and of course the opening and closing films of the Festival, ANORA by Sean Baker and THE ROOM NEXT DOOR by Pedro Almodovar.

SOCIAL POLICIES – SIDE EVENTS

Additionally, the Festival, faithful to its socially conscious policies, offers 2.000 free tickets for the unemployed and cards for people with disabilities while simultaneously supporting the humanitarian aims of the Mission ‘ANTHROPOS’ organization. 

Last, but not least, the 30th AIFF includes a series of FREE ENTRANCE parallel events, from Masterclasses by acclaimed professionals of the film community, and an INTIMACY COORDINATION Workshop, to screenings and Open Discussions (FEEDING HOPE).

The Press Conference and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Festival are held with simultaneous interpretation in the Greek sign language, by the Festival’s collaborators, Ms. Nefeli Randou and Ms. Vasso Arambatzis.

We wish to thank the sponsors of the event for their valuable support: our major sponsor Nova, member of the United Group of the leading telecommunications and media provider in South East Europe, our Event Sponsor Jameson, the Audience Award Sponsor Fischer, the Airline Sponsor AEGEAN, ZOLOTAS Jewellers, Avance Internal Transportation Sponsor, our institutional supporter, the Hellenic Film, Audiovisual Center, the Athens Film Office, the ONASSIS CULTURE, the Greek Society of Cinematographers, DK Rental House, Crew United, Film School and the production company Art Renegade. Also, the embassies and institutes that support our work: The Embassy of Japan in Greece and M/Maritime for the AKIRA KUROSAWA Tribute, the British Council for the THIS IS ENGLAND Tribute, the French Embassy and the French Institute of Greece, the Cervantes Institute, the Embassies of Australia, Sweden and Ireland, the Goethe Institute, ELECTRA HOTEL RESORTS, XFloor Rooftop by Electra, Cookoovaya, L'Alchimiste bistrot for their kind sponsorship, Pallas Theatrical Scenes, Megaron The Athens Concert Hall, the "Friends of Music" Association of the MMA, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Onassis STEGI and all the venues, DANAOS I & II, CINOBO OPERA I & II, ASTY, ASTOR, ABANA, which will host the highly anticipated films of the 30th Athens International Film Festival. Finally, we would like to thank the distributors AMA FILMS, CINOBO, DANAOS FILMS, FEELGOOD ENTERTAINMENT, ROSEBUD.21, SPENTZOS FILM, TANWEER, WEIRD WAVE, NEO FILMS, CAROUSEL, FILMTRADE, the director Uli M. Schueppel and Typical Organisation for the creation of this year's spot, LAMDA for their evocative music and Valeria Christodoulides for her voice presence in the Festival spots, TV5Monde and all our communication sponsors, more. com where you can buy your tickets, our photographers and videographer, Vassilis Mexis for the design of the posters, and all the volunteers of the organization for their valuable help. 

JAMESON welcomed the audience of the Press Conference with cinephile cocktails.

Photo credits: Giannis Stefanidis, Kyriaki Fragkiadaki