Honorary Award: Neil Jordan at the 31st Athens International Film Festival

What can one say first about Neil Jordan? A filmmaker some of us might even admire with something close to reverence, a creator who has signed off on a series of remarkable films - including some that many of his peers might not even consider. A filmmaker who has been with us since the years we first discovered cinema, whose career we have followed almost tenderly from the start - and whom, as is often the case for some of us, we never abandon. At 75, he continues to deliver films - yes, in a very different world for this kind of production - but always present, always at a certain level, with a unique tone, and with intelligence. Qualities once recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding him the Oscar for Best Screenplay for The Crying Game.

Those decades - the 1980s and 1990s (and partly the 2000s) - were the richest of the Irishman’s career. Beyond the aforementioned works, he gave us the unforgettable Interview with the Vampire, the powerful Michael Collins, the haunting Butcher Boy, the underappreciated In Dreams, and a fine, intimate Melville adaptation with The Good Thief - a hopeful entry into the 21st century.

This major artist, with the support of the Embassy of Ireland, will be honored by the 31st Athens International Film Festival for his valuable contribution to the seventh art - and to our lives. On October 10th, we will all be there.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10 | NEIL JORDAN TRIBUTE CEREMONY

On Friday, October 10th at 18:00, join us at the OLYMPIA for the presentation of an Honorary Award to director Neil Jordan for his body of work. A welcome cocktail will be offered by the Irish Embassy to audience members attending the screening. At 19:00, the screening of The End of the Affair, in the presence of the director, will begin.

About the film:

Sensitively adapting Graham Greene's novel of the same name, the leading Irish filmmaker transports us to London during World War II to tell the story of an unforgettable love triangle, “cursed” by divine will. Maurice Bendrix, a charismatic writer, accidentally meets the husband of his former lover, which rekindles his desire. Maurice tries to find a way to re-enter her life and at the same time understand what mysterious circumstances led her to end their relationship. Jordan reveals Green's psychographic grandeur in a masterful narrative that moves freely through time, unfurling the complete chronicle of a great love and a shocking act of transcendence. He also has at his disposal one of Michael Nyman's finest compositions, the greats Ralph Fiennes and Stephen Rea, but above all a stellar Julianne Moore who, for the needs of her role, dresses up as the ultimate Hollywood saint, giving a stunning performance of pure human passion in the face of unexpected twists of fate. Th.K.