It’s Showtime! 57th Thessaloniki Film Fest Kicks Off

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival – dubbed TIFF57 – has raised the curtain and is ready to treat cinema lovers to everything from the latest to the greatest releases in international and domestic film.

With some 221 screenings through to November 11, the 57th edition of the annual event will this year feature such film icons as Jim Jarmusch with central events taking place at six theaters across the northern port city including at the landmark Olympion Cinema.

Productions include a bio of Iggy Pop and The Stooges, a retrospective of Turkish filmmaker Zeki Demirkubuz, and in the Greek section some 26 feature-length films, shorts as well as the much-anticipated “90 Years of PAOK: Nostalgia for the Future”, a documentary about the Thessaloniki soccer team by late filmmaker Nikos Triandafyllidis.

The 57th Thessaloniki International Film Festival is headed by French film producer Elise Jalladeau and Greek film critic Orestis Andreadakis as its artistic director.

Major events of the TIFF57 include its International Competition for films by newcomers as well as its Open Horizons, Youth Screen and tribute events and a series of masterclasses and forums to be held on the sidelines.

“When I visit Thessaloniki, as culture minister I have a sense of exultation. I feel that here culture is in coexistence with the city and opening up to neighboring countries. It is here, that culture re-discovers is significance and demonstrates its beneficial role,” Culture Minister Aristides Baltas said during the inauguration of the festival on Thursday night.

For a detailed program of Thessaloniki film fest screenings visit www.filmfestival.gr