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Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF; Greek: Φεστιβάλ Ντοκιμαντέρ Θεσσαλονίκης, romanized: Festivál Ntokimantér Thessaloníkis) is an international documentary festival held every March in Thessaloniki, Greece. TDF, founded in 1999, features competition sections and ranks among the world's leading documentary festivals.[1] Since 2018, TDF is one of the 28 festivals included in the American Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival List. TDF is organized by the Thessaloniki Film Festival cultural institution, which further organizes the annual Thessaloniki International Film Festival, held every November. French producer Elise Jalladeu is TDF's general director; film critic Orestes Andreadakis serves as its director. OverviewThe Thessaloniki Documentary Festival focuses on independent documentary film and emerging documentarists from around the world. TDF is one of the leading documentary festivals globally, with an audience measuring up to 85.000[2] yearly. TDF is held at the historical “Olympion” theater at the central Thessaloniki Aristotelous Square, at four theaters housed at two restored warehouses at the Thessaloniki Port, and at cinemas across Thessaloniki. The festival hub is Warehouse C, located at the city port.  HistoryThe Thessaloniki Documentary Festival was founded in 1999, an initiative of Dimitri Eipides, who served as TDF's director until 2016. TDF's initial edition was organized with the contribution of an honorary international committee, consisting of prominent film auteurs as Chantal Ackerman, Judith Elek, Marceline Loridan-Ivens, Johan van der Keuken, Robert Kramer, Alexandr Sokurov, Frederick Wiseman, D.A. Pennebaker and others. Since its 19th edition in 2017, TDF features competition sections, while from 2018 on, TDF hosts a Virtual Reality films competition section. In 2018 TDF became one of the 28 festivals included in the American Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival List; the film that wins TDF's “Golden Alexander” award for the Best Documentary in the International Competition section is automatically eligible to submit for Oscar consideration (Documentary Feature category). In 2020, TDF's 22nd edition was held online from May 19 to May 28, for the first time in the festival's history, due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The 25th edition was held in March 2023. In mourning of the Tempi train crash, all ceremonies and festive events were cancelled.[3] The 26th edition is scheduled to take place from 7 to 17 March 2024. It will present 36 films across three competition sections, with 35 of them having their world, international or European premieres.[4] Notable guests and tributesLeading documentarists that have attended TDF include Barbara Kopple, Kim Longinotto, Pirjo Honkasalo, Louie Psichoyos, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky, Jennifer Fox, Claire Simon, Helena Třeštíková, Albert & David Maysles, Heddy Honigmann, Talal Derki and others. Each year, TDF presents tributes and retrospectives to acclaimed auteurs and documentary movements. TDF has so far held the following tributes: 22nd TDF – 2020 21st TDF – 2019 Spotlight: Eduardo Williams Carte Blanche: Louie Psichoyos Why Look at Animals? 20th TDF – 2018 Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor ’68 beyond ‘68 Carte Blanche: Sara Driver 19th TDF – 2017 Angela Ricci Lucchi & Yervant Gianikian Short Doc Experiments Oberhausen Carte Blanche: Dimitri Eipides 18th TDF – 2016 17th TDF – 2015 16th TDF – 2014 15th TDF – 2013 15 Years TDF: A Fascinating Journey 14th TDF – 2012 Spotlight: with Remarkable People Docville Danish Docs Balkan focus 13th TDF – 2011 Spotlight: Middle East African Stories 12th TDF – 2010 Spotlight: Polish docs, Docs on North Korea, Aegean stories Hybrid Docs African Stories 11th TDF – 2009 Spotlight: Mexican docs, Austrian docs Hybrid Docs Theme: Africa from Within 10th TDF – 2008 Focus on Asia Theme: Faces of Fascism Canadian docs Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky War Zone 9th TDF – 2007 Focus on Asia Theme: troubled innocence Games we play Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar World Musicians Dutch Docs 8th TDF – 2006 Current Issues: globalization Theme: Africa, unresolved issues The politics of violence – part 2 Exandas – Documentaries of the world Nordic Docs 7th TDF – 2005 Theme: Immigration – Refugees Spotlight: Pirjo Honkasalo Auschwitz – The nightmare, 60 Years On Focus: The Human RIghts Watch Ethnographic Cinema: Dedicated to Jean Rouch Olympic Games: Greek docs 6th TDF – 2004 Current Issues: Terrorism – The Politics of Violence Cinema Lessons: Decoding our World – Theo Angelopoulos, Abbas Kiarostami Spotlight: Heddy Honigmann 5th TDF – 2003 Contemporary Issues: Palestine Spotlight: Margaret Smilow, Nicolas Philibert, Michael Moore, Apostolos Kryonas, Mary Hadjimichali-Papaliou, Yannis Smaragdis 4th TDF – 2002 Focus on: Children of a Harsh Reality 3rd TDF – 2001 Docs from Iran Yugoslavia in Focus: Anatomy of Horror 2nd TDF – 2000 Gypsies: Lives without Borders D.A. Pennebaker: Rock’ n’ Roll Concerts Backstage and literature 1st TDF – 1999 Festival sectionsThe Thessaloniki Documentary Festival comprises the following sections:
TDF's program further includes sidebar events such as lectures, masterclasses, concerts, exhibitions and workshops. Agora Doc MarketThe Agora Doc Market was launched in 1999, along with the first Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. The actions of the Agora Doc Market match the needs of film directors from Central and Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean. The Agora Doc Market is the developmental arm of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, which aims to bring together an international network of professionals, serving as an ideal place for meetings, discussions and professional deals, in a welcoming and professional ambience. The Agora Doc Market includes the following clusters: Agora Doc Market The Agora Doc Market online Video Library (via Cinando) promotes the majority of films participating in TDF's program, but also a large number of European documentaries without a sales agent. The films remain online one and a half month after the end of the festival. Docs in Progress Agora DiP gives the chance to selected sales agents, distributors and festival programmers from all over the world to be the first to discover feature films from the Mediterranean and the Balkan countries that are currently one step away from their completion. Thessaloniki Pitching Forum The newly established Pitching Forum is a co-financing and co-production platform dedicated to projects from Southeastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean countries and the Middle East. It consists of a two-day workshop, an all-day Pitching Forum and two-day round table meetings. The Agora Doc Market further hosts masterclasses, the Agora Lab, Doc Counseling, as well as the Meet the Future initiative, supporting emerging documentary filmmakers from the Balkans and Southeastern Europe. AwardsTDF hands the following awards:
Independent juries hand parallel awards, including two FIPRESCI awards (one for the Best Documentary competing at the Feature Length International Competition, and one for the Best Greek Documentary screened in TDF's official program), the “Human Values Award” granted by the Hellenic Parliament, the Amnesty International award, the Youth Jury Awards by the students of the Thessaloniki Universities, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation awards, the WIFT GR Award to a woman filmmaker of a film selected for TDF's official program and the Greek Association of Film Critics award. Four Audience Awards, sponsored by Fischer beer, are presented to two Greek documentaries (under and over 50 minutes in length) and two international documentaries (under and over 50 minutes in length). Award-winning filmsThe “Golden Alexander” award for the Best Documentary in the Feature Length International Competition section has been awarded to the following films: 2023 Under the Sky of Damascus, Talal Derki, Heba Khaled, Ali Wajeeh (Denmark, Germany, USA) 2022 A House Made of Splinters, Simon Lereng Wilmont (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine)[6] 2020 Welcome to Chechnya, David France (USA) 2019 Advocate, Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaïche (Israel, Canada, Switzerland) 2018 The Distant Barking of Dogs, Simon Lereng Wilmont (Denmark, Finland, Sweden) 2017 Dream Empire, David Borenstein (Denmark) See alsoReferences
External linksGallery
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