Following up on the Greek Film Centre’s administrative rejuvenation (see the news), Deputy Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis has announced a long-awaited shake-up in the leadership of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, just a few days before the institution’s documentary festival kicks off.

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As part of this long-overdue shuffling of the ranks at the country’s top film gathering, the outgoing TFF board president, Yannis Smaragdis – whose tenure was marked by a series of bouts with artistic director Dimitri Eipides – will be replaced by veteran DoP Giorgos Arvanitis.

A multi-award-winning cinematographer and a member of the French Society of Cinematographers, Paris-based Arvanitis was a regular collaborator with Theo Angelopoulos, while he has also shot for local legends Pantelis Voulgaris and Michael Cacoyannis, as well as the Dardenne brothers, Amos Gitai and Jean-Jacques Andrien. His cinematography for the latter’s Australia earned him the Osella Award at Venice.

The prolific writer, translator and short-film director Achilleas Kyriakidis will be Arvanitis’ vice-president, while the rest of the governing committee comprises acclaimed director Yorgos Tsemberopoulos (whose The Enemy Within [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] earned him the Best Director Award at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards – see the news), seasoned soundtrack composer Yorgos Hristianopoulos and highly respected Thessaloniki-based journalist Yorgos Toulas, along with the city’s Deputy Mayor, Spyros Pegas, and Kiriaki Malama as a representative of national TV broadcaster NERIT.