Thessaloniki Doc Fest kicks off with tight budget
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival, which kicks off today with Kaspar Astrup Schröder’s The Invention of Dr Nakamats (Denmark) and runs through March 21, has found itself a low-budget affair for its 12th edition.
The tight funding policy enforced by the Ministry of Finance as a result of the country’s dire economic situation resulted in a rejection of all budgetary upgrade requests by the festival.
Nevertheless, “Europe’s third best documentary festival”, according to artistic director Dimitris Eipidis, will still feature 189 titles, and offers premieres such as Fridolin Schönwiese’s The Five Cardinal Points (Austria), Willem Alkema’s Coming Back for More (Netherlands) and Arni Gunnarsson’s Kraftur: The Last Ride (Iceland).
Environmental and social issues will have their own spotlight, in special sections in the fest’s programme.
The festival also had to face the still-standing embargo of FoG members, who refuse to partake in national cinematic events of any sort until the government presents the much-awaited film law. However, their absence won’t have as strong an impact as it did at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival last November, since the Greek documentary scene is mainly the domain of television directors.
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