05/07/2021 - On the Other Side and Landscapes of Resistance have received the other Golden Alexanders in their respective sections at the end of the hybrid edition of the festival

The 23^rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF) unspooled as a hybrid edition, with its first online screenings running from 4-14 March and the on-site screenings from 24 June–4 July, when 92 films were shown in nine open-air theatres and 142 were showcased online, with a total of 48,000 viewers watching them.

The jury of the International Competition Feature Length section, comprising producer-writer-editor Yuri Averov, director Katerina Patroni and filmmaker-artist Iva Radivojević, announced its award winners, with Miguel Ángel Blanca’s Magaluf Ghost Town [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Ángel Blanca
film profile] receiving the Golden Alexander Award for Best Documentary, which comes with a cash prize of €15,000. The Special Jury Award, worth €5,000, went to Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim’s Luchadoras [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while the film also received the FIPRESCI Award in the International Competition along with the TDF’s Audience Award.

In the Newcomers International Competition, which included debut or sophomore features, the Golden Alexander - Dimitri Eipides Award, accompanied by a cash prize of €10,000, was bestowed upon On the Other Side [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Iván Guarnizo, which also received the Human Values Award from the Hellenic Parliament. The jury members, journalist and director Nikos Mengrelis, documentarian and actress Anneta Papathanasiou, and composer and co-founder of Tuxedomoon Blaine Reininger, also gave the Special Jury Award, accompanied by a cash prize of €3,000, to Sedimentos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile] by Adrián Silvestre.

In the »Film Forward International Competition, which showcases the work of new and daring directors, the jury comprising visual arts curator Maria-Thalia Carras, architect Bernard Cuomo and director Christos Karakepelis gave the Golden Alexander, which comes with €3,000 in cash, to Landscapes of Resistance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Popivoda
film profile] by Marta Popivoda and a Special Mention to The Oleanders by Paola Revenioti, which also snagged the Mermaid Special Mention.

Furthermore, for the first time, a new competition section was introduced at TDF, focusing on podcasts. The jury (comprising Calliope Alpitsi, chief executive officer of elc productions; director and founding member of pod.gr Lefteris Charitos; and journalist, documentary and radio producer Nadja Drakoula) bestowed the Podcast Award, accompanied by a €2,000 cash prize, to Enallax by Danai Dimopoulou and Elpiniki Papadopoulou, as “it brings together virtues and elements that characterise a wholesome and original podcast. Among them are productive completeness, research, artistic intention and narrative structure, originality in the content and style, and balance between the emotional stimulation of the listener and the freedom of information processing." Also, a Special Mention was given to Maid in Hell by Line Fabricius and Anna Steen Hansen, as it “deals with an issue that concerns human history to this day, that of modern slavery, through particularly interesting narratives and a multifaceted approach”.

Colors of Tobi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexa Bakony
film profile] by Alexa Bakony picked up the Mermaid Award as the best LGBTQI-themed film. Golden Dawn A Public Affair by Angélique Kourounis won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Greek Film, which also comes with €3,000 from the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), along with the Youth Jury Special Award. Finally, the Greek Film Centre Award for Best Greek Debut Documentary Film Over 50 Minutes went to Memento by Nikos Ziogas; the award is accompanied by a €3,000 cash prize. Also, a Special Mention was given to A Beautiful Day by Danis Karaisaridis and Yorgos Paterakis, which also scooped the Youth Jury Best Film Award.

Here is the full list of award winners at the 23^rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival:

International Competition

Golden Alexander
Magaluf Ghost Town [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Ángel Blanca
film profile] – Miguel Ángel Blanca (Spain/France)

Special Jury Award
Luchadoras [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim (Germany)

Newcomers International Competition

Golden Alexander - Dimitri Eipides
On the Other Side [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Iván Guarnizo (Colombia/Spain)

Special Jury Award
Sedimentos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile] – Adrián Silvestre (Spain)

»Film Forward International Competition

Golden Alexander
Landscapes of Resistance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Popivoda
film profile] – Marta Popivoda (Serbia/France)
Special Mention
The Oleanders – Paola Revenioti (Greece)

Podcast Award
Enallax – Danai Dimopoulou, Elpiniki Papadopoulou (Greece)
Special Mention
Maid in Hell – Line Fabricius, Anna Steen Hansen (Denmark)

Mermaid Award
Colors of Tobi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexa Bakony
film profile] – Alexa Bakony (Hungary)
Special Mention
The Oleanders – Paola Revenioti

Human Values Award of the Hellenic Parliament
On the Other Side – Iván Guarnizo

Greek Film Centre Award
Memento – Nikos Ziogas (Greece)
Special Mention
A Beautiful Day – Danis Karaisaridis, Yorgos Paterakis (Greece/Germany)

Amnesty International Award
Dying to Divorce – Chloe Fairweather (UK/Norway/Germany/Turkey)

FIPRESCI Award (International Competition)
Luchadoras – Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim

FIPRESCI Award (Best Greek Film)
Golden Dawn A Public Affair – Angélique Kourounis (Greece)

Greek Association of Film Critics Award
Back to Earth – Chryssa Tzelepi, Akis Kersanidis (Greece)

WIFT (Women in Film & Television) Award
Eva Stefani – Days and Nights of Demetra K. (Greece)

WWF Greece Award
Silence of the Tides [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Pieter-Rim de Kroon (Netherlands/Germany/Denmark)

Youth Jury Awards

Best Film Award
A Beautiful Day – Danis Karaisaridis, Yorgos Paterakis

Special Jury Award
Golden Dawn A Public Affair – Angélique Kourounis

Fischer Audience Awards

Feature-length International Competition
Luchadoras – Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim

International Film Under 50 Mins
Stranger than Rotterdam, with Sara Driver – Lewie Kloster, Noah Kloster (USΑ)

Feature-length Greek Film
Through the Window Glass, Three Acts [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Christos Barbas (Greece)

Greek Film Under 50 Mins
Zabeta – Elissavet Sfyri, Sofia Sfyri (Greece)