17/03/2025 - How to Build a Library and Endless Cookie have received the other Golden Alexanders in their respective sections at the biggest documentary festival in Greece

Some of the winners of the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival

The 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TiDF) has concluded with the announcement of its award recipients, following its run from 6-16 March. The jury for the International Competition Feature Length section, consisting of director and photographer Dimitris Athiridis, filmmaker Lauren Greenfield and producer Signe Byrge Sørensen, picked Coexistence, My Ass! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Amber Fares as the winner of the Golden Alexander Award for Best Documentary. This accolade includes a cash prize of €12,000 and positions the film as a contender for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. It was described by the jury as “a powerful documentary about one of the most divisive, painful and enduring conflicts in the world today, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Its main protagonist is Jewish comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi, who is equally fluent in Arabic and Hebrew… With a compellingly constructed narrative and a fearless challenge to every taboo in the region, Noam’s disarming voice and humour invite the audience to gain a deeper understanding as we laugh and cry with her, and reconsider our biases with open minds and hearts.” The film also received the Human Rights in Motion Award.

The €5,000 Silver Alexander was awarded to Free Leonard Peltier by Jesse Short Bull and David France, which “speaks to the history of human rights abuses against the Native Americans, and their multi-generational resistance, while highlighting the ongoing struggle over their sovereign nation land rights and resources”. The film also received the FIPRESCI Award of the International Competition and the Amnesty International Award. Additionally, Child of Dust [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Weronika Mliczewska received a Special Mention.

In the Newcomers International Competition, which included debut and sophomore features, the Golden Alexander – Dimitri Eipides Award, accompanied by a cash prize of €10,000, was bestowed upon How to Build a Library by Maia Lekow and Christopher King. The jury members – filmmaker and DocPoint head of programming Inka Achté, journalist Tina Mandilara and filmmaker Tünde Skovrán – underlined, “With passion, the filmmakers expose the lasting imprints of colonialism while celebrating activism and two female friends’ fight for truly accessible public spaces”. The Silver Alexander, accompanied by a cash prize of €4,000, went to They Talk About Worship Here by Byron Kritzas, which “reminds the audience about the healing and connecting qualities that art – in this case, music – can have for people across generations and borders”. The film also won the Audience Award. Additionally, the jury bestowed a Special Mention upon Pet Farm by Finn Walther and Martin A Walther.

In the »Film Forward International Competition, which showcases the work of new and daring directors, the jury – art curator Nadja Argyropoulou, producer Grant Keir and festival consultant Anne Marie Kürstein – gave the Golden Alexander, which comes with €6,000 in cash, to Endless Cookie by Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver, “a sharp and funny meditation on ‘a film within a film’, on family community and on shared culture”. The Silver Alexander, accompanied by a €3,000 cash prize, was granted to Meanwhile by Catherine Gund, which “traverses several documentary conventions, successfully deploying a form of ‘poethics’ without losing precision, social and historical markers, and a sense of collective art”. A Special Mention was bestowed upon the documentary Museum of the Night by Fermín Eloy Acosta.

Furthermore, in the Immersive: All Around Cinema competition section, the Immersive Golden Alexander went to the film Sweet End of the World! by Stefano Conca Bonizzoni, as “it is challenging and disorientating, with a cinematic poetry that captivated us and left us with an offering for the future”, in the words of the jury. Finally, the Podcast Award was bestowed upon Blind Fascination by Michail Agrafiotis, Stella Kantartzi and Eleftheria Avgerinou.

Here is the full list of award winners at the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival:

International Competition

Golden Alexander
Coexistence, My Ass! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Amber Fares (USA/France)

Silver Alexander
Free Leonard Peltier - Jesse Short Bull, David France (USA)
Special Mention
Child of Dust [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Weronika Mliczewska (Poland/Vietnam/Czech Republic)

Newcomers International Competition

Golden Alexander - Dimitri Eipides
How to Build a Library - Maia Lekow, Christopher King (Kenya/USA)

Silver Alexander
They Talk About Worship Here - Byron Kritzas (Greece)
Special Mention
Pet Farm - Finn Walther, Martin A Walther (Norway)

»Film Forward International Competition

Golden Alexander
Endless Cookie - Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver (Canada)

Silver Alexander
Meanwhile - Catherine Gund (USA)
Special Mention
Museum of the Night - Fermín Eloy Acosta (Argentina)

Immersive Golden Alexander
Sweet End of the World! - Stefano Conca Bonizzoni (Italy)

Podcast Award
Blind Fascination - Michail Agrafiotis, Stella Kantartzi, Eleftheria Avgerinou (Greece)
Special Mention
Voices of Vindication - Andreas Vagias (Greece)

ENS Louis Lumière – French Institute of Greece Award for an Upcoming Audio Documentary Creator
Katerina Giannisi - Koi no yokan (Greece)
Special Mention
Dimos Vryzas - Salutations (Greece)

Mermaid Award
GEN_ [+see also:
film review
interview: Gianluca Matarrese
film profile] - Gianluca Matarrese (France/Italy/Switzerland)
Special Mention
On Lavender - Makis Evangelatos, Eirini Chatzi (Greece)

Alpha Bank Accessibility Award
Viktor - Olivier Sarbil (Denmark/Ukraine/France/USA)

EKKOMED Award
Lo - Thanassis Vassiliou (Greece/France)

Human Rights in Motion Award
Coexistence, My Ass! - Amber Fares

Human Values Award of the Hellenic Parliament
Under the Flags, the Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Juanjo Pereira (Paraguay/Argentina/USA/France/Germany)

Amnesty International Award
Free Leonard Peltier - Jesse Short Bull, David France

FIPRESCI Award (International Competition)
Free Leonard Peltier - Jesse Short Bull, David France

FIPRESCI Award (Best Greek Film)
Sculpted Souls - Stavros Psillakis (Greece)

Greek Association of Film Critics’ Award
Return to Homeland - Chryssa Tzelepi, Akis Kersanidis (Greece)

WIFT (Women in Film & Television) Award
Bull’s Heart - Eva Stefani (Greece)

WWF Greece Award
Searching for Amani - Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko (USA/Kenya)

Youth Jury Awards

Best Greek Film Award
Sculpted Souls - Stavros Psillakis

Special Jury Prize
Bull’s Heart - Eva Stefani