23/10/2025 - Once again this year, Greece’s largest film festival is set to welcome a host of new voices and bold visions

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival returns for its 66th edition from 30 October-9 November, maintaining its unwavering commitment to discovering new talents and cinematic voices that keep the festival's outlook fresh and exciting.

This year, the gathering presents its three usual official competitive sections: the International Competition, Meet the Neighbors+ and >>Film Forward. The event will bring together 12 features in each section, most of them the directors' first or second works, and all looking to broaden the boundaries of form, geography and theme.

In the International Competition, the selected films are festival favourites such as Pillion [+see also:
film review
film profile] (UK) by Harry Lighton, selected in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard; A Light That Never Goes Out (Finland/Norway) by Lauri‑Matti Parppei, premiered in Cannes’ ACID; Bearcave [+see also:
film review
interview: Stergios Dinopoulos, Krysia…
film profile] (Greece/UK) by Krysianna B Papadakis and  Stergios Dinopoulos, Europa Cinemas Label in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori; Strange River [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaume Claret Muxart
film profile] (Spain/Germany) by Jaume Claret Muxart and Milk Teeth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mihai Mincan
film profile] (Romania/France/Denmark/Greece/Bulgaria) by Mihai Mincan, both premiered in Venice’s Orizzonti; Cotton Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Germany/France/Palestine/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Sudan) by Suzannah Mirghani and Gorgonà [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Evi Kalogiropoulou
film profile] (Greece/France) by Evi Kalogiropoulou, both premiered in Venice’s International Film Critics’ Week; Satisfaction [+see also:
film review
film profile] (USA/Greece/Ukraine/Italy) by Alex Burunova, premiered at SXSW; as well as Karla [+see also:
trailer
interview: Christina Tournatzés
film profile] (Germany) by Christina Tournatzès, Maysoon (Germany/Greece) by Nancy Biniadaki, Beachcomber (Greece) by Aristotelis Maragkos and On the Sea (UK) by Helen Walsh.

In the Meet the Neighbors+ competition, dedicated to cinema from the Southeastern European region, the selected films are the Locarno-premiered titles God Will Not Help [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hana Jušić
film profile] (Croatia/Italy/Romania/Greece/France/Slovenia) by Hana Jušić, Don’t Let Me Die [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Romania/Bulgaria/France) by Andrei Epure, Fantasy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kukla
film profile] (Slovenia/North Macedonia) by Kukla, Sweetheart [+see also:
film review
interview: Margherita Spampinato
film profile] (Italy) by Margherita Spampinato and In the Land of Arto [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tamara Stepanyan
film profile] (France/Armenia) by Tamara Stepanyan; the Venice International Film Critics’ Week entry Roqia [+see also:
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interview: Yanis Koussim
film profile] (France/Algeria/Qatar/Saudi Arabia) by Yanis Koussim; Smaragda – I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Cyprus) by Emilios Avraam; Another Man (Spain) by David Moragas; Feels Like Home (Hungary) by Gábor Holtai; Life in a Beat (Greece/Cyprus/Bulgaria/North Macedonia/Montenegro/France) by Amerissa Basta; Novak (Greece/Switzerland) by Harry Lagoussis; and Maysoon by Nancy Biniadaki.

Lastly, the >>Film Forward competition, dedicated to the boldest voices, includes the Cannes-premiered The Chronology of Water [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Latvia/USA/UK) by Kristen Stewart; the Venice-premiered Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabriel Azorín
film profile] by Gabriel Azorín (Spain/Portugal), Agon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giulio Bertelli
film profile] by Giulio Bertelli (Italy/USA/France) and Barrio Triste (Colombia/USA) by Stillz; the Locarno-premiered Don’t Let the Sun [+see also:
film review
interview: Jacqueline Zünd
film profile] by Jacqueline Zünd (Switzerland/Italy) and Balearic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ion de Sosa
film profile] (Spain/France) by Ion De Sosa; the Karlovy Vary-premiered Before / After [+see also:
film review
interview: Manoël Dupont
film profile] (Belgium) by Manoël Dupont; as well as Kingdom by Michał Ciechomski (Poland), Female by Konstantinos Menelaou (Greece), Regan by Panos Katsimperis (Greece), Zealotis by Stelios Repanis (Greece) and 1001 Frames by Mehrnoush Alia (USA/Iran).

The festival, which will honour Isabelle Huppert (read news) and one of Greece’s most beloved directors, Yorgos Tsemberopoulos and host a tribute to directing duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, among other highlights, will be opened by the latest Venice Golden Lion winner, Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jim Jarmusch
film profile], and closed by György Pálfi's Hen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: György Pálfi
film profile].