The 66th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, held from 30 October-9 November, has concluded with an awards ceremony held at its Warehouse C venue. Three Golden Alexanders were presented across the festival’s competitive sections, celebrating bold storytelling and innovative cinematic voices.

The “Theo Angelopoulos” Golden Alexander for Best Feature Film was awarded to Cotton Queen [+leggi anche:
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The Silver Alexander for Best Direction, supported by COSMOTE Telekom, which provides a €5,000 prize, went to Aristotelis Maragkos for Beachcomber, described by the director as “a film about failure, but also about the right to dream”. The pic also earned itself the Best Artistic Achievement Award for Giorgos Karvelas’ cinematography, praised for its visual poetry and emotional depth.

The Best Actor Award was given to Harry Melling for his performance in Pillion [+leggi anche:
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In the Meet the Neighbors+ competition, the “Michel Dimopoulos” Golden Alexander, accompanied by a €10,000 prize, was presented to The Last One for the Road [+leggi anche:
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The newly renamed “Silver Alexander – City of Thessaloniki Award” for Best Director, supported by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, which provides a €5,000 prize, was awarded to Yanis Koussim for Roqia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Yanis Koussim
scheda film]. The film was lauded for its “violent and timely examination of a traumatic chapter in Algerian history and its creative use of horror-movie iconography in an Islamic context; it thus creates a uniquely haunting and eerie experience”.

The Best Actress Award went to Manuela Martelli for Hana Jušić’s God Will Not Help [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hana Jušić
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In the >>Film Forward competition, the Golden Alexander, accompanied by €8,000, was awarded to 1001 Frames by Mehrnoush Alia. The jury, composed of choreographer Constanza Macras, filmmaker Christos Massalas and Zurich Film Festival programmer Valeria Wagner, commended the work for its “ideal merging of an urgent subject matter and its cinematographic execution”.

The Silver Alexander for Best Director, endowed with a €4,000 prize, was bestowed upon Manoël Dupont for Before / After [+leggi anche:
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Here is the complete list of winners at the 66th Thessaloniki International Film Festival:

International Competition

Best Feature Film Award – “Theo Angelopoulos” Golden Alexander
Cotton Queen [+leggi anche:
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Best Direction Award – Silver Alexander
Beachcomber – Aristotelis Maragkos (Greece)

Best Actor Award
Harry Melling – Pillion [+leggi anche:
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Best Actress Award
Sabrina Amali – Maysoon (Germany/Greece)

Best Screenplay Award
Yvonne Görlach – Karla [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christina Tournatzés
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Best Artistic Achievement – Cinematography
Giorgos Karvelas – Beachcomber

Meet the Neighbors+ Competition

Best Feature Film Award – “Michel Dimopoulos” Golden Alexander
The Last One for the Road [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Francesco Sossai
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Best Director Award – “Silver Alexander – City of Thessaloniki Award”
Roqia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Yanis Koussim
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Best Actor Award (ex aequo)
Pierpaolo Capovilla, Sergio Romano – The Last One for the Road

Best Actress Award
Manuela Martelli – God Will Not Help [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hana Jušić
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Best Artistic Achievement Award
God Will Not Help – Hana Jušić

>>Film Forward Competition

Best Feature Film Award – Golden Alexander
1001 Frames – Mehrnoush Alia (USA/Iran)

Silver Alexander – Best Director Award
Before / After [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Manoël Dupont
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Best Artistic Achievement Award
The Chronology of Water [+leggi anche:
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Special Mention
Jeremy Lamblot, Baptiste Leclère – Before / After

Immersive: All Around Cinema – Golden Alexander
A Long Goodbye – Kate Voet, Victor Maesbe (Belgium)

Podcast Competition

Best Podcast Award
A Guy from Tyrnavos – Evangelos Makris, Panos Apokoritis (Greece)
Special Mention
Warfetti – Nalia Ziku (Greece)

Other awards

Mermaid Award
Plainclothes [+leggi anche:
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Special Mentions
Fantasy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kukla
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Bearcave [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stergios Dinopoulos, Krysi…
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Smart7 Award
Hanami [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Denise Fernandes
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FIPRESCI Awards

Best Film in the International Competition
Karla – Christina Tournatzès

Best Greek Film Premiered at Thessaloniki
Bearcave – Krysianna B Papadakis, Stergios Dinopoulos

Greek Association of Film Critics’ Award
Patty Is Such a Girly Name – Giorgos Georgopoulos (Greece)

Human Values Award of the Hellenic Parliament
Milk Teeth [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mihai Mincan
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FOS Actor Award
Alexandros Ntavris – Endless Land (Greece)

FOS Actress Award
Chara Kyriazi – Bearcave

Alpha Bank Accessibility Award
Everybody Loves Touda [+leggi anche:
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Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra Award
Amine Bouhafa – Cotton Queen
Special Mentions
Felix Rösch – On the Sea (UK)

ERT Original Music Award
Marilena Orfanou, Stavros Mitropoulos – Patty Is Such a Girly Name

Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece Award
Bearcave – Krysianna B Papadakis, Stergios Dinopoulos

Hellenic Film Commission Best Location Award
Petros Chytiris – Gorgonà [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Evi Kalogiropoulou
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JF Costopoulos Foundation Award
Patty Is Such a Girly Name – Giorgos Georgopoulos

Finos Film Award
Patty Is Such a Girly Name – Giorgos Georgopoulos

WIFT GR Award
Bearcave – Krysianna B Papadakis, Stergios Dinopoulos

Crew United Award
Life in a Beat – Amerissa Basta (Greece)

Youth Jury Awards

Best Feature Film Award
Patty Is Such a Girly Name – Giorgos Georgopoulos

Special Youth Jury Award
Bearcave – Krysianna B Papadakis, Stergios Dinopoulos