The 2026 French-produced drama ‘Minotaur’, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, opened the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) on November 5 at the Olympion Theatre, after the official opening ceremony. After the screening, the TIFF launch party took place at Warehouse C and featured a concert by Pavlos Pavlidis with free admission
The family drama, which is combined with a stinging critique of present-day Russia in an age of generalized moral decline, won the prestigious Grand Prix at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and has been chosen to represent France in its bid for an Oscar at the 99th Academy Awards.
Following the opening night, the TIFF program offers through Nov. 15 days of film screenings, meetings with leading filmmakers, and events. A total of 258 films will be screened at the Olympion and Pavlos Zannas theatres, the screening venues at Thessaloniki Port, and the Makedonikon cinema, while 58 films will also be available online
Among the major names at this year’s Festival is the multi-award-winning Galician director Oliver Laxe, whose film ‘Sirāt’ impressed audiences and critics alike and won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Laxe is coming to Thessaloniki as guest curator of the major retrospective ‘Welcome to the Desert’, for which he has selected 17 films exploring the desert both as a cinematic landscape and as a symbol of human existence, inner searching, and the struggle for survival. The retrospective will also extend beyond the cinema screens, with a multimedia installation at the West Gatehouse and an audiovisual work by the director at MOMus – Experimental Centre for the Arts.
Also of particular interest is the presence of Laura Mulvey, the distinguished filmmaker, writer and theorist, widely regarded as one of the most important voices in feminist film theory. On November 12, she will take part in a discussion focusing on the seminal concept of the ‘male gaze’, examining how cinema shapes perceptions of gender, desire, and power.
Emin Alper, one of Turkey’s leading contemporary filmmakers, will also be visiting Thessaloniki. One of the Festival’s major retrospectives is dedicated to his work. His deeply political yet profoundly human cinema explores the contradictions and underlying problems of Turkish society. From his award-winning debut ‘Beyond the Hill’ to his latest film, ‘Salvation’, which won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, the retrospective traces the career of a filmmaker with a distinctive cinematic vision.
The Festival will present director and screenwriter Nikos Grammatikos with an Honorary Golden Alexander Award for his overall contribution to Greek cinema next Monday, Nov. 16 at 20:00. As part of the retrospective dedicated to his work, seven feature films and four short films will be screened, followed by an open discussion with the filmmaker and his collaborators.
A special highlight will be the 30th anniversary of ‘The Absent Ones’, one of the most iconic films in contemporary Greek cinema, which will be screened with full accessibility provisions, as will ‘Night Flowers’.
An Honorary Golden Alexander Award will also be presented to leading composer Stavros Xarchakos in recognition of his overall contribution to Greek culture. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, Nov.14 at 17:15 PM at the Olympion, followed by a special screening of Kostas Ferris’s iconic film ‘Rembetiko’ (1983), for which the composer wrote songs that went down in history as authentic rebetiko classics.
The international guests will include Fatih Akin, who is returning to Thessaloniki to present his latest film, Danish actor Claes Bang, American director Sara Driver, and actress Trine Dyrholm. Also making a special appearance will be Danish-Greek actress Mathilde Arcel, star of ‘The Unknown Woman’, which will bring the Festival to a close. Her performance in the film earned her the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival.
Christoforos Papakaliatis will play an important role at this year’s Agora, the largest film industry market in South-eastern Europe, taking on the role of ambassador. Combining his experience as both an actor and a filmmaker, he will meet emerging filmmakers taking part in the Agora, highlighting the opportunities and creative processes that shape the cinema and television of tomorrow.
Meanwhile, opportunities for audiences to meet leading figures from the world of cinema will come together under the unified banner of the TIFF TALKS program. Directors, actors, screenwriters, and other industry professionals will share their experiences and expertise through open discussions and masterclasses. Participants will include Oliver Laxe, Nikos Grammatikos, Laura Mulvey, Christoforos Papakaliatis, Renos Haralambidis, and author and screenwriter Tom Rob Smith. The series of events will explore subjects ranging from directing and the creative process to adapting a literary work for television.
One of the most distinctive themes of this year’s Festival is the ‘Balkan Horror’ retrospective, which explores the darker side of the Balkans through eight films. Myths, folk beliefs, family secrets, historical traumas, and ghosts of the past converge with folk horror, the supernatural, splatter, and black comedy in a cinematic journey in which the familiar becomes strange and everyday life turns into a nightmare.
The Festival will draw to a close on Sunday, November 15 with ‘The Unknown Woman’ by May el-Toukhy, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. Starring Mathilde Arcel, the film is set in post-war Europe and follows a young domestic worker preparing to marry her wealthy employer, while a secret from her past threatens to turn her life upside down.
The program for the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival is available on the Festival’s website at www.filmfestival.gr.
Material from ANA-MPA was used in this report.
