Animal [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sofia Exarchou
scheda film], the sophomore feature written and directed by Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou, has secured the prestigious "Theo Angelopoulos" Golden Alexander for Best Feature Film at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, held from 2-12 November. Notably, this marks the first occasion in three decades that a Greek feature has clinched the festival's top honour.

The international jury – consisting of Dieter Kosslick, former director of the Berlinale; Belgian producer Diana Elbaum; and Greek filmmaker Elina Psykou – presented the €10,000 cash prize. The jury was “impressed by Animal and the behind-the-scenes peek at a Greek island in the summer and the unseen artists animating the tourists. This ensemble film is a condensation of finding a family, maybe love, and for sure sadness.” Additionally, Animal earned the Best Actress Award for Dimitra Vlagkopoulou, and Exarchou received the inaugural Crew United Award.

The recipient of the second prize, the Best Direction Award – Silver Alexander, valued at €5,000, was Joanna Arnow for The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something has Passed. The jury “appreciated the humour and absurdity of this bittersweet comedy about a woman, her body and sexuality”. Arnow also earned herself the Best Actress Award for her outstanding performance. The Best Actor accolade was awarded to Greek thesp Kostas Koronaios for his role in The Last Taxi Driver [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film], directed by Stergios Paschos. The film also garnered the Greek Association of Film Critics’ Award. Furthermore, the Screenplay Award was presented to The Lost Boys [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Zeno Graton
scheda film], directed by Zeno Graton and co-written by the director and Clara Bourreau.

In the Meet the Neighbors+ competition, Marie Amachoukeli's Àma Gloria [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Marie Amachoukeli
scheda film] was honoured with the section's Golden Alexander - Michel Dimopoulos. The film was recognised for “its intimate and heart-rending portrayal of an alternative kind of motherhood. In full harmony, the two actresses create tour-de-force performances, and they really are the beating heart of the movie.”  The jury was composed of Xenia Kaldara, general director of the Michalis Cacoyannis Foundation; festival programmer and film critic Cedric Succivalli; and actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.

Notes on a Summer [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Diego Llorente clinched the Best Direction Award - Silver Alexander, accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize for “its sensuous, refreshing and delicate mise-en-scène”. Mouna Haw received the Best Actress Award for her compelling performance in Inshallah a Boy [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Amjad Al Rasheed. The Best Actor Award was shared between Richard Langton for his role in We Have Never Been Modern [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Matěj Chlupáček e Miro Šifra
scheda film] by Matěj Chlupáček and Soma Sándor for his performance in Without Air [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Katalin Moldovai
scheda film] by Katalin Moldovai.

Eva Nathena's Greek flick Murderess was honoured with the Best Artistic Achievement Award, and the director also received the Greek Film Center Award. Additionally, the picture secured the FIPRESCI Award for the best Greek film premiering at the festival, as well as the inaugural Finos Film Award.

In the >>Film Forward Competition section, Lois Patiño's Samsara [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lois Patiño
scheda film] was awarded the Golden Alexander for “pushing the boundaries of film language, and for its rich sensorial cinematic form, which allowed us to experience a film with closed eyes”. The Silver Alexander was jointly bestowed upon Raven Jackson's All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, for “highlighting the affective dimensions of human experiences, for its haptic qualities and for exploring the realm of memory through an original approach”, and Eduardo Williams' The Human Surge 3 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], for “its innovative technique, for immersing us within the human and non-human worlds of care, and for its queer sensitivities”.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival:

International Competition

Best Feature Film Award - “Theo Angelopoulos” Golden Alexander
Animal [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sofia Exarchou
scheda film] - Sofia Exarchou (Greece/Austria/Romania/Cyprus/Bulgaria)

Best Direction Award - Silver Alexander
The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something has Passed - Joanna Arnow (USA)

Best Actress Award (ex aequo)
Dimitra Vlagkopoulou – Animal
Joanna Arnow – The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something has Passed

Best Actor Award
Kostas Koronaios - The Last Taxi Driver [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] (Greece)

Best Screenplay Award
Zeno Graton, Clara Bourreau - The Lost Boys [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Zeno Graton
scheda film] (Belgium/France)

Meet the Neighbors+ Competition

Best Feature Film Award - “Michel Dimopoulos” Golden Alexander
Àma Gloria [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Marie Amachoukeli
scheda film] - Marie Amachoukeli (France)

Best Direction Award - Silver Alexander
Notes on a Summer [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Diego Llorente (Spain)

Best Actress Award
Mouna Haw - Inshallah a Boy [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] (Jordan/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/France)

Best Actor Award (ex aequo)
Richard Langton - We Have Never Been Modern [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Matěj Chlupáček e Miro Šifra
scheda film] (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Soma Sándor - Without Air [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Katalin Moldovai
scheda film] (Hungary/Romania)

Best Artistic Achievement Award
Murderess - Eva Nathena (Greece)

>>Film Forward Competition

Best Feature Film Award - Golden Alexander
Samsara [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lois Patiño
scheda film] - Lois Patiño (Spain)

Silver Alexander (ex aequo)
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt - Raven Jackson (USA)
The Human Surge 3 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - Eduardo Williams (Argentina/Portugal/Netherlands/Taiwan/Brazil/Hong Kong/Sri Lanka/Peru)

Immersive: All Around Cinema - Golden Alexander
Finally Me - Marcio Sal (Brazil)

Podcast Competition

Podcast Award
Persistence of Memory - Courtney Hope Therond, Rhiannon Ciara Vaughn (USA)
Special Mention
By His Side As Long As It Lasts - Dafni Anesti, Danai Dragonea (Greece)

Other awards

Mermaid Award
The Summer with Carmen [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Zacharias Mavroeidis
scheda film] - Zacharias Mavroeidis (Greece)

Smart7 Award
India - Telmo Churro (Portugal)

FIPRESCI awards

Best Film in the International Competition
In Camera [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Naqqash Khalid
scheda film] - Naqqash Khalid (UK)

Best Greek Film Premiered at Thessaloniki
Murderess - Eva Nathena

Greek Association of Film Critics’ Award
The Last Taxi Driver - Stergios Paschos

Human Values Award of the Hellenic Parliament
Fingernails - Christos Nikou (USA)

Alpha Bank Accessibility Award
Stavros Zafeiris - Touched [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Claudia Rorarius
scheda film] (Germany)

ERT Original Music Award (ex aequo)
John Konsolakis - Dolls of Dresden (Greece/Germany)
Nikos Veliotis, Dimitris Kariofilis - Embryo Larva Butterfly [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Kyros Papavassiliou
scheda film] (Cyprus/Greece)

Greek Film Centre Award
Eva Nathena - Murderess

Hellenic Film Commission Best Location Award
Petros Chytiris - Little Things That Went Wrong (Greece)

JF Costopoulos Foundation Award
Polydroso - Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy) (Greece)

Finos Film Award
Murderess - Eva Nathena

WIFT GR Award
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt - Raven Jackson

Crew United Award
Sofia Exarchou - Animal

Youth jury awards

Best Feature Film Award
The Summer with Carmen - Zacharias Mavroeidis

Special Youth Jury Award
The Rhapsodist - Nikolai Hamel (Greece)