Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival Announces Full Lineup, Welcomes Juliette Binoche Directorial Debut

Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche will be heading to the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival next month to screen her directorial debut, the nonfiction feature In-I In Motion.

That’s one of the highlights to emerge from a news conference Wednesday at which TiDF leadership unveiled the full lineup for the 28^th edition of the festival, which runs from March 5-15 in the Greek port city. Binoche’s film revolves around her collaboration with acclaimed British dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. Announcing her plan to attend the festival, TiDF noted Binoche also serves as president of the European Film Academy. “The radiant star will share thoughts, impressions and experiences with the audience on her recently acquired dual capacity both in front of and behind the camera, in an open discussion held within the context of the Festival,” TiDF said.

More than 250 feature-length and short documentaries will screen at the festival, including a record 80 world premieres. An additional 32 international and 11 European premieres are slated. Kicking off the festival will be international premiere of Ivy Meeropol’s Ask E. Jean, a documentary about E. Jean Carroll, who sued Donald Trump for sexual assault and defamation, becoming “the only woman to ever beat him twice in a courtroom.”

The festival’s closing slot on March 15 will go to Mr. Nobody Against Putin, the Oscar-nominated documentary directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by the protagonist of the film, Pavel Talankin. That’s the very night of the Oscars, and a few hours after the screening, TiDF will host an Academy Awards viewing party at the historic Olympion Theater. (Adding excitement to that event, favorite son Yorgos Lanthimos, an Athens native, is nominated for producing Best Picture contender Bugonia. The film is nominated for three other Oscars, including Emma Stone for Best Actress).

The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is set to unfold at a time of continued war in Ukraine, ongoing violence in Gaza where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces, and President Trump threatening to attack Iran, among other turbulent global news. The Berlin Film Festival overseers attempted to steer clear of taking political stances at the recently concluded Berlinale, but TiDF leaders are showing no hesitation to weigh in on world events.

“From Ukraine and Gaza to Sudan and Iran, and to every place where democracy, justice, and human rights are being tested, the anxiety about what comes next remains intense,” the festival leadership said. “The hope that conflicts might come to an end, that peace, stability, and social cohesion might prevail, cannot take shape as long as violence, racism, hate speech, and authoritarian political practices continue to be normalized. As long as the machinery of war remains in motion, openly threatening global stability, there is no room for complacency. Here, at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, we have the fortune, the joy, and above all the responsibility to underline the importance and the true power of the art of documentary, the indelible power of memory and truth.”

TiDF continued, “Grounded in our belief in the universal values of freedom, democracy, equality, inclusion, and dignity, we have prepared a festival that brings into view what is unfolding in the world. What concerns us. Without footnotes. This is the direction we follow in order to provide a safe framework for talented and tireless documentary filmmakers from around the world to present their work. Work that, at times, entails risk and a personal cost greater than what the camera allows to be seen. That is why bringing these filmmakers and their invaluable work to the Festival’s audience, and their meaningful interaction over 11 days in Thessaloniki, is for us a mission of the highest importance.”

Festival films will be available to watch online, through the TiDF platform online.filmfestival.gr.

These are among additional highlights announced Wednesday:

GOLDEN ALEXANDER AND TRIBUTE TO VOUVOULA SKOURA

The 28th TIDF foregrounds unique filmmaker Vouvoula Skoura, whose works redefine our relation to memory, history and time. In particular, the tribute will showcase a total of 20 films, whereas the pioneering Greek filmmaker will be bestowed with the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander for her contribution to Greek cinema and culture.

GOLDEN ALEXANDER TO BILL MORRISON AND A SPOTLIGHT ON HIS WORK

The 28th TIDF will bestow its honorary Golden Alexander to the American multimedia artist Bill Morrison, who will attend the Festival to present his work and deliver an open-to-the-public masterclass. Six of his films will be screened as part of the Festival’s spotlight on a filmmaker who has been labeled by the New York Times as the “poet laureate of lost films.”

GOLDEN ALEXANDER TO YORGOS PAPALIOS

The Festival will also bestow its honorary Golden Alexander to the iconic film producer Yorgos Papalios, whose name has become a synonym of the Greek cinema rebirth, as he offered support to countless up-and-coming filmmakers in their first steps. The documentary Running on Waves by Yannis Karapiperidis that focuses on Yorgos Papalios will be screened at the Festival, while the acclaimed producer will also serve as jury member of the International Competition section.

GREEK DOCUMENTARIES

We are welcoming a total of 57 Greek films as part of the official international program (International Competition, Newcomers Competition, Film Forward Competition, Open Horizons) and the Platform+ section. The documentaries taking part in the extended Platform+ section will be screened at the Festival’s digital platform from 6 to 20 March, gaining a wider availability window for the audience. Among the Festival’s Greek documentaries we present:

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

The 28th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is hosting four competition sections:

* A total of 14 films, among which three Greek, take part in the International Competition, having their eyes set on the Golden Alexander, accompanied by a 12,000-euro cash prize, and the Silver Alexander, accompanied by a 5,000-euro cash prize.

* The Newcomers competition section, featuring debut and sophomore films of up-and-coming film directors, includes 14 films, among which three Greek, competing for the “Golden Alexander – Dimitri Eipidis”, accompanied by a cash prize of 10,000 euros, and the Silver Alexander, accompanied by a cash prize of 4,000 euros.

* The Film Forward competition section, which challenges cinematic conventions and showcases unconventional films, is hosting 10 films, among which three Greek. The awards bestowed are the Golden Alexander >>Film Forward, accompanied by a cash prize of 6,000 euros and the Silver Alexander, accompanied by a cash prize of 3,000 euros.

* Within the framework of the Immersive: All around Cinema competition section, 8 pioneering films are lining up for the Golden Alexander Immersive, accompanied by a 2,000-euro cash prize. Moreover, the interactive installation HeartBeat, Son cœur a trouvé sa cadence dans le silence des rencontres by the French visual artist Fanny Fortage, also known as Bonnie Lisbon, will be hosted as part of the Immersive: All around Cinema section.

* We discover dynamic and out-of-the-box docs at the Open Horizons section.

* We are presenting the cream of the crop of the documentary production at the Top Docs section.

* We turn our attention to the younger generation through the NextGen section.

DESMOND CHILD IN THESSALONIKI

We host the world premiere of the documentary Desmond Child Rocks the Parthenon. The legendary American composer and producer Desmond Child will be in Thessaloniki, with the film’s director Heather Winters and its producer, the well-known composer and lyricist behind major hit songs, Phoebus.

AGORA

Dynamic initiatives, as well as new and fresh synergies are part of the 28th TiDF Agora, the Festival’s developmental branch, which will take place both in physical spaces and online. The TIDF Agora is showcasing and supporting the films and the documentary filmmakers of tomorrow through a series of actions such as Thessaloniki Pitching Forum, Docs in Progress, Agora XR Lab, Agora Boost, Agora Talks, Talking Heads etc. As for the actions launched for the first time in this year’s Festival, the European Film Academy, in collaboration with Agora, will host a Think Tank of leading European documentary professionals. In addition, the Agora will invite a delegation of four producers from the Basque Country to present their projects before acclaimed professionals of the industry.

Here’s the lineup of the International Competition:

George, a shy teenager with misaligned eyes, struggles to connect with others after his parents’ divorce. Finding refuge in the world of insects, he bonds with a cricket named Isabella. Through a portrait of transformation and self-discovery, the film reminds us that even the smallest creatures can help us find where we belong.

In the mid-1960s, Kostas left his village in Crete dreaming of becoming a star. His rugged physique and humble background afforded him only small “tough-guy” roles, yet in numerous Greek films – from big studio productions and renowned auteur masterpieces to low-budget exploitation films alike. By placing a support actor at centerstage, the film traces five decades of Greek cinema.

A portrait of Athens told through the lives of three veteran taxi drivers who move through the city as quiet dreamers. Konstantinos is approaching retirement after half a century behind the wheel, and begins each shift with a private ritual beneath the Acropolis. Sunny, a Nigerian actor and family man, drifts between faith, fatigue and a desire to return to artistic expression. Yorgos, an innate performer, sings love songs in small clubs at night. Blending observation with musical sequences, the film inhabits routine, memory and desire in a city shaped by crisis and persistence.

Can the system truly be overthrown from within? Who, if not Fergie Chambers, is better suited to answer such a question? The politically insurgent son of one of America’s wealthiest families, a staunch communist and sworn enemy of the plutocratic environment he was born and raised in, creates a revolutionary base in rural Massachusetts so as to fight against capitalism from within. With a subversive spirit and remarkable directorial finesse, the riveting All About the Money attempts an incredibly fascinating (and extremely alarming) study of the power and financial structures that dominate the modern world, while simultaneously outlining the portrait of a figure as mesmerizing as it is riddled with contradictions. Never before has the dream of a better, fairer world been a matter of concern for one of its natural, at least from a class-conscious, Marxist standpoint, opponents.

Lost in the untouched landscapes of Paraguay, a strange community of Europeans attempts to build an enclosed “paradise,” far from everything they consider as decay in the modern world. Conspiracy theorists, right-wing extremists, and all sorts of eccentric people arrive in the community, whose founder and leader is a shrewd German man. Crafting the portrait of the community’s leader and tracing the stories of both the settlers and the Paraguayans around the sect that presents itself as a utopia, Around Paradise is an insightful film that – upon indirectly and allusively casting light on the so-called paradise through dark humor and a metaphysical lens – addresses a number of pressing issues of our time: from the rise of the far right and its historical roots to modern colonialism through the economy and digital technology. Unsettlingly revealing and with masterful aesthetics, Yulia Lokshina’s brilliant documentary stays etched in memory long after the end credits.

As civil war engulfs Syria, two young journalists begin collaborating remotely, exchanging text messages and voice notes to document the conflict. Abd captures stories from the ground, risking his life to film the war, while Janay shapes his footage from London, where she has lived since leaving Lebanon. Gradually, their professional relationship evolves into an intimate bond, despite never having met in person. Drawn from a remarkable archive spanning 13 years of revolution and war, the film reveals a love story shaped by distance, risk, and shared purpose. At the same time, it offers a powerful reflection on journalism, exposing the limits of news coverage and revealing the deeply human stories that exist beyond the headlines.

A father goes on holiday with his son and two of his friends, during which time they make an amateur horror film together. As the years pass, they continue to shoot scenes for their “handcrafted,” carefree, imaginative horror project, with even more passion, dutiful consistency, and unwavering commitment: the documentary chronicles a decade of this beautiful adventure, as Maciej and the kids become a group of people who grow up… and yet somehow still manage to grow younger together. An unexpected blend of documentary and coming-of-age film unlike any other; it’s as if the kids from Stand By Me decided to make a thriller, alongside a dad-director who refuses to grow up. The making of such a film would look a lot like the funny, tenderly melancholic, and wonderful Candidates of Death.

Shortly before dawn on May 27, 2023, 16-year-old Chris sneaked out of his house and took a bus to Warsaw. A closed-circuit camera captured images of him standing for twenty consecutive minutes on a central bridge in the city, silently looking out over the water. When the camera returned to the same spot a few moments later, Chris was gone. Daniel, Chris’s father, has been searching for him ever since, along the banks of the Vistula River, improvising methods and means of investigation. Mapping out a hypothetical path of loss and suicide, Daniel becomes a timeless and yet contemporary tragic hero, struggling to unearth answers to questions doomed to remain unresolved. A heart-wrenching journey through unfinished mourning and undying sorrow, with the unattainable promise of closure as its final destination.

On a country road in Devon, England, live two implacably opposed neighboring farmers, both called Derek. One believes in intensive farming of his land so that food can be produced in abundance; the other is creating an oasis for nature on his land, driven by an entirely different perception of agriculture and a farmer‘s duties. A wonderful ecological documentary that juxtaposes two wholly opposing approaches to farming, introducing us to two characters who share the same name, and whose constant clashes you’ll never tire of watching. The exquisite film, Derek vs Derek, raises pressing environmental issues, while conducting an exquisite study of idiosyncrasies at the same time, free of any pretension, though full of humor and substance. Two Dereks, two perspectives, two ethical outlooks, and even perhaps two Englands, situated side by side, yet at odds, whose (on-screen) coexistence proves to be quite a delight!

At the foot of Europe’s largest glacier, seven Icelandic siblings once lived in deliberate isolation, dedicating their lives to observing ice and nature long before climate change had a name. Their abandoned farmhouse becomes a living archive, animated by photographs, objects, and a 16mm film that restores gestures, spaces, and a vanished way of being in the world. Blending observational filmmaking with found footage, Rafa Molés and Pepe Andreu, the duo behind the 2020 unforgettable Icelandic story of Lobster Soup, return to the Arctic North to craft a poetic, contemplative elegy in which time, memory, and matter converge. The glacier – now wrapped in vast white shrouds in a desperate attempt to slow its melting – emerges as both subject and body, altar and loss. La Pietà is a quiet yet devastating meditation on ecological grief, reverence, and the belated effort to protect what once shaped our existence.

“I’ve never told this story. It might seem simple, but each story is a labyrinth that leads us somewhere we’ve never been”: Thus, an elderly Inuit begins recounting the story of his homeland: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, “the Polar Bear Capital of the World,” where thousands of large animals wind up following the rhythm of the universe and the formation of ice. As a primordial thread lyrically and melancholically unfolds, intertwining the human and the non-human, a “disturbing” presence disrupts a vast landscape that has already been altered by human intervention – overtourism, mining, industrialization, mass settlement, desertification. Reintroducing us to a leading lady we met in one of the most impressive and commercially successful short films of recent years (the titular Nuisance Bear [24th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, 3rd Evia Film Project]), the directing duo from the fringes of the Arctic circle undermines the human gaze cast upon the planet and proposes a cinema that is, in essence, ecological – an ecosystem where all beings exist in the same way, laughing, hurting, wondering, and looking for food for the next day.

With the Soviet Union’s dissolution dragging down the economy of neighboring Finland, the Scandinavian country was plunged in a period of protracted recession. And with no recovery in sight, a soap opera offered Finns a respite from the grim reality; the debut of The Bold and the Beautiful on television quickly amassed a vast and dedicated following, whereas the arrival of American idols in the country, on tour, elicited unprecedented frenzy. But beyond providing an indulgent, meta retrospective on the historical impact that the early 90s hit series had on Finland, Soap Fever also examines the circumstances in which the yearning for escapism reaches a breaking point, especially when everything seems bleak.

Family ties remain one of the most wondrous human mysteries, and the relationship between father and son is a relationship that has it all: tenderness, interdependence, esteem, conflict, disillusionment. Rarely does a film capture all the nuanced subtleties of the bitter, sometimes unbearable reality of the father-son bond, but also the remarkable devotion it requires: in The Beauty of Errors, Jukka Kärkkäinen revisits two figures he introduced in 2009 in his film, The Living Room of a Nation; Tero and his newborn at the time son, Henri. The subtle, yet insightful observation of Tero’s relationship with Henri, now at the threshold of adulthood, unfolds against the backdrop of the sleepy Finnish countryside, showcasing a story that at times resembles a pocket-sized epic (all passion and intensity), and at other times, a film by Kaurismäki or a wistful waltz, carrying a bittersweet affirmation of life – and its unceasing continuity.

In 1995, young Norwegian artist Hans Christian Ostrø travels to India in search of meaning and artistic growth. Months later, he is kidnapped in Kashmir and held hostage by the militant group al-Faran. During five weeks in captivity, he secretly writes poems and letters to his sister, filmmaker Anette Ostrø. Found on his body after his execution, these texts become the foundation of an intimate reconstruction of his final months. Through personal archives and present-day reflection, The Golden Swan transforms a landmark act of early modern terrorism into a deeply human story of courage, forgiveness, and moral resistance in the face of fear.