From November 5 to 15, Thessaloniki welcomes the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival.  The programme of the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival brings together contemporary cinema with retrospectives celebrating influential filmmakers. New films by acclaimed directors, emerging filmmakers, award-winning productions from major international festivals, and tributes to influential figures who have left their mark on the art of cinema. Cinemas across the city will screen 258 films, while a further 58 titles will also be available online through the Festival’s digital platform.

This year’s edition features tributes to Nikos Grammatikos and Emin Alper, a special section dedicated to the desert, and Balkan Horror, an exploration of the region’s darker storytelling traditions.

The Greek programme, meanwhile, showcases 54 feature-length and short films, while the Festival’s parallel events extend beyond cinema to include television series, podcasts and new audiovisual experiences.

For yet another year, the Festival offers its longstanding support to Greek cinema and the Greek filmmakers through a series of targeted and innovative actions and initiatives.

The Festival has a long-standing commitment to supporting Greek cinema through innovative initiatives, awards and various measures that strengthen the Greek film community, encourage domestic production and promote Greek films both in Greece and abroad.

The NextGen section of the 67th TIFF

The 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival celebrates young people’s perspectives through its NextGen section. Nine feature films and seven short films from around the world will be screened a limited number of times as part of TFF’s educational screening programme (in person and online), giving students and teachers across Greece the opportunity to enjoy original and moving cinematic experiences, meet the directors and talk with them.

Greek Films in the Spotlight

This year’s Festival will present 19 Greek films making their premiere, nine of which have been selected for its international competition sections.

Three Greek productions will compete in the International Competition:

  • A Whole Person Almost, directed by Efthimis Kosemund-Sanidis;
  • A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra, directed by Jacqueline Lentzou;
  • Titanic Ocean, directed by Konstantina Kotzamani.

Independent Awards Supporting Greek Cinema

The Festival will once again host several important independent awards aimed at supporting Greek filmmaking.

These include the FISCHER Audience Awards and the New Vision Award by EKKOMEΔ (the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre), worth €6,000. The latter is awarded to an emerging filmmaker making their debut with a Greek-produced film presented in the Festival’s Official Premiere section.

The Location Award by EKKOMEΔ, worth €2,000, will also be presented.

The ERT First Award, worth €3,000, goes to the Greek film selected by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). Since 2023, the Festival has also presented the ERT Original Music Award, carrying a prize of €2,000.

In addition, the Crew United Award will be presented to the director of a Greek film participating in the 67th TIFF and selected for one of the following sections: International Competition, Meet the Neighbors+ or >>Film Forward.

The Festival’s new section, Classics Revisited, will open with a screening of the restored version of Eve (1953), directed by Maria Plyta.

The initiative builds on the Festival’s ongoing efforts to preserve and promote Greece’s cinematic heritage.

Eve is the only film ever produced by Kominis Film. Its opening credits also mark the first time the name of Mikis Theodorakis appeared in connection with a film.

Honorary Golden Alexander and Retrospective Dedicated to Nikos Grammatikos

The 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival will pay tribute to director and screenwriter Nikos Grammatikos with an extensive retrospective of his work and an Honorary Golden Alexander, recognizing his contribution to cinema.

Born in 1963, Grammatikos is one of the most distinctive and influential voices in Greek cinema. His films combine poetry and realism, bringing to life worlds filled with everyday moments, groups of friends, memories, disappointments, love and unfulfilled dreams.

His characters are often unconventional and vulnerable, struggling with the world around them and with themselves as they try to find their way through life’s challenges.

The retrospective will follow Grammatikos’s creative journey, from his early work to the present. Seven of his feature films will be screened, alongside four rare short films, giving audiences the chance to discover different aspects of his filmmaking.

The tribute will also include an open discussion with the director and several of his collaborators, including actors, screenwriters and members of his film crews. They will share their experiences and talk about the different stages of his creative process.

Golden Alexander for Stavros Xarchakos

Renowned composer, conductor and arranger Stavros Xarchakos will also receive a Golden Alexander in Thessaloniki, in recognition of his contribution to culture.

As part of the tribute, the film Rembetiko, directed by Costas Ferris, will be screened.

Christopher Papakaliatis Named Ambassador of the 67th TIFF Agora

The Agora of the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the largest film industry market in Southeastern Europe, returns this year with actor, screenwriter and director Christopher Papakaliatis as its ambassador.

In this role, Papakaliatis will help highlight the creative and professional processes shaping the future of cinema and television, while introducing filmmakers, journalists and the wider public to the Agora’s important role in the audiovisual industry.

Taking place from 6 to 14 November, the Agora is supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

It offers a wide range of networking and co-production opportunities across the international film industry, with particular emphasis on Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean.

The programme will follow a hybrid format, with activities taking place both in person and online. It will offer industry professionals opportunities to exchange ideas and expertise, meet potential partners and collaborators, access funding opportunities and develop creative partnerships with professionals from around the world.

The Visual Identity of the 67th TIFF

Visual artist Sofia Rozaki has created spatial affects, the artwork that inspired the visual identity of this year’s Festival.

Drawing inspiration from the cinema auditorium and the theme of the Festival’s retrospective dedicated to the desert, the artist explores the relationship between space and the cinematic experience.

The work, created in 2026 using acrylics and watercolour pencils on canvas (150 × 180 cm), will be exhibited at one of the venues hosting this year’s Festival.

The History of the Festival

Held every November, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most important film festivals in the region and one of Greece’s leading cultural events.

Founded in 1960 on the initiative of Pavlos Zannas, the Festival began as a national event known as the Greek Cinema Week. In 1966, it was renamed the Greek Film Festival and remained a national event until 1991.

In 1981, responsibility for the Festival was transferred from the Ministry of Industry, under whose supervision it had previously operated, to the Ministry of Culture. In 1992, the Festival took on its international character.

Discover the full programme of the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, announced at the Festival’s official press conference.

Source (text and photos): Thessaloniki International Film Festival