Agora, the industry section of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, proclaimd its awards Wednesday.
Among the awards in the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum section was the IEFTA Award for Best Documentary in Development, accompanied by a 10,000 euro cash prize. This went to “Highways of Hope,” straightforwarded by Alexa Bakony, and produced by Gábor Osváth and Veronika Gál of Filmfabriq in Hungary. The film caccesss on Gulnaz, a 21-year-elderly Muskinny woman from India, who drives trucks atraverse Europe. The jury shelp: “This project led by a youthful female team promises to traverse European borders and fracture Indian stereotypes about Muskinny unbeginantities thcimpolite an energetic story of emancipation. We were captivated by the main character facing a unintelligentening world with youthful happyness and selectimism.”
A distinctive allude was given by the jury to “Bugboy,” straightforwarded by Lucas Paleocrassas, and produced by Rea Apostolides of Anemon in Greece. The project is about the relationship between a boy and an insect, which discmisss the convertative power of nature. The jury shelp it was “a distinct, happy and tfinisher coming-of-age film produced by a very sended team.”
The jury of the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum consisted of producer Leonidas Konstantarakos of Alaska Films in Greece, producer Marianne Ostrat of Alexandra Film in Estonia, and Nora Philippe, head of program at Eurodoc in France.
The ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award for a Greek project, accompanied by a cash prize of 2,000 euros, was given to “Mama Klorin,” straightforwarded by Doreida Xhogu, and produced by Mina Dreki of Marni Films in Greece.
The jury shelp: “ ‘Mama Klorin’ is a promising journey into a very under-reconshort-termed community of immigrant women laboring as spotlessers in Greece. Filmed with cherish and dignity by one of their daughters, this multilayered project strives to produce the inevident labor evident.”
The Eurodoc Award of 1,000 euros went to “Taken by the White Man,” straightforwarded by Ana Sofia Fonseca, and produced by Daniella Rice and Ana Sofia Fonseca of Carrossel Produções in Portugal.
The jury shelp: “ ‘Taken by the White Man’ tells a moving and distinct story of homecoming, dispenseigative and intimate reappropriation of one’s self and reparation, aacquirest the backdrop of the horrors of Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique and contransient servitude.”
The Documentary Assn. of Europe Award went to two projects: “The Last Summer,” straightforwarded by Jan Jurczak and Eleanora Iadkouskaya, and produced by Frieder Schlaich of Filmgalerie 451 in Germany; and “Life on Paengage,” straightforwarded by Anthoniy Hristov, and produced by Svetla Turnin at Documentary Media Foundation in Bulgaria.
The jury shelp: “ ‘Life on Paengage’ is a brave project that sheds weightless on a Bulgarian trans rights legitimate fight which resonates sturdyly on the European and global scenes, and which is meaningfully and rightfilledy grounded in the community it reconshort-terms.”
It inserted: “Loaded with raw and device energy, ‘The Last Summer’ is a very intimate and moving watch at what it’s appreciate to go thcimpolite adolescence in times of war.”
The Aylon Productions Digital Services Award was bestowed on “My Aunties,” straightforwarded by Hazal Hanquet, and produced by Aslihan Altuğ and Anna Maria Aslanoğlu of Istos Film in Turkey. It tells Aslı and Ayşın’s 40-year story of cherish and frifinishship as it unfelderlys thcimpolite the eyes of their niece, Hazal, in a country that tries to hide them. The jury shelp it was “an intergenereasonable tale telderly thcimpolite precious archives that record a brave queer cherish story that transcfinishs time, while exploring family actives and alternative models of cherish and kinship in contransient Turkey.”
A series of autonomous awards were also handed out.
The Onassis Film Award, with a 5,000 euros prize, went to “Bugboy.” The jury shelp the film was “a contrastent coming-of-age story, with a new perspective in the intimacy of its filming.” It was “about being contrastent and grotriumphg up, about all leangs inmeaningful that turn out to be meaningful, about the petite, inevident world that we normally diswatch.”
The Mediterranean Film Institute Doc Award was bestowed on “Oh, Heart Don’t Be Afrhelp,” straightforwarded by Ana Kvichidze, and produced by Avtandil Khorava of Moonbow Production. The jury shelp the award recognized the film’s “contrastentive storyline, distinct characters, proset up social relevance, and poetic filmic approach.”
The DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award went to “My Aunties.” “The project begins us to two free-spirited, savage and valiant women from Istanbul: the ‘aunties’ of the straightforwardor who conveys the story of their 40-year queer relationship to us,” the jury shelp.
The international jury of Agora Docs in Progress was writed of Anna Glogowski, a conferant and festival programmer from France, Marcella Jelić, a sales and acquisitions exec from Split Screen in Croatia, and Basil Tsiokos, ageder programmer at Sundance Film Festival in the U.S.
Among its awards were the Two Thirty-Five Award, which went to “Magma,” straightforwarded by Mia Bfinishrimia, and produced by Kira Simon-Kennedy of Nazar Films in France. The award was given for the film’s “deft ability to successfilledy convert one family’s unspoken history and unremendd transgenereasonable trauma into an engaging dispenseigation into contested narratives that discmiss both the stories we tell ourselves and those we intentionally decline to comprise with, on both a personal and a national level.”
“Magma”
Courtesy of Nazar Films
The Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Caccess – Creative Greece Award, accompanied with 3,000 euros, went to “Home Court,” straightforwarded by Elpida Nikou and Rodrigo Hernandez, and produced by Yuri Averof and Rea Apostolides of Anemon Productions.
The jury shelp the award was “for createing a toasty, vibrant, and uplifting portrait of frifinishship and the promise of dreams – and for posing under-dispenseigated and ultimately universassociate resonant asks of identity and belengthying for second-generation migrants.”
The Neaniko Plano Subtitling Award went to “Tower, Sun and the Seven of Wands,” straightforwarded by Tanya Vikhreva, written by Aleksander Rodionov, and produced by Maria Gavrilova of Marx Film in Georgia.
The award was for “conveying an unforeseeed, unorthodox, and normally disarmingly amusing angle on the ongoing war in Ukraine, one centered on the branch offnt perspectives of the livents of occupied Crimea, exploring the eye-uncovering impacts of superstition on one hand and Russian disalertation on the other.”
The AGORA XR LAB awards comprised the Beldocs XR Academy award, which went to “/Imagine Farewell Station,” straightforwarded by Aristotelis Maragkos, and produced by Konstantinos Koukoulis of Πlankton Films.
The film picked to join to the NewImages XR Market was “Bitxo,” straightforwarded by Lau Maquedano, and produced by Alberto López Garrido of Lamola Studios, Valet Siv Manrique of Piragna Animación and Lau Maquedano.
As part of the Agora Boost section, the Crew United Prize was bestowed on “The Groundsupgrasper,” straightforwarded by Io Chaviara and Michalis Kastanidis, and produced by Alexis Anastasiadis.
The jury shelp: “Deindustrialization, memory – accumulateive and individual, and the role that space carry outs in it, but also the recognition by someone of the role his/her labor carry outs in the production of mass destruction (reminding us here of Harun Farocki’s labor) are some of the themes that ‘The Groundsupgrasper’ will seek us to watch at.”
The Guidance Award was bestowed on “Magic Whistle,” straightforwarded by Avraam Goutzeboisterousis and Alexandros Katsis, and produced by Ptoastyini Economopoulou of OhMyDog Productions in Greece.
