The unique, poetic, cinematic look of Takis Kanellopoulos will be highlighted by the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival in the great tribute it is organizing in honor of the great director.

The tribute consists of screenings of films by the visionary creator from Thessaloniki, an original art installation at the Port for his film and literary work, and the presence of the multi-awarded historian and writer Mark Mazauer, who will engage in a special discussion with the viewers in the cinema Olympian.

Specifically, as part of the tribute, the films will be shown: Macedonian Wedding (1960), Thassos (1961), Uranos (1962), Excursion (1966), Parentheses (1968), The Last Spring (1972), The Chronicle of a Sunday (1975) ), Romantic Note (1978) and Sonia (1980).

In fact, part of Kanellopoulos’ work will be restored by the Festival, with the support of the Hellenic Film Center.

“The cinema of Takis Kanellopoulos, idiosyncratic, nostalgic and confessional, radiates tenderness towards heroes who fight internal battles and struggle to survive in a world that does not give room to sensitivity, to melancholy, to regrets for the opportunities that were irretrievably lost. By turning both the city of Thessaloniki and the Macedonian landscape into an anthropological canvas, as he sculpts the fate of people with the burden and ties carried by their places and memories, Kanellopoulos builds a universe that is deeply lyrical, but at the same time unreal and experiential. The nine fiction and documentary films by Takis Kanellopoulos, which will be screened as part of the tribute, give the public the unique opportunity to rediscover a creator who influenced the pioneers of the New Greek Cinema,” states the Festival announcement.

The tribute will also be framed by an original visual installation curated by the film critic Manolis Kranakis, which will transform the building of the West Entry Gate of Gate 1 of the Port into an audio-visual capsule that encloses obsessions, human-geography and all symbols that made Takis Kanellopoulos one of the most iconic and influential figures in Greek cinema.

“The Thessaloniki Festival opens the door to his distinct universe, introducing to the younger generation his films, the Macedonian hinterland as he deified it in his work, the music of his films by great composers such as Nikos Mamagakis, Eleni Karaindrou and Giorgos Chatzinassios and his short stories, through readings by popular actors, directors and writers, such as Zyranna Zateli, Sofia Kokkalis, Zacharias Mavroidis and the muse of Takis Kanellopoulos, Emilia Ypsilanti”, the announcement emphasizes.

In addition, in collaboration with Columbia University’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative (SNFPHI), the Festival will have the pleasure of welcoming Mark Mazauer to the Olympian stage, who, after the screening of the film “Uranos”, will talk about the historical context of the film, its relationship with official history and the contribution of Takis Kanellopoulos to the production of our national memory. The discussion will be broadcast via live streaming from the social media of the Festival and SNFPHI. In fact, the film will be screened under conditions of universal accessibility for all viewers, as part of the Festival’s program with accessibility sponsor Alpha Bank.