Leipzig and Thessaloniki to “doc together” in support of exiled filmmakers
The initiative was announced March 12 during the Agora of the 27th Thessaloniki Doc Fest. "Doc Together" aims to explore how displaced or exiled professionals can access funding, resources and industry support in their current locations or in their countries of origin if they are excluded from national funding opportunities or unable to receive support.
27th Thessaloniki Int’l Doc Fest Agora Awards
The Agora of the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival handed out its Docs-in-Progress and Pitching Forum awards March 12. The main awards in Docs-in-Progress went to Magma (France, Algeria), Home Court (Greece, Netherlands, France, Bulgaria) and Tower, Sun and the Seven of Wands (Georgia), while the Hungarian Highways of Hope won the main IEFTA Award (€10,000) for Best Documentary in Development. All awards…
Thessaloniki Docs in Progress: Tower, Sun and the Seven of Wands by Tanya Vikhreva
At Thessaloniki Docs in Progress, director Tanya Vikhreva and producer Maria Gavrilova took the stage to present Tower, Sun and the Seven of Wands, a creative political documentary which centres on three women living in annexed Crimea. Produced by the Georgian outfit Marx Film, the project, now in the editing stage, is being crafted in collaboration with writer Aleksander Rodionov.
Thessaloniki Docs in Progress: Home Court by Elpida Nikou and Rodrigo Hernandez
At Thessaloniki Docs in Progress 2025, the basketball-themed Home Court was presented by producer Yuri Averof of the Athens-based firm Anemon, alongside directors Elpida Nikou and Rodrigo Hernandez. Co-production support comes from Maaike Neve and Esther van Driesum of Dutch outfit Bind Film, Victor Ede of France’s Cinephage, and Boris Despodov of Bulgaria’s Arthouse Blockbusters.
Thessaloniki Docs in Progress: Six Letters for a River by Markos Holevas
At Thessaloniki Docs in Progress 2025, Business Doc Europe took a closer look at Six Letters for a River, helmed by writer-director Markos Holevas and produced by Leonidas Liambeys. The 95-minute creative documentary delves into the themes of migration, borderlands, and human resilience. Shot in Evros, northern Greece, the film is billed as “a documentary that weaves together six decades of stories from the river Evros, where lives are shaped by its waters and the borders they mark.”
Thessaloniki Agora Docs in Progress: Magma by Mia Bendrimia
French-Algerian producer and first-time director Mia Bendrimia took the Agora stage alongside producer Kira Simon-Kennedy to introduce their documentary project, Magma. Simon-Kennedy, a seasoned producer who was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category for Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension (2022), is backing the film through Paris-based Nazar Films, a company founded by Bendrimia and dedicated to “crafting impactful stories from the SWANA and Mediterranean worlds.”
Thessaloniki Doc Fest Newcomers Comp: The Treasure Hunter by Giacomo Gex
Yamashita’s Gold is a mythical treasure, allegedly buried by the Japanese Army across the Philippine archipelago during World War II. Many believe most of it remains hidden to this day, and among those who have tried to find it are Jack and his father, who have dedicated their lives to the search, spending millions in the process. “The film deals with addiction and obsession - it was important to show how it affected those around him,” Gex explains his Newcomers Competition documentary to BDE.
Thessaloniki Doc Fest NextGen review – Small Dogs Bark Loud
There is a gentle whimsy to Nora Nivedita Tvedt’s film Small Dogs Bark Loud as it tackles the challenging subject of childhood loss and trauma with both warmth and compassion, and while the bond between a fluffy small white dog and a 12-year-old Norwegian girl forms the spine of the film, at heart it aims to dwell on how we all process love, grief and fear.
Thessaloniki Int’l Doc Fest: Child Of Dust by Weronika Mliczewska
It’s 50 years now since the end of the Vietnam war. A still largely unchronicled aspect of the conflict is the plight of the “Amerasian” children born to Vietnamese mothers but abandoned by their American GI fathers. Sang, the subject of Weronika Mliczewska’s new doc Child Of Dust (sold by Rise and Shine and a world premiere in competition in Thessaloniki) is one of these lost souls. The director talks to BDE.
Thessaloniki Doc Fest interview: Angeliki Vergou, Head of Agora (Industry)
Ahead of the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Business Doc Europe spoke with Angeliki Vergou, Head of Agora, the festival’s industry branch that unfolds both on-site and virtually. “Thessaloniki has always been a melting pot of cultures and civilisations, and that’s why we bring all these diverse voices together here,” she says.
