Greek festival to honor Oliver Stone

Thessaloniki to hand director Golden Alexander

By NICK HOLDSWORTH

Oliver Stone heads the guest list at the Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival, the top event on the Balkans film biz calendar. The Greek fest opens next week with a lineup of some 230 films.

The U.S. multihyphenate will receive an honorary Golden Alexander kudo for his work and presents George W. Bush biopic “W.”

“The English Patient” writer Michael Ondaatje heads the international jury, which includes American scribe Diablo Cody, Turkish helmer Yesim Ustaoglu, Argentinean producer Lita Stantic, Belgian actress EmilieDequenne, British film critic David Robinson and Greek composer Dionyssis Savopoulos.

They will award gold and silver Alexanders worth euros 37,000 ($47,000) and $28,000 respectively.

Fest runs Nov. 14-23.

THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
“Selda” (The Inmate), Ellen Ramos, Paolo Villaluna, Philippines. European premiere.
“Voy a Explotar” (I’m Gonna Explode), Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico.
“An Ja” (Over There), Abdolreza Kahani, Iran. European premiere.
“Pescanik” (The Hourglass), Szabolcs Tolnai, Serbia.
“Three Blind Mice,” Matthew Newton, Australia.
“Bitjaru, Geumbungeo Doeda” (A Broom Becomes a Goldfish), Dong-Joo Kim, Korea. International premiere.
“Una Semana Solos” (A Week Alone), Celina Murga, Argentina.
“Pescuit Sportiv” (Hooked), Adrian Sitaru, Romania-France.
“Jiu Jian Feng” (Winds of September), Tom Lin, Taiwan, Hong Kong. European premiere.
“Chicos Normales” (Ordinary Boys), Daniel Hernandez, Spain.
“Firaaq,” Nandita Das, India.
“Le Bruit Des Gens Autour” (Sunny Spells), Diasteme, France. International premiere.
“Without,” Alexandros Avranas, Greece. World premiere.
“Tris Stigmes” (Three Moments); Petros Sevastikoglou, Greece. World premiere.