Greece film festival caps 20-year promotion of Balkan cinema

Greece's top movie event, the Thessaloniki international film festival, will feature 32 Balkan films to cap a 20-year contribution to the region when it opens Friday, an organiser said. "During all these years, the festival has made a major contribution to the promotion and development of Balkan films," said Lili Papagianni, the festival's head of communication. The 10-day festival will be opened by American director Jim Jarmusch, who is showcasing his latest film, 'Only lovers left alive'. French directors Claire Simon and Alain Guiraudie are also among featured guests, as are Croat Vinko Bresan, Romania's Corneliu Porumboiu and Reha Erdem of Turkey. Fourteen films from Chile, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, Mexico, North Korea, Sweden, the United States and Venezuela are in competition for the Golden Alexander Award, the festival's top accolade. The awards jury will be presided by Alexander Payne, the US director of 'Sideways'.