For the poster of the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, they asked the artist to draw inspiration from the heart, our inner map and eyes in a world that is constantly getting bigger and smaller at the same time. In cinema, as well as in the arts as a whole, the heart stands as an ever-lasting symbol, a reminder of the human condition, whether filled with joy or broken in pieces.

The poster of the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival bears the signature of the Swedish painter and illustrator Daniel Egnéus, who has been living and working in Athens over the last years.

Born in 1972 in Sweden, Daniel has spent the last 25 years in Stockholm, Prague, London, Berlin, Rome, Milano and has now made Athens, Greece, his base. A prolific artist, he has had successful collaborations with writers such as Neil Gaiman on his American Gods Quartet, which included more than 140 illustrations published worldwide by Headline Publishing and clients such as Chanel / Departures Magazine to illustrate onsite The Chanel Cruise Collection 2017 in Havana, Cuba.

He had collaborations with Haagen-Dazs, BMW and Pepsi Cola. His picture book, Lubna and Pebble, which subtly addresses the Syrian refugee crisis (written by Wendy Meddour), was chosen by TIME Magazine as one of the 10 best picture books 2019. His picture books for Bloomsbury Publishing and Oxford University Press have been published in 22 countries.

25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival: Tribute «Adio kerida: From Thessaloniki to Auschwitz – 80 years»

March 15, 1943: The first train bound for the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz departs from Thessaloniki. March 2023: 80 years later, the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival organizes a tribute, honoring the memory of the Jewish community of the city, that was exterminated during World War II. Bringing to the fore painful testimonies and shocking facts, the films of the tribute «Adio kerida*: From Thessaloniki to Auschwitz – 80 years» shed light to one of the darkest pages in world history. Τhe unhealed universal trauma act as a reminder and warning for the future.

*Adio kerida (or Adiós querida): A traditional Sephardic love song, written in Ladino, talks about separation, love, death. According to an urban legend of the Jewish community, ««Goodbye beloved» was sung by the Jewish people, just before entering the trains that would take them to the Nazi concentration camps.

«The Art of Reality: Beyond Observation» is the main tribute of the 25th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

A multifaceted and intriguing tribute to observational documentary, titled «The Art of Reality: Beyond Observation» is hosted by the upcoming 25th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (2-12 March, 2023), accompanied by a special bilingual edition. Masterpieces of world cinema redefine our perspective and interpretation of life and the world, while masterclasses from acclaimed international and Greek filmmakers unfold the secrets of this fascinating cinema genre.

Within the context of observational documentary, filmmakers fully permeate the world they study, permitting their topic to unfold with the bare minimum intervention, giving the viewers the time and space to reach their own conclusions.

Drawing inspiration from the principles of documentary pioneer and director of the legendary Nanook of the North, Robert Flaherty, Italian neorealism, the French cinema verité, the American direct cinema and the working methods implemented by the science of social anthropology, the genre of observational documentary is not confined to simple recording and documentation. On the contrary, by placing emphasis on the unseen details, it outlines the deeper truth behind the subjects and the world it observes. The subject of observation cannot exist separately from the conditions that surround and shape it, while the filmmaker becomes a researcher of life and the human condition.

The films included in the tribute “The Art of Reality: Beyond Observation” explore both the historical beginnings of the genre, through milestone films by iconic creators, as well as its evolution over time, bringing to the fore the countless aspects, versions and images of our world, which escape from the established look and thinking. A total of 20 landmark films directed by iconic filmmakers will be screened within the framework of the tribute.