"A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra" Takes Top Prize at Thessaloniki
Jacqueline Lentzou's "A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra" won the Golden Alexander for best feature film at the Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday, 15 November, according to Variety. The prize came in the festival's Arrivals international competition.
The film took three awards in all on Sunday. Newcomer Evia Andriopoulou, who plays 15-year-old Jo, also received a Special Mention. Anastasia Gouliamou plays Phaedra.
The film had already travelled widely before Greece. It premiered in the Horizons strand at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the award for best director. It also played at the New York Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and the Busan Film Festival.
The rest of the Arrivals prizes went to a spread of films. Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier shared the Silver Alexander for best director for "Les Indes." Caique Copque and Italo Martins took the best acting honours for "The Riverbank." Arisa Sasaki won best actress for "Titanic Ocean," directed by Konstantina Kotzamani.
Thessaloniki also runs a second competition, Meet the Neighbors+, which covers films from the festival's neighbouring region. There, the Golden Alexander for best feature went to "Dua," directed by Kosovan film-maker Blerta Basholli. Abdallah Alkhatib won the Silver Alexander for best director for "Chronicles From the Siege."
"Flesh and Fuel" collected two prizes in the same section. Alexis Manenti and Julian Świeżewski shared best actor, and Pierre Le Gall won best screenplay.
For a festival, the Golden Alexander is the headline prize, and it is the one that tends to draw the most attention from buyers and distributors. Winning it does not decide where a film will be shown next. Festival prizes often open doors, and the films on this year's list now carry the Thessaloniki name into their next stops.
