Indie 'Portrait' tops Thessaloniki

Twilight Portrait needed the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki. Greek art has always prospered under adversity, in line with the Thessaloniki Film Festival prexy, as well as the 1,700 tests within the org's market prove the reason.Dimitri Eipides told closing-evening auds within the Olympian theater on Saturday the ten-day fest may have observed the collapse in the Greek government nevertheless the packed cinemas for 151 worldwide films offer cause of hope.Producers and helmer-scribes clearly aren't waiting for public funds to start their work."Law is just words," Eipides informed, mentioning to guaranteed condition subsidies that haven't come through -- and so are unlikely to due to the nation's debt crisis and political shakeup.Participants were upbeat nevertheless, entertaining for Russian vengeance story "Twilight Portrait," which needed the Golden Alexander for film. Helmer-scribe-producer Angelina Nikonova's pic -- shot for any more compact amount in comparison to $27,400 prize gold gold coin and produced without public funding by actress and co-scribe Olga Dihovichnaya -- typified the indie ethic sweeping the place.Czech pic "80 Letters," a family group memoir of separation by helmer-scribe Vaclav Kadrnka, won the Silver Alexander jury prize, worth $13,600, and Fipresci honors. It absolutely was furthermore a debut made without public backing.Alejandro Landes' docu-fiction portrait from the paraplegic highjacker, "Porfirio," a The the spanish language language-Argentine-French-Uruguayan co-production starring the billed felon themselves, Porfirio Ramirez, needed the Bronze Alexander for "originality and innovation."Helmer-scribe Mark Jackson acquired director kudo for U.S. debut "Without," while script honors visited John McIlduff for U.K. road movie "Behold the Lamb."Greek thesp Stefania Goulioti needed the actress kudo on her behalf submit social drama "J.A.C.E.," and Wotan Wilke Moehring won best actor for German polemic on injustice "The Fire place.InchMan Nattiv's "The Ton" won an innovative achievement kudo due to its ensemble perfs as well as the audience prize, while helmer-scribe Yorgos Gikapeppas' "The City of kidsInch acquired the Fipresci jerk for Greek pic.Gala closed with Sean Durkin's "Martha Marcy May Marlene" together with a blowout party with latenight swing ensemble at fest's Old Pier HQ. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com