Local Life FESTIVALS
21st Thessaloniki Documentary Festival by Balkan Hotspot team
Between the 1st and the 10th of March, Thessaloniki hosted the 21st edition of the city’s documentary fest. The festival is probably the second biggest cinema event in the city, right after the film festival that happens every October and that will reach its 60th edition this year. As usual our team was present on the event and decided to bring you a bit of what the documentary fest offered to the city. We gathered some our opinions about the docs we watched and created this special and new way to present you the festival. Hope you enjoy and see you next year there! Chinese Portrait (2018), by Xiaoshuai Wang
China it’s the most populated country on earth and as well as the biggest producer of most of the goods we consume in our lives. The last decades brought huge industries and massive constructions to the country that obviously shaped and had a massive impact in the Chinese society. With this approach as starting point, Xiaoshuai Wang directed a contemplative movie, gathering multiple dynamic portraits of one or more people on their daily routines. Without any narrative, the viewer is invited to be part of the different realities presented along the movie considering also the time the director chose to give to every plan, with enough time to look the people in the eyes. An intense experience about one of the most complex societies in the world.
zle that tries to cope with loss, death and grief, facing the endless mystery of life. BALKAN BEATS RATING: 3 out of 5
Jonathan Agassi saved my life (2018), by Tomer Heyman
Director Tomer Heyman follows Jonathan Agas-
si, one of the most famous male gay porn actor, during his everyday life. From the stage of live shows and film sets to the more intimate moments, the film shows Agassi’s bigger-than-life public character as well as the fragile and insicure man that lies behind it. A story that can be both unbearably hard and incredibly tender, narrated with compassion but without filters.
BALKAN BEATS RATING: 3 out of 5
BALKAN BEATS RATING: 3,5 out of 5
Introduzione all’oscuro (2018), by Gastòn Solnicki
Wandering the streets of Vienna, a man tries
to collect memories of a friend that has recently passed away. A bizarre, dream-like movie in which every scene is like a piece of a jigsaw puz-
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