“Evia Film Project” by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival returns with this year’s theme: “The Forest”

The “Evia Film Project”, the green initiative of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, returns to Northern Evia from 23 to 27 June for its fifth consecutive year, placing the unseen and fascinating world of the forest at the centre of its programme.

The opening will feature classic cinema and live music by the band Quilombo, while the closing event will take the form of a cinematic celebration. The “Evia Film Project” includes screenings, masterclasses, and activities open to the public.

This year’s theme: Forest

A shelter, a place of mystery and timeless legends, a source of life, and an ideal setting for stories of realism as well as iconic action and horror films, the forest has accompanied cinema since its very birth, inspiring countless cinematic creations. This year’s programme invites us to surrender to the subtle forces of the forest and reconnect with a universe that is at once fragile, primordial, and constantly changing. At the same time, it encourages us to reconsider our coexistence with nature at a moment when its protection feels more urgent than ever.

Poster

This year’s poster, designed by Bob Studio, draws inspiration from the central theme of the “Evia Film Project”. At its core are elements and images that form the soul of a wild forest: insects and birds, plants and trees, a hidden and adventurous world teeming with life and suddenly revealed before our eyes. With vivid colours and handmade illustrations, the poster brings forward an exotic universe while surrounding it with warmth and familiarity, at the same time referencing the aesthetics and motifs of indigenous and botanical art.

Programme

Pre-festival events

On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June, the festival begins at Kyma in Loutra Edipsou with treats, music, gifts for children, and a surprise film for audiences of all ages. At the same time, a competition with prizes will take place, including a VIP trip to the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival in November, meals at local restaurants, and collectible tote bags filled with Festival gifts. The draw will take place during the opening ceremony of the 5th Evia Film Project at Apollon Cinema on Tuesday 23 June.

Opening with The African Queen and Quilombo

The 5th Evia Film Project opens dynamically on Tuesday 23 June in the streets of Loutra Edipsou. Setting the rhythm of the celebration will be Quilombo, a percussion ensemble influenced by traditional Brazilian music and the rhythms of samba batucada and samba reggae, inviting every neighbourhood into a vibrant dance procession leading to the Apollon Cinema, where this year’s edition will officially open with the screening of The African Queen by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

Blending adventure and comedy, the film transports audiences to the forests of East Africa, in the Congo of 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. A man and a woman meet by chance and are forced to cross a river together aboard a battered boat amid crossfire. The protagonists survive the ordeal while discovering the joy and beauty of love within a wild and seductive landscape. Humphrey Bogart won the only Academy Award of his career for this performance.

Film screening at the thermal baths

On Thursday 25 June, the film Bathers by Eva Stefani, much of which was filmed in Loutra Edipsou, will be screened on the beach beside the thermal springs from 21:00 until 01:00. The film follows the lives of a group of bathers in different spa towns across Greece during one summer. Life in the Greek spa towns unfolds slowly, with rhythms reminiscent of earlier decades. Elderly visitors become the protagonists of these places. Influenced by the languid summer atmosphere, they behave far more freely than within their usual social environments. Often, one feels less surrounded by elderly people and more by teenagers at a summer camp.

A cinematic evening in Rovies

On Friday 26 June, the village square of Rovies will host a cinematic evening featuring treats from the tavernas of the village square for all spectators and a screening of Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg. In the adventure film Jurassic Park, an eccentric billionaire creates a prehistoric forest on a remote island where dinosaurs have been brought back to life. When the security system collapses, however, the park transforms into an uncontrollable world in which humans and prehistoric creatures confront one another within the wild landscape. Jurassic Park became a landmark cinematic phenomenon and led to the creation of a hugely successful franchise, remaining, 33 years later, an enduring cinematic myth.

Closing with a cinematic celebration

The “Evia Film Project” will conclude on Saturday 27 June in Loutra Edipsou at the Apollon Cinema with a cinematic celebration and many surprises for the audience. The evening will include a screening of Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg, handmade treats from local businesses, and gifts for children.