The posters of the 66th Thessaloniki International Film Festival are designed by Greek visual artist Stefanos Rokos, who created two original paintings for this year’s edition. At the same time, these works inspired the Festival’s trailers: two short animation films created by Rokos in collaboration with director and animation artist Fokion Xenos, with music by the internationally renowned Greek-American musician Jim Sclavunos. Sclavunos has worked with artists such as Nick Cave, Grinderman, Sonic Youth, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (with Lydia Lunch), and The Cramps, among others, and has been a permanent member of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds since 1994.
Posters & Trailers of the 66th TIFF
Stefanos Rokos created two paintings for the Festival posters, titled Reversal I & II: Precious Moments of Inspiration and Peace. These works will be unveiled for the first time at Art Athina, from September 18 to 22, at the Zoumboulakis Gallery booth (R1).
“I chose to create two overloaded, pluralistic paintings, like the credits at the end of a film. An avalanche of information and names, in front of and behind the camera, rushes before our eyes, highlighting the scale of each production. Somewhere in between lies the inspiration that unites so many disparate elements – a beautiful flame springing from the creators’ minds, shaping a condition,” notes Rokos.
“May I say that, in a sense, I belong to the world of cinema? I imagine a story, turn it into a screenplay in my mind, choose protagonists, create characters, place them in light, shadow, or somewhere in between, and out of an inner necessity, I create my own powerful images. In my paintings, nothing moves, and yet there is movement; there is no soundtrack, yet a musicality is evident. And their viewing can last a second or several hours, depending on what the viewer wishes. I have been watching films all my life — cinema for me is both entertainment and a source of inspiration. I’ve been attending the Thessaloniki Festival for over 15 years, always feeling part of it, even though I wasn’t,” adds the artist.
The works are accompanied by two short animation films created by Rokos and Fokion Xenos, with music by Jim Sclavunos. Starring two props – a telephone and an avocado – these animations serve as the official trailers of this year’s Festival. As Rokos explains:
“In one, the scene being shot turns out perfectly; in the other, it is complete disaster. At every stage of creating an artwork, success and failure coexist almost simultaneously, each alternating with the other. We know this; it is part of the creative process and serves the purpose of art. When an idea takes shape, creators hope the journey has a positive outcome. Yet the great reversal happens when the final work conveys to the audience a sense of genuine inspiration and peace.”
The Festival’s trailers will be released in October.
About the Artists
Stefanos Rokos (b. Athens, 1977) is a visual artist. He studied Painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under T. Patraskidis, while also attending Printmaking classes with G. Milios. In 2002, he received an MA in Printmaking from Wimbledon School of Art in London with a scholarship from the Propontis Foundation. From 2005 to 2007 he was an IKY (State Scholarships Foundation) fellow. In 2019, he visually reinterpreted Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ album No More Shall We Part through an art book and three exhibitions in Athens (Benaki Museum) and Belgium (Bernaerts). He has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, and participated in international art fairs. His works are included in private and public collections, and have been used in cinema, theatre, album and book covers, and posters for concerts, performances, and films. He is represented by Zoumboulakis Gallery.
Fokion Xenos is a director and animation designer based in Athens. Using humor and color as his main tools, he combines practical and digital techniques to create unique visual narratives. His short film Heatwave (National Film & Television School) has won awards at international festivals such as Edinburgh, Cinekid, Athens IFF, and Animasyros, and has been screened at over 60 international festivals, including Annecy, Anima Mundi, Encounters, and LIAF, while also being nominated for a Student BAFTA in Los Angeles. In recent years, he has lived and worked in Athens as an independent animation director – co-directing, among others, the animation series Gegone for ERT (2022) – while also teaching at the MA Animation Program at the University of West Attica. He is active as a film and series producer and serves as Secretary of ASIFA Hellas (the Greek animation association). In June 2025, he created the poster and trailer for the 4th Evia Film Project.
elc team
