The 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival has unveiled the films selected for its three primary competition sections—International Competition, Newcomers, and Film Forward—featuring 30 premieres, including nine Greek productions. Running from 6–16 March 2025, the festival’s winner of the International Competition’s Golden Alexander automatically eligible for Academy Awards consideration in the Documentary Feature category.
International Competition
This year’s International Competition section presents ten documentaries that address social justice, history, identity, and artistic expression. Among them is Bull’s Heart by Eva Stefani (Greece), a world premiere exploring the artistic process of Dimitris Papaioannou and his performance Transverse Orientation. Also premiering is Sculpted Souls by Stavros Psillakis (Greece), which follows Swiss dentist Julien Grivel’s decades-long dedication to treating Hansen’s disease patients in Greece.
Other highlights include Child of Dust by Weronika Mliczewska, a personal journey of a man abandoned after the Vietnam War who finally meets his American father, and Free Leonard Peltier by Jesse Short Bull and David France (USA), chronicling the decades-long imprisonment of the Native American activist. GEN_ by Gianluca Matarrese (France-Italy-Switzerland) examines reproductive rights and gender-affirming care in a conservative medical landscape, while Kick-Off by Roser Corella and Stefano Obino (Germany) follows women challenging gender norms through football in Kyrgyzstan.
Also in competition is Supernatural by Ventura Durall (Spain-Belgium-France), juxtaposing science and spirituality through a doctor’s confrontation with his father’s legacy as a healer. Under the Flags, the Sun by Juanjo Pereira (Paraguay-Argentina-USA-France-Germany) revisits Paraguay’s dictatorship through archival footage, exposing the power structures that sustained it.
Newcomers Competition
The Newcomers Competition presents ten debut or sophomore feature-length documentaries. Greek director Thanassis Vassiliou’s Lo (Greece-France) is an introspective return to a childhood home tied to the trauma of the Greek Junta. Super Paradise by Steve Krikris (Greece-Germany) examines Mykonos’ transformation from an inclusive utopia to an exclusive luxury destination.
Other notable entries include How to Build a Library by Maia Lekow & Christopher King (Kenya-USA), which follows the revival of Nairobi’s colonial-era McMillan Memorial Library, and Queens of Joy by Olga Gibelinda (Ukraine-France-Czech Republic), documenting three drag performers resisting the war in Ukraine. Pet Farm by Finn Walther & Martin A. Walther (Norway) offers an eccentric portrait of a man attempting to domesticate foxes, while Resilience by Tomas Elsik (Czech Republic) investigates an environmental crime in the Czech countryside.
Matylda Kawka’s My Sunnyside (Poland-USA) follows a trans couple navigating life in Queens, while Grace Hughes-Hallett’s The Secret of Me (UK) uncovers a disturbing psychological experiment. Giacomo Gex’s The Treasure Hunter (UK-Philippines-Mexico) explores a father-son quest for hidden WWII treasure in the Philippines.
Film Forward
The Film Forward competition is dedicated to formally experimental and boundary-pushing documentaries. It includes Death Plan for a Dog and a Man by Christos Karakepelis (Greece), which follows a reclusive man’s existential escape. NovaMax SkyLand by Dionysia Kopana (Greece) weaves together fragmented urban life in Athens, while Endless Cookie by Seth and Peter Scriver (Canada) uses animation to tell an Indigenous family’s cross-country journey.
Films such as Meanwhile by Catherine Gund (USA) present hybrid forms, blending poetry and documentary, while Seeds by Brittany Shyne (USA) provides a deeply observational look at an African American farming family’s fight to preserve their land. In Zodiac Killer Project by Charlie Shackleton (USA-UK), the filmmaker deconstructs the true crime genre through a self-reflexive approach.
