Honorary Golden Alexander to Nicolas Philibert!
| Multi-award winning director Nicolas Philibert, one of the most important documentary filmmakers of our times and the 27th TIDF’s guest, received the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander on Friday, March 7th, at Olympion theater, prior to the screening of the film On the Adamant (2023), Golden Bear winner at the Berlinale. The award was bestowed to the exceptional French filmmaker by the Festival’s General Director, Elise Jalladeau, and the Head of Programming, Yorgos Krassakopoulos, who welcomed the audience. |
“Tonight, it is an honor to bestow the Golden Alexander to one of the most significant documentary filmmakers of our time, Nicolas Philibert. A creator whose primary attributes include patience, sensitivity, and profound commitment to capturing the complexity and beauty of everyday life with precision, respect, and humanitarianism. Nicolas Philibert has been with us before, and through the years, we had the pleasure to showcase nearly his entire body of work. From the emblematic To Be and to Have, which was a turning point for the contemporary documentary genre, to On the Adamant, a film in which he tenderly documented a mental health care facility, and which is going to be screened this evening, his work defined the way we perceive the art of documentary,” they stated.
Nicolas Philibert warmly thanked the Festival for the invitation: “thank you from the bottom of my heart, all this is truly wonderful. For me, it is very important that I am able to share this award with Linda, my partner and companion throughout this whole journey, the one who makes my work more radiant and illuminating. She has also accompanied me here, in Thessaloniki. I will place this beautiful gift you have bestowed upon me in its rightful place at home. More specifically, I will put it in a corridor that I pass by 20 to 30 times a day, which means I will think of you quite often. Okay, perhaps not 30 times a day, but most certainly a lot,” Nicolas Philibert initially said.
Subsequently, he narrated a fascinating story to the audience: “two years ago, Berlinale honored me with the Golden Bear award for On the Adamant, and the following day, I had issues in the security check at the airport. The Golden Bear was packed away in my suitcase, and naturally, when I went to pass by the machine, it started beeping. The lady behind her computer asked me to open it. So, I take out the little figurine and the lady immediately calls her supervisor. The supervisor, in turn, summons his own supervisor, and the latter ends up calling the police. I swear to you that everything I’m telling you is true. Two huge German policemen arrive, wearing bulletproof vests, and they look at the little bear quite inquisitively. They also call their supervisor. He arrives, recognizes the object and shakes my hand, extending his congratulations”.
Photo from post of Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival.
