Athens film festival ready to go

Opening Nights starts tomorrow with focus on doping issues, education, women directors and much more

NELLY ABRAVANEL

Independence and innovation are the two trends that define the 14th Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights CONN-X, which opens this week.

Beginning tomorrow and running to September 28, the festival’s annual rendezvous unfolds at the Attikon and Apollon cinemas on Stadiou Street and the Danaos movie theater on Kifissias Avenue. The event’s menu includes a negative glance at the sports world and a closer look at the secrets of adolescence.

In the “Clean Games” section, Chris Bell’s “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” (from the producers of Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 9/11”) focuses on doping issues. Another film in this section is “Football Under Cover,” a documentary by David Assmann and Ayat Najafi, which tells the story of a German women’s soccer team trying to set up a game with the national women’s soccer team of Iran.

The “Two Women – One Art” tribute showcases the work of French actress/director Isild Le Besco and Argentinean director Albertina Carri. Another focus is education with the “Diagogi Miden” (Conduct: Zero) section. Screenings here include the recipient of this year’s Palme d’Or, Laurent Cantet’s “Entre les murs” and “The Boys from Baghdad High,” a documentary directed by Ivan O’Mahoney and Laura Winter.

In the festival’s competition section, themes include “Music and Film,” while in the new-releases category look out for Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

The festival’s honored guests include Italian Matteo Garrone, the director of “Gomorra,” a film that sheds light on the world of the Mafia in Naples and based on the best-selling book by Roberto Saviano; Oscar-nominated animation director Bill Plympton as well as Christophe Barratier, of “Les Choristes” fame, who will come to Athens to present his new film, “Paris 36,” to be screened within the Francophone Day framework.

Furthermore, this year’s events include a tribute to French director Jacques Tourneur. Participating in the festival are also a number of noteworthy Greek productions, including Costas Zappas’s “Mikres Eleftheries” (Small Liberties) and Anesti Haralambidis’s “Ecce Momo.”

For more information, visit www.aiff.gr.