director Orestis Andreadakis was on summer vacation last August when he got a call from Stavros Benos, the head of the newly appointed National Reconstruction Committee, which was tasked with responding to a series of devastating wildfires that had recently swept across the island of Evia.
Andreadakis swept into action, convening an emergency meeting with Yianna Sarri, the head of the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, and Leda Galanou, who would become the project manager for what in the ensuing days the trio conceived of as the Evia Film Project. The Agora will set up camp in Aidipsos, a city renowned for its hot springs which was spared last summer’s devastation. The industry program, which for nearly two decades has been a staple of both the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and its sister event, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, will host a scaled-down version of its pitching forum for both documentary and fiction feature films, as well as screenings of works in progress.