Maadi to Judge at Thessaloniki filmfest

The 58th edition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) in Greece has picked Iranian actor Peyman Maadi as a jury member.

In addition to Maadi, the festival has invited Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, French sound engineer Bruno Tarriere, Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou and the artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Karel Och, to join the jury.

Actor, screenwriter and movie director Maadi is best known for starring in the Oscar-winning film ‘A Separation’ and ‘About Elly’, both directed by Asghar Farhadi.

Maadi started his film career as a screenwriter in late 2000 with the successful movie ‘Swan Song’. He later wrote several renowned Iranian films.

He has received the Silver Bear award for Best Actor in Leading Role at the Berlin International Film Festival for his performance as Nader in ‘A Separation’.

He was seen in the indie drama ‘Camp X-Ray’ Directed by Peter Sattler, which was accepted into the US Dramatic Competition section of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Maadi has also appeared in the HBO television series ‘The Night Of’ directed by Zaillian and James Marsh, ‘13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’ directed and co-produced by Michael Bay, as well as ‘Last Knights’, a 2015 American drama film directed by Kazuaki Kiriya.

Among his Iranian appearances, he is best known for acting in ‘Star Café’, ‘The Snow on the Pines’, ‘Melbourne’, and ‘Life + 1 Day’.

He has received a number of national and international awards as an actor and director and was a jury member at the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival in China in 2014.

The TIFF has become one of the Southeast Europe's primary showcases for the work of new and emerging filmmakers.

The event features the International Section, a panorama of Greek films, the New Horizons program, the Balkan Survey, and numerous retrospectives and tributes to leading figures in the world of film.

The Festival is competitive with the International Section jury awarding several prizes each year, most notably the ‘Golden Alexander’ for Best Feature-Length Film.

Τhe 58th edition of the TIFF is slated for November 02-12, 2017.

MG/MF