to update A crowd numbering in the thousands took to the streets of Thessaloniki on Sunday night, a day after a horrific attack on a transgender couple rocked Greece’s second-largest city and upset filmmakers and guests at this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival.
Waving rainbow flags, carrying placards denouncing homophobia and transphobia and chanting protest slogans, the mostly peaceful demonstration took off in the streets of this coastal city just hours after costumed revelers crowded the roads ahead of Thessaloniki’s Carnival celebration next weekend.
The crowd began gathering just before 7pm in Aristotle Square, which was the site of the terrifying incident on Saturday night, when a crowd of nearly 200 young men dressed in black cursed, spat and threw bottles as they chased the young couple. The duo eventually took refuge in a nearby restaurant until police arrived at the scene. At least 21 suspects have been arrested so far.
On Sunday night, a rousing coalition of LGBT activists, women’s groups, student organizations and others demonstrated their defiance, their chants echoing through the streets in a protest that seemed to gain momentum as the night went on.
Despite the heavy police presence, the demonstration continued largely without incident. Tensions briefly flared outside the historic Olympic Theatre, which hosts red carpet premieres during the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and its sister event in November, and where moviegoers filed past riot police for the world premiere of Unclickable by veteran Greek director Babis Makridis.
The director and several members of the filmmaking team were escorted through a side door as the confrontation between police and protesters escalated, with one officer receiving a blow to the face before order was restored. Elsewhere, at least two beachfront restaurants were vandalized during the march.
Riot police were on standby as moviegoers arrived at the Olympic Theater.
Courtesy of Christopher Forlias
Saturday’s attack – which took place in front of crowded restaurants and cafes in a square that is the heart of Thessaloniki’s public life – shocked and angered attendees of the festival, which highlights queer cinema as one of the focal points of its festival. 26th edition.
“I thought some things would change, but now I wonder, have things changed?” Lesbian activist and film director Maria Katsikadaku, also known as Maria Cyber, says she was “angry and horrified” about the brazen attack.
“Greek society is abusive. It’s a society that thrives on hate, and that’s not going to change anytime soon,” adds conceptual artist and filmmaker Phil Aeropoulos, whose documentary “Avant-Drag!”, about the drag scene in Athens, premieres this week in Thessaloniki. After the premiere in Rotterdam.
This year’s edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival includes a wide-ranging tribute to queer cinema, Citizen Queer, while the Honorary Golden Alexander Award is given to Greek director Panayiotis Evangelidis, whose works have long focused on the visibility of the LGBTQ community. .
In a statement submitted to diverseThe festival said it was filled with “anger and disgust” over the attack.
“The festival explicitly and unreservedly condemns any act of racist and homophobic violence, and sends a loud and clear message of tolerance, inclusivity, acceptance and visibility through the full scope of its actions,” the statement read. “As we have said repeatedly, the festival rejects any acts of hatred, violence and extremist voices of intolerance and racism, to serve as an open platform for art, inclusivity and dialogue.”
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Thessaloniki on Sunday evening.
Courtesy of Christopher Forlias
The incident occurred just weeks after the historic passage of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Greece, the first of its kind in an Orthodox Christian country. While this legislation has been widely praised as progress in the fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community in Greece, the activists and filmmakers who spoke to… diverse They expressed doubts about such “top-down” legislation, which provides important and necessary legal protections for LGBT Greeks but does not address the fundamental threats they face in daily life.
Eropoulos points out that Saturday’s episode reflects “what Greek reality represents for gay people.”
“With these new laws, we are at a crossroads and we will see what all this means for Greek society in the next few years,” he says. “I personally do not think that these laws reflect the status of Greece as a society. If anything, this event shows that the fact that some people may benefit from the new laws does not change the Greek reality in general and especially for transgender people.”
“Things have changed. But the changes you see are in Athens,” says Katsikadakou, recalling the virulent homophobia she encountered on her last visit to Thessaloniki five years ago. “The rest of Greece is full of orthodox, right-wing, patriarchal people. The culture of machismo is in their DNA.
At least two beachfront restaurants were vandalized during the largely peaceful protest.
Courtesy of Christopher Forlias
Thessaloniki’s mayor, Stelios Angeloudis, on Sunday condemned Saturday’s attack, insisting that it went against the pluralism on which Greece’s second-largest city, a historic crossroads between East and West, was built.
“We unequivocally condemn the vulgar and homophobic attack in the heart of the city,” he said. “Acceptance is a sign of culture and democracy. In a colorful and inclusive Thessaloniki that respects diversity, there is no place for racist attitudes.
Local activists are now looking forward to June, when the city is scheduled to host EuroPride, a European LGBT event held in a different European city each year that is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city for concerts, parties and events. And a procession.
Katsikadaku, who helped organize the festival’s “gay citizen” tribute, expressed her hope that “we will flood the city with angry gays (who) will not tolerate fascist, homophobic and racist actions… (and will) come in force and put an end to it.” These idiots go back to their caves where they belong.
Meanwhile, organizers of the annual Thessaloniki Pride event insisted they would not be afraid, posting on the group’s Facebook page: “It is up to all of us to mobilize and show solidarity, so as not to let fear return to Thessaloniki! We are not ashamed, we are not hiding, we are not afraid!”
Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival takes place from March 7 to 17.