The aim of this educational trip is for students to be immersed in the long history and rich present-day culture of the city of Thessaloniki. During this trip, students experience Greece's second-largest city - a diverse cultural crossroads of Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean - through participation in an intensive documentary production workshop. Using video, still images, sound and text, students explore different aspects of the city's complex history and cultural landscape, while being immersed in the Greek language and in the everyday life of a Greek city.

As part of this experience, students attend the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, one of the largest and most dynamic documentary film festivals in the region. Attending screenings, masterclasses, panels and discussions, students have the opportunity to meet filmmakers and reflect critically on different documentary practices. In turn, these experiences provide them with a broader context in which to think about and produce their own documentary projects.

In addition to attending the documentary festival, students also get to know the city through a variety of walking tours covering different periods of the city's social history and urban development. Students are also introduced to the Greek university system and have the opportunity to attend classes at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Students on the trip are responsible for producing short documentary media projects on specific aspects of their experience in Thessaloniki. In preparation, students consult regularly with the trip leader and participate in group meetings to discuss the projects. At the end of the trip, completed projects are launched online on a dedicated website.



«παιδιά, πάμε!», by Angel Shin, March 2014


Activities include:
- daily attendance at the documentary film festival (master classes, panels, discussions),
- creating short media projects (using video, still photography, sound and/or text) that investigate the city of Thessaloniki as cultural crossroads
- participating in a class in student's area of specialization at Aristotle University
- walking tours: Byzantine, Jewish, Turkish/Muslim Ottoman, modern urban history
- living in the center of the city and exploring its cultural life, neighborhoods, waterfront

Dates:
March 9-18, 2012
March 14-23, 2014

Participating institutions:
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

People:
Faculty program director: Karen Van Dyck (Columbia University)
Trip leader: Toby Lee (Columbia University)
Workshop directors: Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga & Toby Lee

Special thanks (2014): Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Ioannis Chatzigogas, Thanasis Kehagias, Ioannis Kiourktsoglou, Elena Mamoulaki, Lina Mylonaki, Dionysia Papagiannopoulou, Anthi Revithiadou, Katerina Stefatos.

Special thanks (2012): Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Ioannis Chatzigogas, Hande Gumuskemer, George Kalogeras, Thanasis Kehagias, Daphne Lamprou, Giorgos Mavromatis, Rena Molho, Nicola Rehling, Anthi Revithiadou, Katerina Tiktopoulou.


This trip was made possible by the generosity of an anonymous Greek donor.