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Dimitri Eipides, founder of the Montreal and Thessaloniki film festivals, died Wednesday at the age of 82, the Greek culture ministry said.
The Athens-born Eipides, who studied theater and film in the United States and Great Britain, founded the Montreal Film Festival in 1971 and directed it for 14 years.
He later founded the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival in 1999.
“Dimitri Eipides taught us to watch documentaries, to discover filmmakers. Cinema was his life, ”the TIFF wrote in a statement.
“He convinced viewers that the documentary is a love story that goes beyond his own art and becomes part of our life. We will always remember him in front of a screen, watching a movie, passionately explaining why it is ideal for a festival, ideal for our soul. We express our sincere condolences to his family, ”the statement said.
Eipides was also a member of the Toronto Film Festival from 1988 and Programming Director for the Reykjavik Film Festival from 2005 to 2010.
Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni described him as “an international personality in the film industry who played a key role in the internationalization of the Thessaloniki festival.”
