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Exclusive: The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival’s industry-focused Agora section has selected 10 projects from 12 countries for this year’s Agora Docs in Progress sidebar alongside 4 projects from Greece for the Agora Boost program. Scroll down for the full list of projects.

The Agora Docs in Progress sidebar screens documentaries close to completion by filmmakers from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean regions for buyers, co-producers, festival representatives, VOD platforms, and sales agents. Recent titles from the program include Savanna and the Mountain, which premiered in Quinzaine at last year’s Cannes Film Festival; Diaries from Lebanon, which premiered in Berlin’s Panorama Dokumente sidebar; and IDFA 2022 title Notes on Displacement.

During the program, the filmmakers are mentored by In-Docs program director and Hot Docs programmer Gugi Gumilang, and Oscar-nominated filmmaker and editor Ema Ryan Yamazaki. Selected titles include Level co-directed by Dutch artist Anna Berkhof and Spanish filmmaker Carlos Mora Fuentes.

Egyptian director Alaa Dajani’s “The Native Dance,” a documentary that tells the story of Younis Abdallah and his comrades who were among the 300,000 peasants conscripted into the Egyptian Labor Corps in 1917, many of whom were dispatched to Europe to dig trenches for allied defense in World War I, took the top prize in the Pitching Forum of the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival’s Agora Docs industry program, which wrapped Wednesday.

The awards ceremony concluded a session that saw more than 400 professionals taking part both in-person and online in the Agora activities.

In “The Native Dance,” which is produced by Kesmat El Sayed and Laura Kloeckner (Seera Films), the jury found “a film that promises a compelling visual approach combining archive material and animation, telling the story about the British forcing peasants from Egypt to dig trenches in Europe during WWI,” read the jury’s statement.

The top prize in the Doc in Progress section,...

Netflix’s new show Class is receiving rave reviews from audiences.

The show, which is dubbed as the Indian version of the Spanish drama series Elite, is set in the fictional Hampton International School in New Delhi.

The show explores themes such as the wealth gap, gender, sexuality, priviledge, and caste.

It follows three underpriviledged students named Dheeraj, Saba, and Balli, who are transferred to Hampton when their own school burns down in a suspicious accident.

For Hampton’s trustees, this is a great PR opportunity to show how they’re giving back to society by coming to the aid of the less-privileged. But Dheeraj, Saba, and Balli know that there’s something fishy going on the moment they set foot in their new school.

As soon as the new show was released earlier this month, everyone’s first reaction was how similar the storyline is to Elite.

“Just finished watching Class on Netflix.

Melbourne, Nov 12 (Ians) After a topsy-turvy time in the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia, the final of the tournament has arrived. If the unpredictable weather of Melbourne permits a full match, then fans are in store for a blazing final between a confident England and solid Pakistan on Sunday, which is ironically a repeat of the settings of the 1992 Odi World Cup final clash.

With both teams on their quest to win just their second T20 World Cup title, the heavy rain predicted for the final showdown on Sunday as well as on Monday, the reserve day, the trophy could be shared between the two teams. Fans will be praying to the cricketing gods to conjure up miraculous circumstances for the match to be held, even if it is a 10-overs a side affair.

Both England and Pakistan, who featured here in the 50-over World Cup final 30 years ago,...

Sydney, Nov 8 (Ians) A resurgent Pakistan and clinical New Zealand, who have had contrasting campaigns so far, will lock horns in a mouth-watering first semifinal of the Icc Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (Scg), here on Wednesday, with a common goal to book the berth in the all-important final of the mega event.

The Babaz Azam-led side lost their first two matches of the T20 World Cup against India and Zimbabwe and were on the verge of getting knocked out. However, they performed when it mattered, got a lifeline and now have a golden opportunity to go all the way in the tournament.

On the other hand, New Zealand began their campaign in style by thrashing the hosts Australia and eventually won four out of five Super 12 matches. They just lost to England in a high-quality contest but otherwise have been quite clinical in their efforts so far.

Sydney, Nov 3 (Ians) Mohammad Haris on Thursday was named as a replacement for injured left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman in Pakistan’s 15-man squad in the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

Haris, a travelling reserve, was named as a replacement after Zaman was ruled out of the tournament due to sustaining a posterior cruciate ligament (Pcl) injury to his right knee.

The knee injury was the reason why Zaman wasn’t originally named in Pakistan’s squad for the showpiece event. He eventually came into the main squad by replacing leg-spinner Usman Qadir.

Zaman missed playing in Pakistan’s Super 12 defeats to India and Zimbabwe before returning into the playing eleven for the Group 2 match against Netherlands in Perth, making 20 runs off 16 balls.

But during the match, he suffered more issues with his knee, and is now ruled out of the tournament, leaving Pakistan without him for must-win...

Melbourne, Oct 23 (Ians) Long before Virat Kohli dished out a chasing masterclass of 82 not out off 53 balls in India’s incredible four-wicket win over Pakistan in their first Super 12 match of Men’s T20 World Cup at a sell-out Melbourne Cricket Ground, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya played crucial roles with their respective three-fers in keeping Pakistan to 159/8.

Last month, Arshdeep was viciously trolled on social media for dropping Asif Ali’s catch in a tense Super Four match between the two teams at Asia Cup in Dubai. On Sunday, with the desire to make his team win, Arshdeep swung the early momentum in India’s favour.

After Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded just a wide in his opening over and found some swing, Arshdeep bowled a perfect first delivery in T20 World Cup debut by trapping Babar Azam lbw for a golden duck with a full, straight delivery coming in from over the wicket.

Melbourne, Oct 23 (Ians) In the build-up to the India-Pakistan Super 12 clash of Mens T20 World Cup at a sell-out Melbourne Cricket Ground, rain threatened to disrupt the biggest match of the tournament. But it set the base for one of the most thrilling cricket matches of the year.

With 90,293 fans at the iconic stadium and more than crore fans tuning in from around the world, the stage was set for something surreal to happen on the fourth Sunday of October. There was awesome swing, extra bounce, tearaway speed, momentum shifts, unreal strokeplay and spine-tingling drama on display on the eve of Diwali.

The biggest fireworks for the match, though, came from Virat Kohli’s bat which lit up the Melbourne night sky. The talismanic batter re-iterated why he is one of the best chasers in cricket, slamming an unbeaten 82 off just 52 balls and powering India to an incredible four-wicket...

Melbourne, Oct 23 (Ians) In the build-up to the India-Pakistan Super 12 clash of Mens T20 World Cup at a sell-out Melbourne Cricket Ground, rain threatened to disrupt the biggest match of the tournament. But it set the base for one of the most thrilling cricket matches of the year.

With 90,293 fans at the iconic stadium and more than crore fans tuning in from around the world, the stage was set for something surreal to happen on the fourth Sunday of October. There was awesome swing, extra bounce, tearaway speed, momentum shifts, unreal strokeplay and spine-tingling drama on display on the eve of Diwali.

The biggest fireworks for the match, though, came from Virat Kohli’s bat which lit up the Melbourne night sky. The talismanic batter re-iterated why he is one of the best chasers in cricket, slamming an unbeaten 82 off just 52 balls and powering India to an incredible four-wicket...

Lahore, Oct 14 (Ians) The Pakistan Cricket Board (Pcb) announced on Friday that left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman is included in Pakistan’s squad for the Men’s T20 World Cup, replacing leg-spinner Usman Qadir, who has been moved to the traveling reserves.

The change, as Pcb said in an official statement, was necessary as Qadir is yet to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb that he suffered during the September 25 T20I against England in Karachi. The leg-spinner will not be available for selection before October 22.

Fakhar, earlier enlisted as a reserve player, will arrive in Brisbane from London on Saturday along with left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had been undergoing rehabilitation for a right-knee injury.

The duo will be available for selection in Pakistan’s warm-up matches against England (October 17) and Afghanistan (October 19), during which the team management will assess the left-handed batter Zaman’s fitness...

Lahore, Oct 14 (Ians) The Pakistan Cricket Board (Pcb) announced on Friday that left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman is included in Pakistan’s squad for the Men’s T20 World Cup, replacing leg-spinner Usman Qadir, who has been moved to the traveling reserves.

The change, as Pcb said in an official statement, was necessary as Qadir is yet to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb that he suffered during the September 25 T20I against England in Karachi. The leg-spinner will not be available for selection before October 22.

Fakhar, earlier enlisted as a reserve player, will arrive in Brisbane from London on Saturday along with left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had been undergoing rehabilitation for a right-knee injury.

The duo will be available for selection in Pakistan’s warm-up matches against England (October 17) and Afghanistan (October 19), during which the team management will assess the left-handed batter Zaman’s fitness...

Lahore, Oct 14 (Ians) The Pakistan Cricket Board (Pcb) announced on Friday that left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman is included in Pakistan’s squad for the Men’s T20 World Cup, replacing leg-spinner Usman Qadir, who has been moved to the traveling reserves.

The change, as Pcb said in an official statement, was necessary as Qadir is yet to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb that he suffered during the September 25 T20I against England in Karachi. The leg-spinner will not be available for selection before October 22.

Fakhar, earlier enlisted as a reserve player, will arrive in Brisbane from London on Saturday along with left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had been undergoing rehabilitation for a right-knee injury.

The duo will be available for selection in Pakistan’s warm-up matches against England (October 17) and Afghanistan (October 19), during which the team management will assess the left-handed batter Zaman’s fitness...

Christchurch, Oct 14 (Ians) Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and middle-order batter Mohammad Nawaz are pleased with the way the team’s middle-order — one of the weakest links in the side — is shaping up ahead of the Icc T20 World Cup in Australia, with the duo saying it has given the side plenty of confidence going into the mega-event, beginning in a few days.

Pakistan on Friday clinched the Tri-series defeating hosts New Zealand in the final by five wickets, with the middle-order, comprising Mohammad Nawaz (38 not out), Haider Ali (31) and Iftikhar Ahmed (25 not out) setting up the team’s victory as they chased down a 163-run target to clinch the title heading into the T20 World Cup in Australia.

“The way our team played deserves all the credit. The bowlers were brilliant at the death. The way the middle order played was outstanding. Haider and Nawaz are outstanding, so we need to step up and perform,...

Christchurch, Oct 13 (Ians) Captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan slammed fifties before Mohammad Nawaz produced a 20-ball blitz to give Pakistan a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh at the Hagley Oval on Thursday to set up a tri-series final showdown with hosts New Zealand on Friday.

After captain Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das took Bangladesh to a competitive 173/6, Azam (55) and Rizwan (69) produced their eighth century partnership in the format. It was followed by Nawaz hitting five fours and a six in his unbeaten 45 off 20 balls for Pakistan to chase down the target with a ball to spare.

Pakistan made early inroads with the ball by reducing Bangladesh to 41/2 in 5.4 overs. From there, Litton Das (69 off 42 balls) and Shakib (68 off 42 balls) put on 88 runs in 55 balls for the third wicket.

But after Das fell in the 15th over, Pakistan fought back by conceding only 44 runs in the last five overs,...

Christchurch, Oct 11 (Ians) Pakistan’s famed top order of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masoon failed to fire in cold Christchurch weather as they suffered a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in a T20I Tri-series match here on Tuesday, with the visitors managing just 130/7 in their quota of overs.

New Zealand, aided by a half century from opener Finn Allen and 49 from Devon Conway scored the required runs with 23 balls to spare to avenge their six-wicket loss in the previous game of the Tri-series at the same venue on October 8.

As the temperature dipped to 13 degrees C at the Hagley Oval, New Zealand, familiar with the conditions, faced no hurdles in racing to victory with Allen and Conway putting on 117 runs for the first wicket in 13.3 overs.

Allen was dismissed after scoring 62 from 42 balls with a four and six sixes, while Conway returned unbeaten...

Lahore, Sep 15 (Ians) Pakistan on Thursday named their 15-member squad for the Icc Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, with pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi set to return from his injury.

Afridi had missed the Asia Cup after being advised a 4-6 weeks rest by the medical team following an injury to the right knee ligament. He had copped an injury while fielding during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July.

“Shaheen, who is undergoing rehabilitation for a knee injury in London and expected to resume bowling early next month,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (Pcb) said in a statement.

The squad also featured left-hander Shan Masood, who is yet to play in a T20I, while Haider Ali was recalled to the side after last featuring in the format in December 2021.

Masood has been called up to play T20Is for the first time on the back...

Dubai, Sep 10 (Ians) Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who began their campaign with losses and later made remarkable comebacks, will take the field for the last time in the tournament, with an aim to win a well-contested Asia Cup 2022 title at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here on Sunday.

Sri Lanka, who came to the tournament after a socio-economic crisis and turmoil in their country, suffered an eight-wicket loss against Afghanistan in their opening game. However, since then, the Dasun Shanaka-led side haven’t lost a game and are on a four-match winning streak.

On the other hand, Pakistan had lost a close game against their arch-rivals in their campaign opener. However, they also won the crucial games and managed to reach the finals.

Sri Lanka, in their 11th final in this tournament, are aiming to take their Asia Cup title tally to 6 while Pakistan are looking to add their third to the trophy cabinet.