What happened to Michel Dimopoulos?

Michel Dimopoulos of Thessaloniki International Film Festival has been reported dead. He was 74 years old at the time of death but his cause of death was not disclosed.

“He will live on in Olympion’s corridors, in the Port, inside the movie theatres, tireless and with a smile on his face, soulfully speaking for the films he loved, expanding our horizons and introducing us to the pioneering and restless cinema of the new era. Our warmest condolences to his family and his beloved one,” the organization said in a statement.

Dimopoulos served as Thessaloniki’s artistic director for 14 years; from 1991 to 2005. He also served as a member of the Camera d’Or Jury at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

Born in Paris in 1949,  Dimopoulous studied cinema in France and started his career as a film critic in Avgi, a publication located in Athens, Greece.

In 2004, he was on the Un Certain Regard jury at Cannes, however, the top prize went to Romanian filmmaker, Cristii Puius for his film The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.