Top 100 Greek Directors
[1] The list also includes directors from Cyprus
List activity
14K views
• 4 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
100 people
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Orestis Laskos was a Greek film director, writer, actor and poet. Born in Eleusis, in 1907, from a rich family of landlords. After graduating high school, he moved to Athens to join the Medical School and later the Military Academy but after a while he quit. He started as a actor and singer, but in the early 1930s we was attracted to filmmaking. One of the pioneers of Greek silent cinema, Laskos directed 'Dafnis kai Hloi (1931)', regarded as a groundbreaking film for its time, due to nudity and original photography. Apart from films, he wrote poems, which he enjoyed reciting at the theater. He married twice, and had a son. Died in 1992.- Writer
- Director
Dimitris Ioannopoulos is known for Stratiotes dihos stoli (1960), The Voice of the Heart (1943) and Thieves Rejoice Only Once (1960).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Alekos Sakellarios was a Greek writer and a director. He was born in Athens and grew up in Agios Panteleimonas and began to study journalism and acting at a young age. He wrote his first theatrical play in 1935 called The King of Halva. He entered the film industry and had roles in both screenwriting and directing. He directed mainly with Hristos Giannakopoulos and together they wrote and produced an estimated 140 works. The most popular include: The Germans Strike Again, Thanasakis o politevomenos, I theia ap' to Chicago, Dikoi mas anthropoi, Ena votsalo sti limni, Kalos ilthe to dollario, Ta kitrina gantia, Otan leipei i gata, I soferina, Laterna, ftoheia kai filotimo, Alimono stous neous and more. Many of these theatrical plays were transferred to the cinema with notable success. He also wrote the lyrics of many songs (over 2,000). The significant journalist Freddie Germanos called him the "most clever Greek of the 20th century". He died in 1991 and is buried in the First Cemetery of Athens in a family grave.- Actor
- Director
- Make-Up Department
Alekos Livaditis was born in 1914 in Athens, Greece. He was an actor and director, known for 100,000 Pounds (1948), The Song of Separation (1940) and Stratiotes dihos stoli (1960). He died in 1980 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Grigoris Grigoriou was a Greek director. He was the son of the then well-known lawyer Michalis Grigoriou. He studied law and political science at the University of Athens, as well as foreign languages, took lessons in the theater department of the University Club but eventually became a self-taught director. During the German Occupation, he took part in the Battle of Crete, he was eventually captured by the Germans, escaped and then joined and fought through the lines of the EAM (National Liberation Front). From 1942 to 1949 he worked in the Legal Department of AETE (the predecessor of today's Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation). A film director since 1949 and theater since 1951. In 1948 he wrote the script and directed his first film The Red Cliff. His film Bitter Bread (1951) is considered a landmark for Greek cinema as the first neorealist Greek film in which he combined Italian neorealism with Greek reality criticizing the authorities. He stopped his film activity in 1971 with thirty feature films to his credit. Also, Grigoris Grigoriou directed many plays at the radio theater of the state radio, while from 1949 he was a co-founder of the Lykourgos Stavrakos Film School and from 1957 a professor of the Drama School. His presence in television was also intense with his direction in Immortal Love Stories and Kapodistrias as well as in a series of plays on ERT. The television series of the literary work Loxandra was a great success, as was the show Na i Efkairia, which contributed to the emergence of new artists. From 1984 to 1990 he presented and moderated the weekly show In the Area of Greek Cinema. He was the president of the Society of Greek Directors and, apart from the directing awards, he was also honored with an award from the Ministry of Culture. He spoke French and was a permanent resident of Ilioupoli, Athens. With his first wife Maria Papaleonardou, he had a child, the composer Michalis Grigoriou. He then married the actress Inta Hristinaki without having children and finally Eleni Tsimaratou in 1960 with whom he had two children, the musician Lefteris Grigoriou and the diving instructor-director Stelios Grigoriou.- Production Manager
- Director
- Editor
Giorgos Zervos is known for Young Aphrodites (1963), Bloody Christmas (1951) and Lagoon of Desire (1957).- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Stelios Tatasopoulos was born in 1908 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire. He was a director and producer, known for Social Decay (1932), Women Without Men (1954) and O megalos orkos (1965). He died on 13 July 2000 in Greece.- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Gregg G. Tallas was born in Athens in 1909 (according to other sources in 1905, Istanbul). In 1928, he moved to America with his family and studied drama at the American Laboratory Theatre with a specialization at stage direction. His teacher was Richard Boleslawski, a pupil of Konstantin Stanislavski, the pioneer of realism and naturalism in theater. Tallas moved to Moscow, and attended Stanislavski's famous Art Theatre. Back in America, he founded his own theater school. He worked as an editor and director, mostly for MGM. In 1953, he directed the sensational The Barefoot Battalion (1953) , in Thessaloniki, Greece, that became one of the first internationally acclaimed Greek films.- Writer
- Director
- Soundtrack
Giorgos Asimakopoulos is known for To pontikaki (1954), The Tower of Knights (1952) and The Four Stairs (1951).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Giorgos Tzavellaswas a Greek film director, screenwriter, and playwright. His filmmaking was particularly influential, with critic Georges Sadoul considering him "one of the three major postwar Greek directors" (along with Michael Cacoyannis and Nikos Koundouros). Tzavellas wrote at least 26 plays, in addition to writing the scripts for all of his films. Among his notable films are Marinos Kontaras (1948), the drama O methystakas (1950), and Antigone (1961), a cinematic adaptation of the Sophocles tragedy. His adaptation of Antigone reimagined it in the language of realist cinema, omitting stylized elements of Greek stageplay such as the chorus, and attempting to convey the same information via setting and dialogue. In 1964 he was a member of the jury at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival. His masterpiece, however, is the 1955 film The Counterfeit Coin (1955), a film in four parts, linking the stories of several people through their transactions of a single counterfeit gold coin.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
He studied painting and sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts from which he graduated in 1948.
Because of his left-wing political beliefs, he was exiled in Makronisos Island after the end of World War II
He started his career, as a director, at the age of 28, on 1954, with the film "Maghiki Polis" (Enchanted City) that was influenced by neorealism. With his second film "Dracos" (Dragon) in 1956 came his national and international recognition for his cinematography.
Lately he was hospitalized because of respiratory problems
He passed away around 16:00 on the afternoon of February 22, 2017 at his home in Athens, close to his family, at the age of 91.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
In his childhood he used to climb to the lighthouse of the nowadays ghost-town of Koprena, where he was raised, and daydream he was in a ship, sailing for distant places. His family, though, forbade a sailor's career. As things turned out, he became one of the two or three greatest film makers of the so-called golden era of the Greek cinema, the '60s. Three generations of Greeks laughed and cried with his movies. Those films are still very successful when broadcast on Greek TV. The sea is more than evident in his best known films. He had the reputation of a hard man to work with but he used to say, "making movies is a game, if we all respect its rules, we can enjoy the game, when someone breaks the rules the game is no longer amusing for the rest of the set". He spent many of the last years of his life by the sea, next to a pine forest, writing novels mostly for children.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Andreas Labrinos is known for Matomeno iliovasilemma (1959), Taxeidi me ton erota (1959) and Vacations in Aegina (1958).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Nikos Tsiforos was born in 1912 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a writer and director, known for The Last Mission (1949), Gypsy Blood (1956) and The Money Rich (1958). He died on 6 August 1970 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vassilis Georgiadis was a Greek director, film producer and actor. Two of Georgiadis's films, "The Red Lanterns" and "Blood on the Land", were nominated by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the final five for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Also in 1970 his film "Girls in the Sun" was nominated by the Foreign Correspondents' Association in Los Angeles for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Michael Cacoyannis was born on 11 June 1922 in Limassol, Cyprus. He was a director and writer, known for Zorba the Greek (1964), Electra (1962) and Eroika (1960). He died on 25 July 2011 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Takis Kanellopoulos was born on 26 October 1933 in Thessaloniki, Greece. He was a director and writer, known for Parenthesi (1968), Ekdromi (1966) and Ouranos (1962). He died on 21 September 1990.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Roviros Manthoulis was born on 10 July 1929 in Comotini, Greece. He was a director and writer, known for Prosopo me prosopo (1966), Anthropoi kai theoi (1965) and The Greatest Force (1963). He died on 21 April 2022 in Paris, France.- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Errikos Thalassinos was born in 1927 in Heraklio Crete, Greece. He was a writer and director, known for Death Strikes Again (1961), I Kypros stis floges (1964) and Merikes ton protimoun... ilektroniko (1986). He died on 30 July 2000 in Athens, Greece.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Thanasis Vengos was born in 1927 in Neo Faliro, Piraeus, Greece. He made his movie debut in 1952 and played many supporting parts in films of the 1950s, often working as a technician, too. His first really major part was in the anti-war comedy Psila ta heria Hitler (1962); he followed that with a long series of comedies, which made him extremely popular. He created the recognizable persona of the everyday man who keeps running to earn his daily bread. His best roles often have a tragic dimension, as the anti-heroes he played in the commercial and artistic hits Ti ekanes ston polemo Thanasi (1971) and Enas xenoiastos palaviaris (1971).But he was also fine in purely dramatical roles, as in It's a Long Road (1998). He also did some interesting stage work, starring in ancient (Aristophanes' "Peace" and "Acharneis") and modern Greek comedies (Giorgos Lazaridis' "O trellos tou Luna-park").- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Kostas Manoussakis was born in January 1929 in Greece. He was a director and writer, known for Prodosia (1964), The Fear (1966) and Love in the Sand Dunes (1958). He died on 26 August 2005 in Athens, Greece.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Writer
Yiorgos Stamboulopoulos was born in Athens in 1936 and he is a cinema director and scriptwriter. From 1956 and for a decade he worked as an assistant director and production manager in more than fifty Greek films and around twelve foreign productions that were shot in Greece. He made his debut as a director with the film Open Letter but it was shadowed by the rise of the dictatorship in 1967 as he started shooting around the same time. Although the dictatorship film committee banned his movie, he managed to export it and screen it at the Locarno Film Festival and where it awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics. During the dictatorship he abandons any form of creative cinematographic activity due to belief issues and starts directing commercial productions. Until 1984 he has shot over a thousand commercials. After the fall of the junta he returns in the creative directing with the film Nemesis, which for political reason gets censorsed. The issue got escalated internationally and reached the European Board. Alongside he writes scripts and takes active part in the unionism. The Caution Danger is his third full-length film distributed in 1983. From 1985 and for five years he collects info for the film Two Suns in the Sky, that got supported by Eurimages.- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Giorgos Skalenakis was born on 17 May 1926 in Port Said, Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Epiheirisis Apollon (1968), Diplopennies (1966) and Vyzantini rapsodia (1968). He died on 14 September 2014 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Costa-Gavras was born on 12 February 1933 in Loutra-Iraias, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Z (1969), Missing (1982) and Amen. (2002). He has been married to Michèle Ray-Gavras since 1968. They have two children.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Giannis Dalianidis was born on 31 December 1923 in Thessaloniki, Greece. He was a director and writer, known for Something Hot (1964), Oi erastes tou oneirou (1974) and The Tough Guy with the Tricycle (1972). He died on 16 October 2010 in Piraeus, Greece.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Born two years after the Minor Asia catastrophe, Dimis Dadiras stayed in Constantinople until 1927 with his family. He came to Greece (Athens) and studied Law and Political Science in the Athens State University. In the age of 29 he made his first film. His father, Panagiotis Dadiras had already created the "Olympia Films "productions from 1930. Dimis Dadiras has worked with all the great actors and other artistes of his own time.
Dimis Dadiras was the director of 54 films and also producer, co-producer and writer in some of them. He also directed 2 TV series.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Theo Angelopoulos began to study law in Athens but broke up his studies to go to the Sorbonne in Paris in order to study literature. When he had finished his studies, he wanted to attend the School of Cinema at Paris but decided instead to go back to Greece. There he worked as a journalist and critic for the newspaper "Demokratiki Allaghi" until it was banned by the military after a coup d'état. Now unemployed, he decided to make his first movie, Anaparastasi (1970). Internationally successful was his trilogy about the history of Greece from 1930 to 1970 consisting of Days of '36 (1972), The Travelling Players (1975), and Oi kynigoi (1977). After the end of the dictatorship in Greece, Angelopoulos went to Italy, where he worked with RAI (and more money). His movies then became less political.- Editor
- Cinematographer
- Director
Dinos Katsouridis was born in 1927 in Lefkosia, Cyprus. He was an editor and cinematographer, known for Ti ekanes ston polemo Thanasi (1971), Adistaktoi (1965) and Anna's Engagement (1972). He died on 28 November 2011 in Athens, Greece.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Alexis Damianos was born on 21 January 1921 in Athens, Greece. He was an actor and director, known for ....mehri to ploio (1966), Evdokia (1971) and Iniohos (1995). He died on 4 May 2006 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
He studied film direction in Greece and worked in more than 40 films as an assistant director. In 1965 he made his first short film O kleftis (1965) and in 1967 his second short film, Tzimis o Tigris (1966) won many awards in several festivals. In 1972 he made his feature film debut, Anna's Engagement (1972) (Anna's Engagement), which won several wards in the Berlin Film Festival, London Film Festival and more. He spent six months in exile during the Greek junta in 1973. Then he made O megalos erotikos (The Great Love Songs) after Manos Hatzidakis's request about this documentary based on his music work.
In 1977 he directed the controversial political allegory Happy Day . In 1980 he directed _Eleftherios Venizelos: 1910-1927 (1980)_, a film based on the life of the Greek politician. In 1985 he directed Petrina hronia (Stone Years), a strong emotional drama in politically turbulent times based on a true story, which won a best actress award in the Venice Film Festival and was a great commercial success. In 1989 he directed I fanela me to '9' (1988), a film about a soccer player.
In 1992 he directed _Isyhes meres tou Avgoustou_ (Quiet Days in August), which won a special mention in the Berlin Film Festival. In 1996 came _Akropol_ based on the Greek theatre of the 50s and then in 1997 he directed It's a long road.
Father of director/actor Alexander Voulgaris and director Konstantina Voulgari.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Tonia Marketaki was born on 28 July 1942 in Athens, Greece. She was a director and writer, known for John the Violent (1973), Krystallines nyhtes (1992) and The Price of Love (1984). She died on 26 July 1994.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Thodoros Maragos was born at Filiatra in Messinia, Southern-west of Peloponnisos. He started out his artistic activities with animation and from then on he got involved in the film industry. He has won a number of awards as director, scriptwriter, director of photography and animator. His movies apart from the awards, gained commercial success completing his efforts for artistic and commercial quality-success.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Kostas Lyhnaras was born on 4 October 1938 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and assistant director, known for Fonos horis taftotita (1990), Poor But Honest (1965) and Klemeni agapi (1966).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Dimitris Makris was born on 18 April 1937. He is a director and writer, known for Iron Gate (1978), To fragma (1982) and Propatoriko amartima (1999).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Nikos Nikolaidis was born on 25 October 1939 in Athens, Greece. He was a writer and director, known for Morning Patrol (1987), Ta kourelia tragoudane akoma... (1979) and O hamenos ta pairnei ola (2002). He died on 5 September 2007 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Set Decorator
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Andreas Thomopoulos was born on 4 August 1945 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Avrio tha xeroume - Dharma Blue Bums (1997), Aldevaran (1975) and Monahos sou (1969).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Nikos Zervos was born on 20 February 1950 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and producer, known for Apopeira gia koinoniki erevna sti simerini Ellada (1974), Exoristos stin kentriki leoforo (1979) and Souvliste tous! Etsi tha paroume to kouradokastro (1981).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Pavlos Tasios was born on 1 April 1942 in Polygiros, Greece. He was a director and producer, known for Urge for Life (1986), Parangelia! (1980) and Everything Is in Order, But... (1972). He was married to Katerina Gogou. He died on 2 October 2011 in Athens, Greece.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Writer
Giorgos Panousopoulos is known for Taxidi tou melitos (1979), Love Me Not? (1989) and Testosteroni (2004). He is married to Betty Livanou.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Frieda Liappa was born on 10 February 1948 in Messini, Greece. She was a writer and director, known for Apetaxamin (1980), Love Wanders in the Night (1981) and A Quiet Death (1986). She died on 28 November 1994.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Omiros Efstratiadis was born on 3 May 1938 in Piraeus, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for She Knew No Other Way (1973), Provocation (1971) and Roda, tsanta & kopana 5 (2019).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Vasilis Vafeas is known for Eastern Periphery (1979), O erotas tou Odyssea (1984) and Gynaikeies synomosies (2007).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Costas was raised in Egypt, and had a Greek education in Ambeteios School of Cairo. He speaks five languages, Greek, French, English, Italian and Arabic, and writes and creates in three (Greek, English and French). Interested in poetry and literature since a very early age, he was involved in theatre, and appeared and directed Greek amateur troupes in Cairo. He appeared also in Egyptian films as an extra, as well in 5 Greek films that where shot in Cairo, to be acquainted to the cinema as he aspired to become a film director. In 1957, he traveled to Greece, and studied in the High School of Cinema (Ioannides Vamvakas). He became a professional Assistant director in 1958, working for Nkos Koundouros film "The River" (To Potami). Since then, he organized the Group (Omada) for creating the rising "New Greek Cinema, and became one of the intellectual leaders of the Group. In 1961, he directed his first short film, that was censored by the Minister of Presidency as "anti-touristic". One year later, he directed (credited only as "technical advisor for the direction" the film "Enas Delikanis". By this time, he became a friend and collaborator of french director Jean-Daniel Pollet, and this relation followed until the french director's death. In 1965 he directed his first feature film, and in 1967 he flew to Paris, escaping from the Greek Dictatorship. He returned to Greece in 1973, and since he followed his activities in cinema, theatre, writing, music, journalism etc. In 1986 he met the composer Thesia Panayiotou, and up to now, they are companions in life and creation.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Nikos Vergitsis is known for Revanche (1983), Tales of a Honeycomb (1981) and Arhangelos tou pathous (1987).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Stavros Tornes was born in 1932 in Athens, Greece. He was an actor and director, known for Karkalou (1984), Balamos (1982) and Theraic Dawn (1968). He died in 1988 in Athens, Greece.- Editor
- Writer
- Director
Giorgos Korras is known for ...lipotaktis (1988), Mirupafshim (1997) and Ta paidia tou Kronou (1985).- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nikos Panayotopoulos was born on November 6, 1941, in Mytilene, Greece. He studied film making in Athens and started his career as an assistant director in Greek and foreign productions.
In 1960-1973 he lived in Paris where he attended film courses at the filmology institute of Sorbonne.
In 1973 he returned to Athens. His first film The Color of Iris (1974) ("The Colours of Iris") was the most unexpected creation of the New Greek Cinema. Since then he lived and worked there, and his beloved wife Marianna Spanoudakis, always by his side, participated faithfully in all of his productions, mainly as a costume designer and also as producer and actress. Since 1974 he wrote and directed films, with a special narrative style in a thematic approach that deals with issues such as erotic delusion and deterioration of human relations.
His films have participated in national and international festivals and have received important distinctions and prizes.
His death came just a few weeks after the release of his film I kori tou Rembrandt (2015) ("Rembrandt's Daughter").- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Nikos Papatakis was born on 5 July 1918 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was a writer and director, known for The Photograph (1986), The Depths (1963) and Oi voskoi (1967). He was married to Olga Karlatos and Anouk Aimée. He died on 17 December 2010 in Paris, France.- Director
- Production Designer
- Writer
Nicos Perakis was born on 11 September 1944 in Alexandria, Egypt. He is a director and production designer, known for Loafing and Camouflage (1984), Sirens in the Aegean (2005) and Thilyki etaireia (1999).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Fotos Lambrinos is known for Doxobus (1987), Kapetan Kemal, o syntrofos (2009) and Glenti genethlion i Mia vouvi valkaniki istoria (1995).- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stavros Tsiolis was born on 6 October 1937 in Tripoli, Greece. He was a writer and director, known for Please, Ladies, Don't Cry (1992), Akatanikitoi erastes (1988) and Erotas sti hourmadia (1990). He died on 23 July 2019 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Dimitris Giatzouzakis was born in 1961 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Mi mou aptou (1996), Fanouropitta (1991) and Apo ta arhetypa eos tis eikones (1983).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Lefteris Xanthopoulos was born on 17 February 1945 in Athens, Greece. He was a director and writer, known for Kali patrida, syntrofe (1986), Yorgos from Sotirianika (1978) and Elliniki koinotita Haidelvergis (1976). He died on 19 June 2020 in Athens, Greece.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Hristos Vakalopoulos was born in 1956 in Athens, Greece. He was a writer and actor, known for Please, Ladies, Don't Cry (1992), Olga Robards (1989) and Theatre (1986). He died on 29 January 1993 in Athens, Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Periklis Hoursoglou was born in 1955 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Lefteris Dimakopoulos (1993), O diaheiristis (2009) and Matia apo nyhta (2003).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Sotiris Goritsas is known for Ap' to hioni (1993), Ap' ta kokala vgalmena (2011) and Valkanizater (1997).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Nikos Grammatikos was born in 1963 in Salamina, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Truants (1996), The King (2002) and Agrypnia (2005).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Vangelis Serntaris is a Greek film director. He was born in Vlachokerasia of Arcadia, a village near Tripoli of Peloponissos. He started to study politics in Athens but he didn't take his diploma from university for politic reasons. He has made 60 movies as an assistant director, most of them near Costas Karagiannis. His first movie was a noir film which called Robbery in Athens, a simple realistic story. He made lots of movies. In 1997 made Vasiliki the music of the movie made by the Nobel prized theodorakis and was nominated for golden globe, but they took his nomination back for political reasons. In 2001 he made the Seventh Sun of love. His style in direction has many power in vision and the strong scenario characters. He is a realistic director. He was also a talented producer and editor. His work in Greek television is known for the work in documentaries.- Director
- Writer
- Set Decorator
Iannis Smaragdis was born in Crete in 1946. He studied Film in Greece and France. He made his first appearance in 1972 with the short film Two Three Things..., which received the first prize at the Athens Film Festival, as well as a Special Mention at the Montreal Film Festival. Iannis Smaragdis' career has been full of creativity and counts many successes. His most significant features are Cavafy (1996) and El Greco (2007). They were both very successful and award-winning films that participated in many international festivals, the most significant being the Toronto International Film Festival. On television, he touched the hearts of audiences with his Good night to you, Kyr Alexandre in 1980. In 1988 he directed the 13-episode series Hush... Our Country is Sleeping..., which is considered the best TV series since the beginning of television broadcasting in Greece. Iannis Smaragdis has directed many more TV series, such as Hadjimanuel (1984) and Les Enfants Gates (2001). He has also directed documentaries and essays: Spyros Louis (2004), I've brought to art (1998), Thus spake the city (1990-1993), to name a few. In 2007 he directed Opera of Shadows at the Athens Concert Hall. In 2012, he completed his new film God Loves Caviar, which officially participated at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released in Greek theatres in October 2012 and was a box office hit for three consecutive weeks. Until 31 December 2012 it reached 350.000 admissions. He is currently working on his new project titled Nikos Kazantzakis, a film about the great Greek author and based on the latter's autobiography Report to Greco. On the internet he was also voted the most popular artist for the year 2012. Earlier this year he was appointed by the Istituto di Studi Giuridici Economici e Sociali Internazionali I.S.G.E.S.I. in Rome to the position of Manager of Cinema and Theatre and head of all scientific studies of the same department. He is a member of the Giuseppe Sciacca International Awards Committee.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dimos (Aristodimos) Avdeliodis was born in 1952 in Chios, Greece.
He is a Greek film director, screenwriter, actor and producer.
He studied at the School of Philosophy at the University of Athens and attended acting classes at the Athens Drama School of Giorgos Theodosiadis.
Dimos Avdeliodis has directed several films and theatre plays. He has also taught cinema at the Department of Communication and Mass Media of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences from 1993 to 1998.
From 1997 to 2000, and from 2003 to 2010, he served as Artistic Director of the Municipal and Regional Theatre of North Aegean.
Dimos Avdeliodis is known for Mathe paidi mou grammata (1981); The Tree We Hurt (1986); Enas erodios gia ti Germania (1988); Nike of Samothrace (1990); To ainigma (1998), and Fanouropitta (1991).
He has a son, actor Yannis Avdeliodis.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Panos Karkanevatos is born on October 20, 1962 in Serres Greece. He is a writer, producer and director, known for the feature films "Borderline" (1994), "Earth and Water" (1999), Athanasia", aka "well kept secrets" (2008), and "Riverbanks" (2015). He also produces and directs creative documentaries, "A song for Epirus" (1991) "Breath of Earth" (2003), Pyrgos - Parthenon" (2007), "Gifts to the Gods", aka "Tamata" (2010). He formed the production company Vergi Film Productions in Athens, Greece (1993). His movies are co-produced with European partners, and funds.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Thanasis Papathanasiou was born in 1959 in Orestiada, Greece. He is a writer and director, known for Blackmail Boy (2003), To klama vgike ap' ton Paradeiso (2001) and Mary Mary Mary (2022).- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Michalis Reppas was born in 1959 in Loutraki, Greece. He is a writer and actor, known for Blackmail Boy (2003), Oi treis Harites (1990) and To klama vgike ap' ton Paradeiso (2001).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Hristos Karakepelis was born in 1962 in Serres, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Proti yli (2011), To spiti tou Kain (2000) and Ta opla tou agona (2021).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Filippos Koutsaftis is known for Agelastos petra (2000), Arkadia haire (2015) and Oi Elefsinioi (2024).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Renos Haralambidis was born on 14 October 1970 in Athens, Greece. He is an actor and writer, known for No Budget Story (1997), The Heart of the Beast (2005) and 4 Black Suits (2010).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Lakis Papastathis was born in 1943 in Volos, Greece. He was a producer and director, known for Ton kairo ton Ellinon (1981), To monon tis zois tou taxeidion (2001) and Theophilos (1987). He was married to Ivonni Maltezou. He died on 8 March 2023 in Greece.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Constantine Giannaris is a Greek film director. He studied Finance, History and Philosophy at the Universities of Kiel and Birmingham. His cinema career started in England where he completed independent short films of short budget. His first Greek film, Mia Thesi Ston Helio (1995) was awarded with the Best Greek Film Award at the Short Film Festival of Drama in Greece. Also in 1995 another film was released, "3 Steps To Heaven", and in 1998 the "From the Edge of Town" film which was awarded the second Best Award Film by the Greek Ministry of Culture. In 2001 Giannaris filmed "Dekapedavgustos" (On the 15th of August) and in 2004 his "Omiros" (Homer). His films have been shown in many international film festivals and talked about in various fora. His first long film "3 Steps To Heaven" was financed and set in London. Today he lives and works in Athens, Greece.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Yannis Economides was born in Cyprus in 1967. In 1987 he moved to Athens, Greece, to pursue studies in law, but almost immediately quit law school to study filmmaking instead.
After making several documentaries and short films, in 2003 he wrote and directed his first feature film, the iconic MATCHBOX. His second feature, SOUL KICKING, premiered at the International Critics' Week at Cannes Film Festival in 2006. His third feature, KNIFER, premiered at Busan International Film Festival in 2010 and went on to win seven Greek Film Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. His fourth feature, STRATOS, had its world premiere in the Official Competition of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.
In 2016 Yannis Economides wrote and directed his first play, SLEEP, STELLA, SLEEP for the New Stage of the National Theatre in Athens, which became a huge critical and commercial hit.
His latest feature, BALLAD FOR A PIERCED HEART, premiered in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to become a box office hit in Greece. The film received 15 Greek Film Academy nominations, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.
All five of his feature films have been honored with the Greek Film Critics Association Award for Best Greek Feature Film of the Year and have screened at several prestigious international film festivals.
In November 2022, MATCHBOX - THE MUSICAL, premiered at the main stage of "Onassis Stegi", in libretto and artistic direction by Yannis Economides.
Currently, he is preparing his next feature, entitled ROCKS IN THE HEAD.- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Elissavet Chronopoulou is known for Mikri Arktos (2015), Htes to apogevma (1998) and O Annivas pro ton pylon (2011).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Eleni Alexandrakis was born in 1957 in Athens. She studied film at the Sorbonne University, Paris I and at the National Film and TV School of England. She has written, directed and produced a few fiction films as well as documentaries among which: « A Drop in the Ocean» (fiction), « Easter is in the air» (documentary) « The Woman who longed for Home» (fiction) Angel and the Weightlifter (fiction). She has received many prizes in Greece and abroad. Her film « A Drop in the Ocean» was presented at the Forum of the Berlin Film Festival, in 1996, where Eleni got the Mionneto Film Award. The same film traveled in many festivals around the world where the main actress Amalia Moutoussi got a few awards. In 2005 « The Woman who Missed Home » got a Special Mention at the Rhodes Eco Film Festival and Nicos Papazoglou got a State Award for the Music of the Film. In 2009 « Angel and the Weightlifter » got a Gold Remi Award in WorldFest Houston. Her last feature length documentary is "Kostis Papagiorgis, the sweetest misanthrope" that got the Greek Association Critics Awards at the 20th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Konstantina Voulgari is known for Valse Sentimentale (2007), A.C.A.B. All Cats Are Brilliant (2012) and Exodos (2007).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Christos Georgiou was born in 1966 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Kato apo t' astra (2001), Happy Birthday (2017) and Mikro eglima (2008).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Yorgos Lanthimos was born in Athens, Greece. He studied directing for Film and Television at the Stavrakos Film School in Athens. He has directed a number of dance videos in collaboration with Greek choreographers, in addition to TV commercials, music videos, short films and theater plays. Kinetta, his first feature film, played at Toronto and Berlin film festivals to critical acclaim. His second feature Dogtooth, won the "Un Certain Regard prize" at the 2009 Cannes film festival, followed by numerous awards at festivals worldwide. It was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award (Oscar) in 2011. Alps won the "Osella for best screenplay" at the 2011 Venice film festival and Best Film at the Sydney film festival in 2012. His first English language film The Lobster was presented in Competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. Moreover, "The Lobster" was nominated for the (Oscar about the) Best Original Screenplay by the Academy and won Best Screenplay and Best Costume Design at the European Film Awards of 2015. His fifth project "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" was also presented in Competition at the 70th Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for the best Screenplay. Lanthimos's last film "The Favorite" is a historical Drama about the British Queen Anne.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Born in Athens. He studied in London at the "London International Film School" and then in Paris at the "Sorbonne". From 1985 until 1995 he lived in Paris and London and made several shorts films which participated in festivals such as "The London Film Festival", "Festival Du Cinema Mediterraneen" where in 1991 the short film "The Fall and Rise of Lydia Von Burer" won the first price. In 1995 he founded in Athens the company "100% Synthetic Films" and started working on his first feature film Attack of the Giant Mousaka, The (2000). His second feature film, Real Life (2004), became a critics' favorite in Greece (won the National Critics Award in 2004), and traveled to the International Toronto Film Festival. He is now working on his third feature film called Strella.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Born in Athens, Greece, Zacharias Mavroeidis studied architecture and theater before turning to filmmaking. His debut feature, the comedy The guide (2011) screened in more than twenty film festivals around the world. In 2014 he had his first novel, Nine lives left, published in Greece. In 2018 he completed Across her body, a highly acclaimed documentary that follows a fading religious tradition on the island of Thirassia. His sophomore feature, Defunct premiered at the International Competition of the 60thThessaloniki International Film Festival.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Argyris Papadimitropoulos was born in Athens, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Monday (2020), Suntan (2016) and Wasted Youth (2011).- Editor
- Director
- Writer
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Born in Anthens in 1966, where he studied marketing at university and worked as a photographer, assistant director and editor of pop promos, as well as the produced of a radio programme. Moved to Berlin (Germany) in 1991 where he studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy (Deutschen Film- und Fernsehakademie). His short film, Parlez-moi d'amour (1994) was awarded a German Film Prize in 1995. My Sweet Home (2001) was his first feature film.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Stelios Charalampopoulos was born in 1956 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Adis (1996), Ti nyhta pou o Fernando Pessoa synantise ton Konstadino Kavafi (2008) and I ypografi (2011).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Thanos Anastopoulos was born on 26 October 1965 in Athens, Greece. He is a producer and director, known for The Daughter (2012), Diorthosi (2007) and The Last Resort (2016).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Alexander Avranas, born in Larissa in 1977. He started studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1998-2001) and then he continued at the Universitat der Kunste Berlin. With his first film "Without" he win seven awards at the 49th Film Festival of Thesaloniki and suggested for the Best Director Award at the International Film Festival of Milan.
Alexandros Avranas in all his works, film and visual arts, examines social and political issues. The interest concerns employing modern man either as an independent entity or as a member of society. Alexandros Avranas sneers, triggers, denounces our indifference and passivity.
On September 7th 2013 he won the Silver Lion Director at 70th Venice Film Festival for his film «Miss Violence», proves that times can be tough but there is still hope. The Greek film «Miss Violence» also won other honors since Themis Panou won the Volpi Cup Best Actor for his role in the film of Avranas. These awards were added to the other two Avranas won the last Friday of juries parallel Awards : Prize of critics FEDEORA of the best European -Mediterranean film competition section of the Mostra and prize Arca CinemaGiovanni conferred group of 70 young Italy, France and Tunisia. The film also won several awards in between Best Script at the Stokholm film Festival.
Avranas' film had the first view of the Lido impress audiences and critics, both the subject of (a Greek dysfunctional family driven into terrible situations, comment on the current economic situation in Greece and not only) and with the style - a style strict, austere, which although highly unrealistic not touched any naturalism.
A story centered on the Greek family and the degradation of neat mask, is in the heart of «Miss Violence»: the 11 year-old Angela jumping, smiling, from the balcony on the day of her birthday, and social services are struggling to understand why, as the family insists that he was listless accident while trying to hide guilty secrets.
Note that this is the second Lion of St. Mark winning Greek director at the Mostra film debut was the Gold Lion won the 1980 Theo Angelopoulos for his film "Alexander the Great".- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Born in Athens, studied Economics at the Athens University of Economics & Business while working as a still photographer, then studied directing at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, where he lived and worked until 1981. In Athens, in 1987, he founded Filmiki Productions SA, where he produces commercials and directs features. ex Board Member of the Greek Film Center, ex member of the Jury of Thessaloniki Film Festival. Founding member of the Greek Directors/producers Guild, and currently Board member of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and of Greenpeace Hellas.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Athina Rachel Tsangari was born on 2 April 1966 in Aspra Spitia, Greece. She is a producer and director, known for Attenberg (2010), Chevalier (2015) and The Slow Business of Going (2000).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Alexis Alexiou was born in 1976 in Athens, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Tetarti 04:45 (2015), Istoria 52 (2008) and Tugo tugo (1998).- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Actress
Born in Greece in 1977, Elina studied filmmaking and sociology in Athens. She continued her studies in cultural history in Paris and participated in the 2007 Berlinale Talent Campus. Her first feature, "The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas", won the Works in Progress Award at the Karlovy Vary IFF in 2012 and premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2013. During that same year, trade publication Variety singled her out as one of the "10 European Directors to Watch". Her second feature, "Son of Sofia", was selected to participate in the 2013 Berlinale Residency program, as well as the 2014 Berlinale co-production market, won the Works in Progress Award at the Les Arcs EFF in 2015, premiered in competition at the Tribeca FF in 2017 and won the Best International Narrative Feature Award. Currently Elina is researching her first documentary, "Europe, oh Europe", supported by Creative Europe and EAVE, and is writing her third feature. She occasionally works as a producer.- Editor
- Actress
- Writer
Dora Masklavanou is known for Polyxeni (2017), Ki an fygo... tha xanartho (2005) and Glykia symmoria (1983).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Syllas Tzoumerkas was born in 1978 in Thessaloniki. He grew up in Thessaloniki, Kilkis and the island of Nisyros. His first feature film Homeland premiered at the Venice Critics' Week 201o. His second feature A Blast premiered in competition at Locarno 2014, and his third, The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea at the Berlinale Panorama 2019. Acclaimed by the world press and audiences for their distinctive style, bold characterization and strong performances, Tzoumerkas' films have participated in many festivals around the world and have been distributed to theaters and streaming platforms in many countries. His co-direction with Christos Passalis, feature film The City and the City, will have its world premiere at the Encounters Competition of the 72nd Berlinale in February 2022. Syllas Tzoumerkas co-wrote the scripts of Argyris Papadimitropoulos' Suntan (Rotterdam, SXSW, 2016) and Ahmad Ghossein's All This Victory (Venice Critics' Week Award, 2019). He participated as an actor in feature films, shorts and stage performances. He has collaborated with Onassis Stegi, the Greek National Opera, Thessaloniki IFF, the blitz theater group, Youla Boudali and others, in multi-platform and theatrical works. He co-curated with fellow director Elina Psykou, Motherland, I See You - the 20th Century of Greek Cinema, the restoration program and moving festival of the Hellenic Film Academy.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Dimitris Koutsiabasakos is a Greek film director, writer, and independent producer, known for his documentaries, series, short and feature films. He was born in 1967 and studied movie and television direction at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, in Moscow, Russia (V.G.I.K.).
Since 2000, he teaches film acting at several Drama Schools, among which the National Theatre of Northern Greece.
He has been a lecturer both in the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication at the University of the Aegean and the Faculty of Fine Arts, School of Film Studies, at the Aristostle University of Thessaloniki. His work has been critically acclaimed and has received many national and international awards.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Michalis Konstantatos studied Directing at Stavrakos Athens Film School, Sociology at the University of Athens and he completed an MA in Architecture in the field of Designing Space and Culture at the National Technical University of Athens. His experience in direction includes a wide field of activity, such as in short films, TV dramas, music videos, experimental short films, video installations for public spaces and theatre plays. He is also the co-founder and director of the theatre company 'blindspot'. His short films Mono gia panta (2003) and Dyo fores tora (2007) were awarded in various international film festivals. Luton (2013) is his first feature film, an excellent expression of his intelligence and sensitivity in the qualities of his filmmaking talent.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Producer, screenwriter and director of documentaries and feature films. He has implemented more than 150 documentaries and 2 feature films, as director and screenwriter. In several cases he has been also the producer himself. He has been awarded many times for his documentaries and his feature films in international and Greek festivals. Many of his documentaries have been shown in special screenings in Greece and abroad and have been successfully distributed in the theaters and in television. Since 2000, and for more than 10 years, he had been a regular director in the famous TV documentary program Paraskinio for the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ERT. He is specialised in the cultural (arts and literature), historical and athletic genre. In 2002 until 2003 he was advisor and reporter in a radio program for Era Spor, with the title "Mythomania", interviewing important personalities from the sports in Greece. After a long and deep research on the history and the social dimension of the athletics, he published a big essay in 2005, with the title "The Romance of the Football". In 2009 he made as director and screenwriter a documentary series for the greek broadcasting company SKAI TV, under the title "For ever Champions", on the history of football and basketball in Greece, and in 2014 a documentary series for the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ERT, with the title "In the Fever of the World Cup", about the history of the World Cup. He has implemented over 30 documentaries on Theater and Drama, he himself being the director, the camera operator and the producer at the same time and following his subject for the whole period of the theatrical process, from the first day of the rehearsals until the premiere. History wise, he has studied a lot the period of the Second World War in Greece and the Civil War and he has made several documentaries on these matters. Apart from his main occupation as director and producer, he has also organised retrospectives and special screenings in Cinemas and Cultural Centers. Furthermore, he had been writing articles on the history of Cinema for more than 15 years. He has created and he keeps expanding a huge collection of old archive films, documentaries, feature films from all the ages of the Cinema, TV programs and interviews as well as magazines and newspapers with historical and cultural value.- Sound Department
- Director
- Writer
- Writer
- Director
- Art Department
Yorgos Goussis was born on 23 December 1986 in Athens, Greece. He is a writer and director, known for Magnetic Fields (2021), O heiropalaistis (2020) and Heiropalaistis (2022).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Grigoris Karantinakis is known for I horodia tou Haritona (2005), Smyrna (2021) and I apli methodos ton trion (2004).- Writer
- Director
- Visual Effects
Manolis Mavris is known for Brutalia, ergasimes meres (2021), Maneki Neko (2017) and Midnight Skin (2023).