Cinema of Greece
Cinema of Greece | |
---|---|
No. of screens | 370 (2010)[1] |
• Per capita | 3.7 per 100,000 (2010)[1] |
Produced feature films (2010)[2] | |
Fictional | 16 |
Animated | - |
Documentary | 2 |
Number of admissions (2011)[4] | |
Total | 11,900,000 |
• Per capita | 0.9 (2012)[3] |
Gross box office (2011)[4] | |
Total | $130 million |
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The cinema of Greece has a long and rich history. Though hampered at times by war or political instability, the Greek film industry dominates the domestic market and has experienced international success. Characteristics of Greek cinema include a dynamic plot, strong character development and erotic themes. Two Greek films,
Though Greek cinema took root in the early 1900s, the first mature films weren't produced until the 1920s, after the end of the
Following the
Censorship policies of the
History of the Greek cinema
Origins
In the spring of 1897, the Greeks of
The first cine-theater of Athens opened about a year later and other special 'projection rooms' begun their activity. In 1910-11 the first short comic movies were produced by director Spiros Dimitrakopoulos (Spyridion), who also starred in most of his movies. In 1911 Kostas Bachatoris presented Golfo (Γκόλφω), a well known traditional love story, considered the first Greek feature film. In 1912 was founded the first film company (Athina Film) and in 1916 the Asty Film.
During the
The first commercially successful Greek film was Villar in the Women's Baths of Faliro (Ο Βιλλάρ στα γυναικεία λουτρά του Φαλήρου), written, directed by and starring comedian Villar (Nikolaos Sfakianakis) and Nitsa Philosofou. In 1924, Michael Michael (1895–1944), a Greek comedian, presented some short film comedies.
In 1922, Gaziadis founded Dag Films and tried to produce the first speaking movies. This company presented its first movie, Love and Waves (Eros kai kymata), in 1927, and experienced moderate success in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The company mainly produced historical movies, usually adaptations of novels. In 1930, Dag made an attempt for a speaking movie, Apachides of Athens (Oi Apachides ton Athinon), which was based on a Greek operetta by Nikos Hatziapostolou.
Gaziadis also filmed the 1927 Delphic Festival, an idea of Angelos Sikelianos and Eva Palmer-Sikelianos, as part of his general effort towards the revival of the "Delphic Idea". The event consisted of Olympic contests, an exhibition of folk art, and a performance of Prometheus Bound.
The 1931 film Daphnis and Chloe (Δάφνις και Χλόη), directed by Orestis Laskos (1908–1992), contained the first voyeuristic nude scene in the history of European cinema; it was also the first Greek movie which was played abroad. In 1932 Olympia Films presented the speaking movie The Shepherdess's Lover (Ο αγαπητικός της βοσκοπούλας), which was based on a play by Dimitris Koromilas. Also influential during this period was director Achilleas Madras, whose work included Maria Pentagiotissa (1929) and Sorcerer of Athens (1931).[6]
During the late 1930s, a number of Greek filmmakers fled Greece due to the hostility of Metaxas Regime and the material lack of ability for producing speaking movies. The Greek film industry reemerged in Turkey, and later in Egypt.[5]
In spite of German occupation during World War II,
In 1944 Katina Paxinou was honoured with the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Pilar" in the Sam Wood film, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The Golden Age (modern period)
The 1950s and 1960s are considered by many to be the "Golden Age" of Greek cinema.
The 1955 film
Cacoyannis' 1964 film,
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival was first held in 1960, and would subsequently evolve into the primary showcase for emerging filmmakers from Greece and the Balkans region. The festival showcases both international and Greek films, and awards the "Golden Alexander" for the best feature film.[citation needed]
In 1969, the Costa-Gavras film Z was nominated for the Academy Award for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture.[citation needed]
Postmodern period
The production of Greek films increased after the fall of the dictatorship in the mid-1970s, though the industry struggled with foreign competition and the rise of television.
When the left-leaning
Beginning in the 1990s, younger directors turned to more contemporary-paced films and social satires, which brought moderate commercial success.[10] In 1999, TV series writers Michalis Reppas and Thanasis Papathanasiou, collaborating with contemporary famous actors made the sex taboo comedy Safe Sex, which was the most successful movie of the decade.
In 2003, A Touch of Spice (Politiki kouzina), a big-budget film by director Tasos Boulmetis, was the most successful film of the year at the Greek box office, making over 12 million euros. 2004 was also a good year for Greek films, with Pantelis Voulgaris's Brides (Nyfes) gathering more than a million spectators and over 7 million at the box office. In 2007 the most successful film was El Greco, directed by Yannis Smaragdis.
In 2009,
The "wave" of Greek cinema continued its course through the decade, producing several titles that were festival and critical sensations and were distributed in many countries. Many tributes to this generation of Greek filmmakers were held by festivals worldwide, most notably by the New Horizons Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland, and the Jeonju International Film Festival in Korea.[19] Recent studies called the Greek Weird Wave, a cinema "that reflects on how systems of power manage groups of people (from a family to a population) and the bodies of individuals", and "a cinema equally sensitive to forms of response, to noise, unease, and subversion".[20]
In 2011, just twenty feature-films were produced.[21] Wasted Youth, directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Jan Vogel was the opening film of the 40th Rotterdam International Film Festival,[22] Alps, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice International Film Festival and Unfair World, directed by Filippos Tsitos won the Best Actor Award for Antonis Kafetzopoulos at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.[23]
In 2012, L by Babis Makridis premiered in competition at the Rotterdam International Film Festival,[24] and Boy Eating the Bird's Food, directed by Ektoras Lygizos, premiered in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, winning a Special Mention for actor Yannis Papadopoulos.[25]
In 2013, Miss Violence, directed by Alexandros Avranas won Silver Lion for best director at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, compared the film to the previously mentioned, saying that "It (self-evidently) does not have the humour of those movies by Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari and by that token, less of their richness and inventiveness. But its force can't be doubted."[26]
In 2014, Stratos, directed by Yannis Economidis premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival,[27] Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras, premiered at the Un Certain Régard section of the Cannes Film Festival,[28] and A Blast, directed by Syllas Tzoumerkas, premiered in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival.[29]
In 2015, Wednesday 04:45 by Alexis Alexiou premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, Chevalier, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari premiered in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival and won the Best Film Award at the BFI - London International Film Festival,[30] and Interruption by Yorgos Zois premiered at the Orizzonti competition section of the Venice International Film Festival.[31]
In 2016, Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos premiered at the Rotterdam and SXSW International Film Festivals and won the Best Film Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.[32][33]
In 2017, Son of Sofia, directed by Elina Psykou won the Best International Narrative Feature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.[34]
In 2018, Pity, directed by Babis Makridis, premiered in competition at the Sundance and the Rotterdam International Film Festivals.[35]
in 2021, Jacqueline Lentzou's Moon, 66 Questions premiered at the Encounters competition section of the 71st Berlin International Film Festival.
Notable films
Pre-WWII
- 1914 Golfo, Konstantinos Bachatoris(the first Greek feature film)
- 1927 Eros kai kymata, Dimitris Gaziadis
- 1930 Oi Apachides ton Athinon, Dimitris Gaziadis
- 1931 Daphnis and Chloe, Orestis Laskos
- 1932 Shepherdess's Lover, Dimitris Tsakiris (first speaking)
- 1939 The Parting Song (film) by Filopimin Finos
- 1944 Chirokrotimata, George Tzavellas
After-WWII (Golden Age)
- 1948 The Germans are coming again, Vassilis Logothetidis
- 1950 The Drunkard, George Tzavellas, starring Orestis Makris
- 1951 Pikro Psomi, Grigoris Grigoriou
- 1954 Despoinis eton 39, Alekos Sakellarios
- 1954 Kiriakatiko Xipnima, Cacoyannis
- 1955 Stella, Michael Cacoyannis, starring Melina Mercouri
- 1955 The Counterfeit Coin, George Tzavellas
- 1956 Thanassakis o politevomenos, Alekos Sakellarios
- 1956 Aces of the Stadiums, Vasilis Georgiadis
- 1956 O Drakos, Nikos Koundouros, starring Dinos Iliopoulos
- 1956 A Girl in Black, Michael Cacoyannis, starring Ellie Lambeti
- 1956 Rena Vlachopoulou(the first colour film)
- 1957 I theia ap' to Chicago, Alekos Sakellarios, starring Georgia Vasileiadou
- 1958 Vassilis Logothetidis
- 1959 Astero, Dinos Dimopoulos
- 1959 Stournara 288, Dinos Dimopoulos
- 1959 Costas Hajihristos
- 1960 Madalena, Dinos Dimopoulos, starring Aliki Vougiouklaki
- 1960 Never on Sunday, Jules Dassin
- 1960 Egklima sta paraskinia, Dinos Katsouridis
- 1961 Antigone, George Tzavellas
- 1961 Alice in the Navy, Alekos Sakellarios
- 1961 Woe to the Young, Alekos Sakellarios, starring Dimitris Horn
- 1962 Nomos 4000, Giannis Dalianidis
- 1962 Electra, Michael Cacoyannis
- 1962 Glory Sky, Takis Kanellopoulos
- 1963 Young Aphrodites, Nikos Koundouros
- 1963 The Red Lanterns, Vasilis Georgiadis
- 1964 Zorba the Greek, Michael Cacoyannis, starring Anthony Quinn
- 1965 And the Wife Shall Revere Her Husband, George Tzavellas
- 1966 Blood on the Land, Vasilis Georgiadis
- 1967 Oi kyries tis avlis, Dinos Dimopoulos
- 1968 Girls in the Sun, Vasilis Georgiadis
- 1970 Ipolochagos Natassa, Nikos Foskolos(tickets record)
- 1971 What did you do in the war, Thanasi?, Dinos Katsouridis, starring Thanasis Veggos
- 1971 Evdokia, Alexis Damianos
- 1971 The Trojan Women, Michael Cacoyannis
- 1972 Rena Vlachopoulou
- 1972 Days of '36, Theo Angelopoulos
- 1975 The Travelling Players, Theo Angelopoulos
- 1977 Iphigenia, Michael Cacoyannis
Modern
- 1981 Learn How to Read and Write, Son, Thodoros Maragos
- 1983 Rembetiko, Costas Ferris
- 1984 Loafing and Camouflage, Nikos Perakis
- 1984 Voyage to Cythera, Theo Angelopoulos
- 1985 Stone Years, Pantelis Voulgaris
- 1986 The Beekeeper (film), Angelopoulos, starring Marcello Mastroianni
- 1987 Doxobus, Fotos Lambrinos
- 1988 Landscape in the Mist, Angelopoulos
- 1991 The Suspended Step of the Stork, Theo Angelopoulos, starring Marcello Mastroianni
- 1995 Ulysses' Gaze, Theo Angelopoulos
- 1998 Eternity and a Day, Theo Angelopoulos
- 1998 Safe Sex, Reppas-Papathanasiou
- 1999 Peppermint (1999 film), Kostas Kapakas
- 2003 A Touch of Spice, Tasos Boulmetis, starring Georges Corraface
- 2004 Brides, Pantelis Voulgaris
- 2007 El Greco, Yannis Smaragdis
- 2007 Tale 57, Alexis Alexiou
- 2009 Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos
- 2009 Strella, Panos H. Koutras
- 2010 Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari
- 2010 Homeland, Syllas Tzoumerkas
- 2011 Unfair World, Filippos Tsitos
- 2011 Alps, Yorgos Lanthimos
- 2011 Wasted Youth, Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Jan Vogel
- 2012 L, Babis Makridis
- 2012 Boy Eating the Bird's Food, Ektoras Lygizos
- 2013 Little England, Pantelis Voulgaris
- 2013 Miss Violence, Alexandros Avranas
- 2014 Stratos, Yannis Economidis
- 2014 Xenia, Panos H. Koutras
- 2014 A Blast, Syllas Tzoumerkas
- 2015 Ouzeri Tsitsanis, Manousos Manousakis
- 2015 Chevalier, Athina Rachel Tsangari
- 2015 Interruption, Yorgos Zois
- 2015 Wednesday 04:45, Alexis Alexiou
- 2016 Suntan, Argyris Papadimitropoulos
- 2017 Son of Sofia, Elina Psykou
- 2018 Pity, Babis Makridis
- 2019 Eftychia, Angelos Frantzis
- 2019 The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea, Syllas Tzoumerkas
- 2021 Moon, 66 Questions, Jacqueline Lentzou
- 2021 Monday, Argyris Papadimitropoulos
- 2023 Poor Things (film), Yorgos Lanthimos
Notable musicals
- 1963 Merikoi to protimoun kryo (Some Like it Cold), Giannis Dalianidis
- 1964 Something Is Burning, Dalianidis
- 1965 Kiss the Girls (1965 film), Giannis Dalianidis
- 1967 Oi Thalassies oi Hadres, Giannis Dalianidis
- 1968 Gorgones kai Mages, Dalianidis
Filming, distribution companies and studios
Past
- Athina Film
- Asty Films
- Dag Films
- Astra Film
- Hero Films (Greek: Ἡρώ)
- Olympia Films
- Anzervos
- Spentzos Films
- Klak Film
Current
- Philopemen Finos
- Karagiannis Karatzopoulos
- Novak Films (operates own studios)
- Madbox Entertainment (operates its own studios)
- Village Films Hellas (Greek branch of Village Roadshow)
- Haos Film, founded by Athina Rachel Tsangari
- Heretic (production company and sales agent)
- Neda Films (production company)
- Blonde (production company)
- Homemade Films (production company)
- Cinegram
- Odeon Hellas
- Make a Movie in Greece/Media Productions
- Audiovisual (biggest distributor)
- Karamanos Studios (biggest studios in Greece)
- The new studios of Nu Image) will open inside 2020 in the area of Thessaloniki
Producers
- Philopemen Finos
- Prodromos Meravidis
Renowned figures
Directors
Screenwriters
- Efthymis Filippou
- Iakovos Kambanelis
- Thanos Leivaditis
- Petros Markaris
- Dimitris Psathas
- Alekos Sakellarios
- Mimis Traiforos
- Nikos Tsiforos
Actors
Directors of photography
Scenographers
Film score composers
- Kostas Giannidis
- Manos Hatzidakis (notable: Stella, Never on Sunday, Woe to the Young, Htipokardia sto thranio)
- Kostas Kapnisis
- Eleni Karaindrou (notable: Eternity and a Day)
- Giorgos Katsaros
- Loukianos Kilaidonis (notable: The Travelling Players)
- Manos Loïzos (notable: Evdokia)
- Yannis Markopoulos
- Giorgos Mouzakis
- Vangelis Papathanassiou (notable: El Greco)
- What Did You Do in the War, Thanasi?)
- Michalis Souyioul
- Stamatis Spanoudakis
- Mikis Theodorakis (notable: Electra, Zorba the Greek, Z, The Trojan Women, Iphigenia)
- Stavros Xarchakos (notable: The Red Lanterns, Rembetiko)
- Giorgos Zambetas
See also
- Greek Film Archive
- Cinema of Cyprus
- Cinema of Europe
- Culture of Greece
- Hellenic Film Academy
- Hellenic Film Academy Awards
- Film School of the Aristotle University
- List of films with Hellenic/Greek characters
- List of Greek actors
- List of Greek films
- List of Greek submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Greek award-winning films in International Film Festivals
- List of highest-grossing Greek films
- World cinema
References
- ^ a b "Table 8: Cinema Infrastructure - Capacity". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ "Table 1: Feature Film Production - Genre/Method of Shooting". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ "Country Profiles". Europa Cinemas. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
- ^ a b "Table 11: Exhibition - Admissions & Gross Box Office (GBO)". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Vrasidas Karalis, History of Greek Cinema (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2012), pp. ix-xiii.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ephraim Katz, "Greece," The Film Encyclopedia (New York: HarperResource, 2001), pp. 554-555.
- ^ Babis Aktsoglou, "Daphnis and Chloe: Plasticity and Lyricism Archived 2014-07-20 at the Wayback Machine," CineMythology, 2003-2004. Retrieved: 15 June 2013.
- ^ Steve Rose, "Attenberg, Dogtooth and the Weird Wave of Greek Cinema," The Guardian, 26 August 2011. Retrieved: 15 June 2013.
- ^ Kalaris, History of Greek Cinema, p. 36.
- ^ Kate Armstrong, Michael Clark, Christopher Deliso, Greek Islands (Lonely Planet, 2008), p. 49.
- ^ "83rd Academy Awards Nominations Announced" (PDF). oscars.org. 25 January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
- ^ "Biennale Cinema 2021 | Homepage 2021". 23 November 2020.
- ^ Vivarelli, Nick (8 September 2010). "Greek films flourish at Venice". Variety. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "La Biennale di Venezia - Official Awards of the 69th Venice Film Festival". Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ "Dark, Haunting and Wonderfully Weird," The Economist, 6 December 2011. Retrieved: 19 June 2013.
- ^ Steve Rose, "Attenberg, Dogtooth and the Weird Wave of Greek Cinema," The Guardian, 26 August 2011. Retrieved: 19 June 2013.
- ^ "KVIFF | Archive of films". www.kviff.com. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Mousoulis, Bill. "Cosmic Delight: The 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Senses of Cinema". Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ ""New Horizons" Polish Film Festival With 10 Greek Films This Year". GreekReporter.com. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- S2CID 226486226.
- ISBN 978-1908215017.
- ^ Mitchell2011-01-04T11:00:00+00:00, Wendy. "Rotterdam to open with Greek drama Wasted Youth". Screen. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "San Sebastian Film Festival". sansebastianfestival. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "L, a Greek enigma, in Rotterdam". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2012". MUBI. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Peter Bradshaw, "Miss Violence Review - Macabre Tale of Evil and Greek Anguish," The Guardian, 19 June 2014.
- ^ "To mikro psari | Stratos". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "XENIA". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "A Blast". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Chevalier". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Interruption: Playing with conventions and expectations". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Suntan | IFFR". iffr.com. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "'Suntan' by Argyris Papadimitropoulos Wins Top Prize at Edinburgh Film Festival". GreekReporter.com. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Nordine, Michael (27 April 2017). "2017 Tribeca Film Festival Awards: 'Keep the Change,' 'Son of Sofia' and 'Bobbi Jene' Take Top Prizes". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Pity (film)", Wikipedia, 10 May 2021, retrieved 1 November 2021
Bibliography
- Dimitris Koliodimos, The Greek filmography, 1914 through 1996 (vols. 1 and 2), Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999.
- Journal of Modern Greek Studies 18.1, May 2000, Special Issue: "Greek Film."
- Vrasidas Karalis, A History of Greek Cinema, Continuum, 2012.
External links
- Madbox Entertainment - Film production company and studios and postproduction
- myFILM.gr - Entertainment news and movie reviews (Greek)
- Modern Hellenic (Greek) film (cinema), theater and film directors, Actors
- Database of Greek films
- greek-movies.com
- Greek movies, tv series and shows database.
- Extensive history of cinema in Greece.
- Make a Movie in Greece - media productions in Greece
- Various movie theatres in Greece
- Video of Peter Yiannoudes, who established Greek Cinema in Victoria, Australia in the 1950s on Culture Victoria