Greek filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter Yorgos Lanthimos initially studied business and was also part of the Greek national basketball team before stepping into films. A prominent figure of the Greek Weird Wave movement, he is known for his Academy Award-nominated screenwriting in The Lobster and direction in The Favourite.
Costa Gavras is a Greek-French screenwriter and filmmaker best known for making movies with social and political themes. His 1969 political thriller film Z, which earned him an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, was the first movie to receive nominations for both the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Born to French producer Michèle Ray-Gavras and Greek-French director Costa-Gavras, French filmmaker Romain Gavras was no stranger to films as a child. Apart from making films such as The World Is Yours and countless ads, he has also directed iconic music videos such as Jamie xx’s Gosh and M.I.A.’s Bad Girls.
Alexi Pappas is a Greek-American runner, actor, writer, and filmmaker. In 2016, she set the national record for 10,000m at the Rio Olympics where she represented Greece. As a filmmaker, Alexi Pappas is credited with bankrolling and writing Olympic Dreams, the first fictional film to be shot in an Olympic village.
Greek filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter Theo Angelopoulos is remembered for his Palme d'Or-winning film Eternity and a Day. He dropped out of law school to study film and later became known for his signature slow narratives and long takes. He died after being hit by a motorcycle while shooting the film The Other Sea.
Andreas Voutsinas was a Sudanese-Greek theater director and actor. He is remembered for playing important roles in films like The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, and History of the World, Part I. From 2002 to 2009, he worked as an acting teacher in Northern Greece’s State Theatre. Andreas Voutsinas is also credited with founding a drama school called Superior Drama School.
Greek filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis is best remembered for his Academy Award-nominated film Zorba the Greek. Born to a public servant father who was knighted for his work, in Cyprus, he initially studied law and then joined the BBC World Service. He had also performed on stage as Michael Yannis.