The history of Greek cinematography is similar to the one of its birthplace: long, turbulent and nostalgic with occasional revivals following the end of the Civil War in 1949 and the restoration of democracy in the 70s. After outbreak of the financial crisis a new wave of filmmakers with similar aesthetics has emerged as far as outright of cinema movement, commonly described as “weird wave” in Greek cinema.
Giorgos Lanthimos
Born in Athens Yorgos Lanthimos is the flag bearer for the new wave of absurdist cinema in Greece. Followed by his first experimental feature Kinetta, he attracted international attention with his second film Dogtooth, a black-comedy on family relationships connected through the most brilliant and bizarre networks. The film won the “Un Certain Regard prize” at the 2009 Cannes film festival, along with numerous other awards worldwide and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 2011. His first English-language film The Lobster was released in 2015 and Lanthimos once again mixed elements of jet-black humour and macabre satire all together in a dystopian world.
Pantelis Vouglaris
Voulgaris counts more than 50 years of cinematography. He has won international acclaim and numerous awards, establishing his reputation as one of the foremost directors of his generation. His films like Stone Years, Deep Soul and Brides often tackle social and political developments of the Greek reality in the 21st century set in a retro atmosphere with elements of visual elegance, romanticism and nostalgia. His latest drama-romance feature Mikra Anglia (Little England) won six awards, including that for Best Film at the 2014 Hellenic Film Academy Awards.
Costa Gavras
Konstantinos Gavras is probably the most internationally recognized Greek director with some 20 films in 45 years. Originally from Greece he moved to France at the age of 23 and remains there since then. Known for Z (1969), Missing (1982), Amen (2002) Costa-Gavras in his features merges the suspense of a thriller with the political critique on controversial issues. His most famous landmark, the Oscar winning Z (1969), is a political drama about the assassination of the left politician Grigoris Lambrakis and was banned in Greece under the military dictatorship at the time of its making.
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