Milton Manaki
Directing
Biography
Miltos (Miltiadis) Manakis (Aromanian: Milton Manachia, Greek: Μίλτος Μανάκης, 1882–1964) was a leading pioneer of cinema and photography in the Balkans. Together with his brother, Giannakis, they are considered the "Lumier brothers of the Balkans", as in 1905 they created the first motion picture in the region, capturing their 114-year-old grandmother spinning wool in Avdella, Grevena. He born in 1882 in Avdella, Grevena, a Vlach village in Pindos that at the time belonged to the Ottoman Empire (today Greece). Miltos Manakis and his brother left a vast cultural legacy that includes: They recorded 67 short films, mainly of ethnographic and historical interest, such as the visits of Sultan Mehmet V to Monastir and scenes from the Balkan Wars. It is estimated that they took over 12,500 photographs, capturing the daily life, traditions and landscapes of Macedonia and Epirus. The "Manakia" Cinema: In 1921 they founded their own cinema in Monastir, which was a cultural center of the time until its destruction by fire. Their work inspired Theodoros Angelopoulos in the film "The Gaze of Ulysses" (1995), in which the protagonist searches for three lost reels of film by the Manaki brothers. In their honor, the "Manaki Brothers" International Film Festival is organized every year in Monastir, which is the oldest festival in the world dedicated to the art of cinematography.
Known For
Early Balkan footage.
The Defilee of Army Orchestra, Carriages and Horsemen
Early Balkan footage.
The Celebration of Saint George
A mass gathering of people.
The Mass
Early Balkan footage.
A Veterinary Station
A group of Macedonian women are shown hard at work.
Weaving Women
A schoolclass in seen outside in Macedonia.
The Outside Class
A brief scene at a sheep slaughterhouse.
Sheep Slaughter
A six minute film of the funeral of the murdered Metropolitan Emilianos of Grevena, of which all has been lost, save for 17 seconds. Emilianos was murdered on October 1st, 1911.
The Funeral of Metropolitan Emilianos of Silyvria
Early Balkan footage.
Wallachian Nomads
Early Balkan footage.
The Celebration of the Religious Festival Epiphany
The Manaki brothers have filmed a market.
Market Day in Bitola
Early Balkan footage.
Turks' Hearing Speech on Hürriyet
Newsreel of the visit of sultan Mehmed V Resad to Bitola.
The Turkish Sultan Mehmed V Resad Visiting Bitola
A short prior to World War I film which captures festivities at a fair near a church in Bitola.
Fair Near "Holy Sunday" Church in Bitola
Early Balkan footage.
Parade on the Occasion of the Hürriyet
Early Balkan footage.
The Visit of the Sultan Mehmed the Fifth Reshad to Salonika
In an attempt to verify the hypothesis that her Aromanian grandfathers were photographed by the famous brothers Milton and Ianaki Manakia, the director embarks on a Balkans journey through Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece.
The Manakia Brothers: Diary of a Long Look Back
Early Balkan footage.
Celebration of Epiphany in Bitola
This scene is a part of the very first film shot produced by the Manaki Brothers. Despina, the Janaki and Milton Manaki's grandmother, was recorded weaving in one high-angle shot. For no apparent reason, the first shot made in Macedonia, in the Balkans in fact, made by these two cinematography pioneers, contains peculiar symbolics: at the moment when the grandmother Despina spins the weaving wheel, film starts rolling in our country.
Grandma Despina
The Manaki brothers document the hanged bodies in a town square, post-Ilinden Uprising; The disheartened mill about. The men were likely killed by Muslims loyal to the ruling Ottoman Empire in attempts to quash Macedonian support for Adrianople and greater Macedonian autonomy.