Lila Kourkoulakou
Directing
Biography
Lila Kourkoulakou (Greek: Λίλα Κουρκουλάκου, 1936 - 2015) was a pioneering Greek director, screenwriter and producer, known for her film The Island of Silence (1958). She studied cinema and literature in Rome (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia), where she was influenced by Italian neorealism. She was the first female director in the world to participate in an international film festival (Venice Film Festival, 1958) with the film The Island of Silence. Her film about Spinalonga is considered to have contributed decisively to raising public awareness and the final closure of the island's leper colony. Some of her films is The Island of Silence (1958), At the Door of Hell (1960), Eleftherios Venizelos (1966), Cyprus, the Great Crossroads (1979) and The Exodus from Messolonghi (1979). She died in Athens on 28 or 29 April 2015, at the age of 79.
Known For
"700 meters far from humans, and million meters far from humanity…" The study of the life of the lepers of Spinalonga with a dedication and affection that brighten the neo-realistic and documentaristic framework and style of the film. Plot: We watch romantic and emotional adventures, ideological and sentimental conflicts featuring the patients, doctors and several locals. The doctor Stathis Chtenas (Giorgos Kampanellis) is disappointed at the situation on the island and confesses to the teacher (Orestis Markris) that he wants to leave soon. Their life changes with the arrival of a young volunteer doctor, Angela (Nina Sgouridou), whose dynamic presence transforms life on the island. Stathis and Angela become a couple and make everything to improve life at Spinalonga. However, on the occasion of young Sifis’s (Tzannis Kourkoulakos) “escape” from the island, Stathis’s attitude changes.
The Island of Silence
A priest tries to reassure the inhabitants of his village, who are preparing for the end of the world, which they believe will come with Halley's Comet.
At Hell's Door
Historical documentary, on the life and work of the great Greek politician who contributed decisively to the shaping of the physiognomy of modern Greece. Venizelos came to Athens in 1909, after the Goudios Movement, at the invitation of the Military Association and, upon assuming the prime ministership, clashed with the palace. The film follows the man's path, through recorded testimonies (cinematic newsreels, photographs, newspapers), from his beginnings in Mournies, Crete, until his death.
Eleftherios Venizelos
The industrial shares that Argyris Zomas bought lose their value, leading him to financial disaster. Desperate to feed his family, he will be appointed as an undertaker.