Yannis Smaragdis
Directing
Biography
Iannis Smaragdis was born in Crete in 1946. He studied Film in Greece and France. He made his first appearance in 1972 with the short film Two Three Things..., which received the first prize at the Athens Film Festival, as well as a Special Mention at the Montreal Film Festival. Iannis Smaragdis' career has been full of creativity and counts many successes. His most significant features are Cavafy (1996) and El Greco (2007). They were both very successful and award-winning films that participated in many international festivals, the most significant being the Toronto International Film Festival. On television, he touched the hearts of audiences with his Good night to you, Kyr Alexandre in 1980. In 1988 he directed the 13-episode series Hush... Our Country is Sleeping..., which is considered the best TV series since the beginning of television broadcasting in Greece. Iannis Smaragdis has directed many more TV series, such as Hadjimanuel (1984) and Les Enfants Gates (2001). He has also directed documentaries and essays: Spyros Louis (2004), I've brought to art (1998), Thus spake the city (1990-1993), to name a few. In 2007 he directed Opera of Shadows at the Athens Concert Hall. In 2012, he completed his new film God Loves Caviar, which officially participated at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released in Greek theatres in October 2012 and was a box office hit for three consecutive weeks. Until 31 December 2012 it reached 350.000 admissions. He is currently working on his new project titled Nikos Kazantzakis, a film about the great Greek author and based on the latter's autobiography Report to Greco. On the internet he was also voted the most popular artist for the year 2012. Earlier this year he was appointed by the Istituto di Studi Giuridici Economici e Sociali Internazionali I.S.G.E.S.I. in Rome to the position of Manager of Cinema and Theatre and head of all scientific studies of the same department. He is a member of the Giuseppe Sciacca International Awards Committee.
Known For
The story of the greatest Greek statesman. In the early 19th century, Greece has just gained its independence from the Ottomans and Ioannis Kapodistrias is called upon to assume the role of its first governor. He steadfastly defends the freedom of every human being with courage, kindness, and dignity and many personal sacrifices. He does not hesitate to confront the forces of evil, giving up wealth, glory, and international recognition, serving his homeland with faith and devotion.
Kapodistrias
The true-life, stranger-than-fiction tale of eighteenth-century Greek pirate turned merchant Ioannis Varvakis, who rose from humble beginnings to become the head of one of the largest mercantile empires in Europe.
God Loves Caviar
A traveling theatre troupe tours the Greek countryside from 1939 to the early 1950s, staging “Golfo the Shepherdess”. As the years pass, its members endure persecution, betrayal, executions, and exile. Their personal stories become entangled with the country’s major historical events, in a seemingly endless cycle of violence and loss.
The Travelling Players
The story of the uncompromising artist and fighter for freedom, Domenicos Theotokopoulos, known to the world as "El Greco".
El Greco
Four men and one woman, possessed by a "natural need" for the law, create the NSPR (Special Body to Fight Poverty) and intervene whenever circumstances call for them. However, the driving force behind everything is the old hacker named Nikephoros A', who not only watches, protects and sometimes subtly guides his son's scandalous group, but also paves the way for the Greece of the future...
Ta haidemena paidia
An ailing, elderly poet reminisces about his life of unrest and homosexual urges.
Cavafy
Two years after the establishment of the junta of the colonels, a resistance fighter leaves for Sweden. After 14 years of exile, the return to Greece is painful. His girlfriend has been married, while his friends have completely changed.
The Song Of Return
The true story of the greatest Greek writer of the 20th century, Nikos Kazantzakis, based on his work, Report to Greco, which is, essentially, his autobiography.
Kazantzakis
A group of minors escape from a reformatory and lock themselves in a museum on an island, threatening to destroy the statues if their demands are not met.
The Bleeding Statues
The movie is about Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, one of the most important diplomats of the 18th century, who became the first governor of the independent Greek state (1827).
Report to Kapodistrias
Three short stories satirizing the Greece of “Change” in early 80's. A take-off on the police dramas of Giannis Maris; a satire of the films of the New Greek Cinema; and a satire of the “fustanella (Greek kilt)” films as well.
What a Mess
No description available.