Michael Cacoyannis
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Michael Cacoyannis ( el, Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης, ''Michalis Kakogiannis''; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), sometimes credited as Michael Yannis, was a
Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
theatre and film director, writer, producer, and actor. Much of his work was rooted in classical texts, especially those of the Greek tragedian
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
. His most acclaimed work is the 1964 film '' Zorba the Greek,'' an adaptation of
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
' novel of the same name. He also directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film. In addition to directing, he also wrote, produced, translated, and designed dozens of stage play and opera productions. He was nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
five times, a record for any Cypriot film artist. He received
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for ''Zorba the Greek'', and two nominations in the Best Foreign Language Film category for '' Electra'' (1962) and ''
Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
'' (1977). He received many other international accolades, including the Technical Grand Prize from the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, as well as six
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
nominations.


Life and career

Cacoyannis was born in 1922 in
Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...
, Cyprus. His father, Sir Panayotis Loizou Cacoyannis, had been knighted in the 1936 Birthday Honours by the United Kingdom government for public services in Cyprus. His sister was the politician Stella Soulioti. In 1939, he was sent by his father to London to become a lawyer. He graduated from law school and joined the BBC World Service, soon taking charge of its new Cyprus Service. His deputy was Beba Clerides, sister of the RAF fighter pilot and future
President of Cyprus The president of Cyprus, officially the president of the Republic of Cyprus, is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus. The office was created in 1960, after Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom. Currently, t ...
, Glafkos Clerides. However, after producing Greek-language programs for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
World Service during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
,Erickson, Hal (2006)
Allmovie Biography
/ref> he ended up at the
Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
school, and enjoyed a brief stage career there under the name Michael Yannis before he began working on films. After having trouble finding a directing job in the British film industry, Cacoyannis moved to Greece, and in 1953 he made his first film, ''Windfall in Athens''. He was offered the chance to direct Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the film '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'', but he declined. Between 1959 and 1967, he was in a relationship with Yael Dayan, a progressive Israeli politician and author. Cacoyannis translated some of Shakespeare's plays '' Antony and Cleopatra'', ''
Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same yea ...
'' and ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' into Greek, and
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
' play ''
The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
'' into English. Cacoyannis died on 25 July 2011 in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, aged 89.


Filmography

* ''
The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...
'' (1999): director, screenwriter, producer * ''Up, Down and Sideways'' (''Pano kato ke plagios'') (1993): director, screenwriter, producer * '' Sweet Country'' (''Glykeia patrida'') (1986): director, screenwriter, producer * ''
Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
'' (1977): director, screenwriter * '' Attilas '74'' (1975): director, producer * ''The Story of Jacob and Joseph'', director * ''
The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC duri ...
'' (1971): director, screenwriter, producer * ''
The Day the Fish Came Out ''The Day the Fish Came Out'' (Greece: Otan ta psaria vgikan sti steria) is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Greek–British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis who also designed the film's futuristic costumes. The film stars Tom Courte ...
'' (''Otan ta psaria vgikan sti steria'') (1967): director, screenwriter, producer * '' Zorba the Greek'' (''Alexis Zorbas'') (1964): director, screenwriter, producer * '' Electra'' (1962): director, screenwriter, producer * '' The Wastrel'' (''Il Relitto'') (1961): director, screenwriter * '' Eroica'' (''Our Last Spring'') (1960): director, screenwriter, producer * '' A Matter of Dignity'' (''To telefteo psemma'') (1957): director, screenwriter, producer * '' A Girl in Black'' (''To koritsi me ta mavra'') (1956): director, screenwriter * '' Stella'' (1955): director, screenwriter, producer * '' Windfall in Athens'' (''Kyriakatiko xypnima'') (1954): director, screenwriter


Bibliography

* Cacoyiannis, Michael. ''Diladi''. Athens: Kastaniotis, 1990.


Awards and nominations

Cannes Film Festival *1954 : ''Golden Palm'' for "Windfall in Athens" – nominated *1955 : ''Golden Palm'' for "Stella" – nominated *1956 : ''Golden Palm'' for "A Girl in Black" – nominated *1957 : ''Golden Palm'' for "A Matter of Dignity" – nominated *1961 : ''Golden Palm'' for "The Wastrel" – nominated *1962 : ''Golden Palm'' for "Elektra" – nominated *1962 : ''Grand Jury Prize'' for "Elektra" – won *1962 : ''Technical Award'' for "Elektra" – won *1977 : ''Golden Palm'' for "Iphigenia" – nominated Berlin International Film Festival *
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...
: ''
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
'' for "Our Last Spring" – nominated *1963 : ''David O. Selznick Award'' for "Elektra" – won Academy Award (Oscar) *1963 : ''Best Foreign Language Film'' for "Elektra" – nominated *1964 : ''Best Picture'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated *1964 : ''Best Director'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated *1964 : ''Best Adapted Screenplay'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated *1977 : ''Best Foreign Language Film'' for "Iphigenia" – nominated Golden Globe *1956 : ''Best Foreign Language Film'' for "Stella" – won *1957 : ''Best Foreign Language Film'' for "A Girl in Black" – won *1965 : ''Best Director'' for "Zorba the Greek – nominated British Academy Award (BAFTA) *1966 : ''Best Film'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated *1966 : ''UN Award'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated New York Film Critics *1964 : ''Best Film'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated *1964 : ''Best Director'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated *1964 : ''Best Screenplay'' for "Zorba the Greek" – nominated David di Donatello Award *1964 : ''Special Plaque'' for "Zorba the Greek" – won Thessaloniki Film Festival *1960 : ''Special Contribution Award'' – won *1961 : ''Best Director'' for "Our Last Spring" – won *1962 : ''Best Film'' for "Elektra" – won *1962 : ''Best Director'' for "Elektra" – won *1977 : ''Best Film'' for "Iphigenia" – won *1999 : ''Union of Film and Television Technicians Award'' for "The Cherry Orchard" – won Moscow Film Festival *1956 : ''Silver Medal'' for "A Girl in Black" – Won Edinburgh Film Festival *1954 : ''Diploma of Merit'' for "Windfall in Athens" – won *1962 : ''Diploma of Merit'' for "Elektra" – won Montreal World Film Festival *1999 : ''Special Contribution Award'' – won Jerusalem Film Festival *1999 : ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' – won Cairo International Film Festival *2001 : ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' – won


References


Further reading

* Festival Kinimatografou Thessalonikis. ''Michalis Kakogiannis''. Athens: Kastaniotis, 1995. * Georgakas, Dan. "From Stella to Iphigenia: The Woman-Centered Films of Michael Cacoyannis." ''Cineaste'' 30(2), 2005: pp. 24–31. * "Personality of the Month." '' Films and Filming'', July 1960: p. 5. * Siafkos, Christos. ''Michalis Kakogiannis: Se Proto Plano''. Athens: Psychogios, 2009.


External links.

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cacoyannis, Michael 1922 births 2011 deaths People from Limassol Greek Cypriot people Greek film directors Cypriot film directors Cypriot screenwriters Cypriot film producers Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Members of Gray's Inn Cypriot emigrants to England Cypriot emigrants to Greece Translators of William Shakespeare Translators of Ancient Greek texts Greek–English translators Cypriot theatre people