Nico Papatakis ( el, Νίκος Παπατάκης; 5 July 1918 – 17 December 2010)Death certificate registered by the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

's City Hall (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) was an Ethiopian-born Greek filmmaker, who lived in France.

Biography

Papatakis was born in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and spent his early years between Ethiopia and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. In 1939, he established himself in Paris and worked as an extra in films. Eventually, he owned the famous Parisian club 'La Rose Rouge' where performers included singer

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

. He was married to actress

Anouk Aimée Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée () or Anouk, is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years, she studi ...

from 1951 to 1954 and with her he had a daughter, Manuela Papatakis, born in 1951. He was then married to actress

Olga Karlatos Olga Karlatos ( el, Όλγα Καρλάτου; born Olga Vlassopulos, April 20, 1945) is a retired Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer, known primarily for performing in Italian horror cinema. Career Between the end of the sixties and the e ...

from 1967 to 1982, with whom he had a son, Serge Papatakis, born in 1967. In 1957, Papatakis moved to New York City, met

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

, and became co-producer of Cassavetes' ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'' (1959). In 1963, his first film, '' Les Abysses'', enjoyed a "

Succès de scandale ''Succès de scandale'' (French for "success from scandal") is a term for any artistic work whose success is attributed, in whole or in part, to public controversy surrounding the work. In some cases the controversy causes audiences to seek ou ...

" and was entered into the

1963 Cannes Film Festival The 16th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 May 1963. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Il Gattopardo'' by Luchino Visconti. The festival opened with '' The Birds'', directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Jury The following people were appointed as th ...

which refused to show it. It was based on Jean Genet's ''The Slaves''. In 1967, he directed another film, ''Oi Voskoi'' (''The Shepherds'' in Greek). During the Algerian War, he was active in the Front de Liberation National. He returned to filmmaking in 1987 with a film in Greek, ''I Photografia'' (''The Photograph''). His last movie was '' Walking a Tightrope'' (1992). He died in Paris on 17 December 2010.

Films

*''Gloria mundi'' (version 2004) *'' Les Équilibristes'' (1992), ''Walking a Tightrope'' (English title) *''I Photographia'' (1987), ''La Photo'', ''The Photograph'' (Australia: festival title) *''Gloria mundi'' (1976) *''Oi Voskoi'' (1967), ''Les Pâtres du désordre'' (France), ''Thanos and Despina'' (USA), ''The Shepherds of Calamity'' (Europe). *'' Les Abysses'' (1963) (as Nico Papatakis) As actor * '' The Red Rose'' (1951)

References

External links

*
Nikos Papatakis' obituary

Nico's Bio ''résumé''
1918 births 2010 deaths People from Addis Ababa Greek film directors French film directors Greek emigrants to France Greek expatriates in Ethiopia {{France-film-director-stub