Cavafy (film)
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Yannis Smaragdis () is a Greek film director. In October 2024, he was the first Greek director elected as a regular member of the
European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, ) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 38 Nobel Prize laureates. The European Academy of Sciences and ...
.


Biography

He was born in
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
in 1946 and studied film in Greece and Paris, France. He appeared in 1972 with his short film ''Two Three Things...'' which received the first prize in the
Athens Festival Athens – Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Athens and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece. It is held every year during the summer months (Fridays and Saturdays in Ju ...
and received recognition at the Montreal Film Festival in Canada. Yannis Smaragdis has taught Mass Media courses at the
Panteion University The Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (PUSPS; , ΠΠΚΠΕ), usually referred to simply as the Panteion University (Πάντειο Πανεπιστήμιο), is a university located in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1927, it is the ...
of Athens, as well as film direction and screenwriting at film schools in Greece. He has published 2 books: ''Poetic Geography'' (1995) and ''Cavafy'' (1997) - a literary form of the script of the film ''Cavafy''. Yannis Smaragdis is an honorary member of the
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...
.


Films


''Two Three Things'' (1972)

Short film. *First prize at the Athens Film Festival


''Zero Cell'' (1975)

Feature film. *Honorable Mention at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. *Nominated for Best Director at the
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...
.


''A Good Night to You, Mr Alexandre'' (1981)

A tribute to the life and work of Greek author
Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( ; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiathos, in the western part of the Aegean Sea. The isl ...
.


''Alaloum'' (1982)

Feature film. Box office record.


''Homecoming Song'' (1983)

Feature film. *State award for Best Feature. *Nominated for a Golden Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.


''Cavafy'' (1996)

''
Cavafy Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( ; 29 April ( OS 17 April), 1863 – 29 April 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Greek poet, journalist, and civil servant from Alexandria. A ...
'', released in 1996, is a
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...
of Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy. Originally titled ''Kavafis'', it stars Dimitris Katalifos and its film score was created by
Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...
. It is a
feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
95 minutes in length. Accolades for the film include: *Five state awards (including Best Feature Film, Best Director) (
Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its ...
) *Two international awards for the score by
Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...
: the
Georges Delerue Award The Georges Delerue Award for Best Music, or Georges Delerue Prize / Prix Georges Delerue, is an award for the best film score. It is named after the French composer Georges Delerue, and was first awarded at the 1985 Flanders International Film F ...
for Best Soundtrack/Sound Design at the 1997
Film Fest Gent Film Fest Gent, also known as International Film Fest Gent, is an annual international film festival in Ghent, Belgium. The festival held its first edition in 1974, under the name Internationaal Filmgebeuren Gent, and has since grown into the la ...
, Belgium, and best soundtrack at
Valencia International Film Festival Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
in
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
, Spain *Nominated for a Grand Prix at the Flanders International Film Festival *Nominated for a Golden Astor at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival *Official participation at many international film festivals, including
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
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, and
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
*Greek nomination for the 1997
European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...


''Spyros Louis'' (2004)

A tribute to the first Greek modern Olympic Winner, Marathon runner Spyros Louis (60 minutes). *First International Award "Guirlande d' Honneur 2004" at SPORTS MOVIES Festival in Milan, Italy.


''El Greco'' (2007)

Biopic of the artist
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
. Feature film based on a fictional story, international co-production. *8 State awards for 2007 (including Best Feature film, Best Direction) *Audience Award for Best Feature Film during the 48th International Film Festival in Thessaloniki and *Awarded for Best Feature Film from the Greek Union of Film Television and Audiovisual Technicians. *First of the five golden films by CBC at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. *First Prize for actor Juan Diego Botto at the 2008 Cairo International Film Festival. *International GOYA award in 2009 (Spanish Academy of Cinematic Art and Science) for costume designer Lala Huete. *Official selection at the International Film Festival of: Toronto 2008, São Paulo 2008, European Film Festival 2008 of the American Film Institute in Washington, Cairo 2008, Guadalajara International Festival 2009, Pantalla Pinamar in Argentina, and more other.


''God Loves Caviar'' (2012)

Biopic of pirate turned business tycoon Ioannis Varvakis. The feature film is known in Greek as ''O Theos agapaei to haviari''. international co-production. The Toronto Globe and Mail called it "laughably bad". *Official participation at the Toronto International Film Festival 2012, Shanghai International Film Festival 2013.


''Kazantzakis'' (2017)

Biopic of writer
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis (; ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer, journalist, politician, poet and philosopher. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominate ...
.


''The Governor'' (2024)

The director is preparing a national film on the life and work of the great Greek politician and visionary,
Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (; February 1776 –27 September 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century Europe. Kapodistrias's ...
. Even before the filming began, Giannis Smaragdis was awarded the 1st International Ioannis Kapodistrias Award by the Academy of Greek Art Awards.


Other activities

Smaragdis has taught Mass Media courses at the Panteion University of Athens, as well as film direction and screenwriting at various film schools in Greece. He has published 2 books: «Poetic Geography», 1995 and «CAVAFY», 1997 - a literary form of the script of «Cavafy», the film.


Awards

*Was voted on the Greek web the most popular artist in Greece for the year 2012 *Honored by the students of the 1st Vocational High School in Argos, who inaugurated their new studio "Image and Sound Studio Yannis Smaragdis" in 2013. *Excellence Award from the European Council for Youth Mobility in Research and Technology during the event "Excellence Awards, Greeks who are Role Models for the New Generation" in 2010 *Honorary Member of the Giuseppe Sciacca International Awards Committee 2012. *Appointed Director of Cinema and Theatre and Head of all scientific research of the relative department by the Istituto di Studi Giuridici Economici e Sociali Internazionali I.S.G.E.S.I. 2013 *Wisdom Award (Vraveion Sophiis) from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for his film EL GRECO, in Delphi, Greece. Summer 2008 *International Award for the Best Director in the world "GIUSEPPE SCIACCA 2008", in Rome – Italy *The Euro - American Women's Council's Award in Santa Barbara, California 2008 *Artemis International Award by the European - American women Council 2008 *Honorary Award at the Maremetraggio Film Festival in Trieste, Italy 2008 *Voted Director of the Year in STATUS Magazine in 2008 *Smaragdis is an honorary member of the Directors' Guild of America.


Screenwriter

* 1972: 1972: TWO THREE THINGS..., Short film. * 1975: ZERO CELL - Feature film. * 1981: A GOOD NIGHT TO YOU, MR. ALEXANDRE … - A tribute to the life and work of Greek author Alexandros Papadiamantis. (60’). * 1983: HOMECOMING SONG - Feature film. 90’. * 1996: CAVAFY – Feature film. 85΄ * 2004: SPYROS LOUIS – a tribute to the first Greek modern Olympic Winner, Marathon runner Spyros Louis 60' * 2007: EL GRECO –Feature film 112’. * 2012: GOD LOVES CAVIAR- Feature film 101’. * 2017: NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS - Feature film


Television

* 1985: HADJIMANUEL - TV series. Five episodes (60'). * 1987: AVE TASO KARATASSO - TV series. Thirteen episodes (45' minutes each). *** Nominated for best director at the Prague TV Festival 1989. * 1988: HUSH… OUR COUNTRY IS SLEEPING - Television series. Thirteen episodes (45' minutes each). * 2001: LES ENFANTS GATES - TV series. Eighteen episodes (32' minutes each) for the Greek Television ET1.


Documentaries

*1978: VERGINA 1978 AD - For the Greek National TV *1979: CHRISTMAS AT VOIO – For the Greek National TV *1980: BUILDERS AND PELIKANS - For the Greek National TV *1980: A WEDDNING AT VELVENDO - For the Greek National TV *1981: CYCLOPS’ CAVE – For the Greek National TV *1981: THE PEOPLE UNDER THE WALLS - For the Greek National TV *1984: THE AEGEAN: FROM HOMER TO ELYTIS - A documentary on the space and discourse of Greece. *1986: SMILING ON THE WAY - Eight documentaries, 30 minutes each. For the Greek National TV **TV award Best Photography (Nikos Smaragdis) *1990-1993: THUS SPAKE THE CITY - Thirteen film essays (30'). Poets and Cities. For the Greek National TV. *1996: TRADITIONAL TANNERIES OF AMFISSA (30') *1998: "I'VE BROUGHT TO ART." - Forty episodes (5'minutes each) segments of cultural content for the Greek National TV. *2004: CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS - a documentary about the Christian Monuments of Greece (50' minutes). For the Greek National TV **Official Participation at the Jihlava Documentary Film Festival 2010. For the Greek National TV **Official Participation at the 12th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2010. *2009: LOOKING FOR IOANNIS VARVAKIS - Documentary about Greek-Russian benefactor Ioannis Varvakis (45' minutes) for Greek National TV.


Opera

*1997: OPERA OF THE SHADOWS - opera, directed by Yannis Smaragdis. Performed at the Athens Opera House.


References


External links

*
Vangelis Papathanassiou – El Greco Movie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smaragdis, Yannis Filmmakers from Crete Greek film directors Living people 1946 births People from Heraklion People from Heraklion (regional unit)