NIKOS KOUNDOUROS

Nikos Koundouros was born in 1926 in Saint Nikolaos, Crete. He studied Architecture but did not complete his studies. He graduated from the Arts Academy, studying painting and sculpture. Spawn of a bourgeois family of politicians with a big tradition in Crete. Because of his independent and revolutionary character, he found himself during the period of civilian war expelled at the horrifying Makronissos Island. There he decided he wants to work in theatre and cinema. In 1953 he makes his first film, the “Magic City” and in 1956 the famous film, “The Dragon” the film that stands out of all the films made in Greece. His directorial career climaxes in 1963 when he receives the Best Director Award at the Berlin Film Festival, for the film “Small Venuses”.

His incompatible character created a lot of problems and his artistic creation was often interrupted for that reason. He faced problems with censorship for his film “Outlaws” (1958), the first film referring to the Civil War. His next film “The River” (1960) finds him clashing with the American producers about the final cut of the film. The film is screened at the Thessalonica Festival in two different versions and even received an award, but the film never achieved a theatrical release. The same thing happened with his film “Vortex”, when the shootings coincided with the imposition of the dictatorship and the film had to be completed abroad; the film never got a theatrical distribution, and only appeared in certain special movie collection screenings. Nikos Koundouros is a special filmmaker holding a high place in the history of Greek cinema, with a dynamic filmmaking language and a spit-fired soul.

NIKOS KOUNDOUROS