FILM DIRECTORS from Greece

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Greek Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Greek Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Theo Angelopoulos (1935 - 2012)

With an HPI of 67.10, Theo Angelopoulos is the most famous Greek Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 48 different languages on wikipedia.

Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος; (27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respected filmmakers in the world. He started making films in 1967. In the 1970s he made a series of political films about modern Greece. Angelopoulos' films, described by Martin Scorsese as that of "a masterful filmmaker", are characterized by the slightest movement, slightest change in distance, long takes, and complex, carefully composed scenes. His cinematic method is often described as "sweeping" and "hypnotic." Angelopoulos has said that in his shots, “time becomes space and space becomes time.” The pauses between action or music are important to creating the total effect. In 1998 his film Eternity and a Day went on to win the Palme d'Or at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and his films have been shown at many of the world's esteemed film festivals.

2. Costa-Gavras (b. 1933)

With an HPI of 66.17, Costa-Gavras is the 2nd most famous Greek Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thriller Z (1969), which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Missing (1982), for which he won the Palme d'Or and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Most of his films have been made in French, but six of them were made in English, including Hanna K..

3. Yorgos Lanthimos (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 56.43, Yorgos Lanthimos is the 3rd most famous Greek Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Yorgos Lanthimos (; Greek: Γιώργος Λάνθιμος [ˈʝorɣos ˈlanθimos]; born 23 September 1973) is a Greek filmmaker. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for five Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Lanthimos started his career in experimental theatre before making his directorial film debut with the sex comedy My Best Friend (2001). He rose to prominence directing the psychological drama film Dogtooth (2009), which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Lanthimos transitioned to making English-language films with the black comedy The Lobster (2015), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the psychological thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017). He collaborated with actress Emma Stone in the period black comedies The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023), and the anthology film Kinds of Kindness (2024). He received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for The Favourite and Poor Things. He also won the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival for Poor Things.

4. Şerif Gören (1944 - 2024)

With an HPI of 47.22, Şerif Gören is the 4th most famous Greek Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Şerif Gören (Greek: Σερίφ Γκιορέν, romanized: Seríf Gkiorén, 1 July 1944 – 8 December 2024) was a Turkish film director. Aside from important films under his own signature, he was also the winner of the Palme d'Or ("Golden Palm") award in Cannes Film Festival in 1982 for the film Yol, which he had directed on behalf of Yılmaz Güney, who at the time was serving a prison sentence for the murder of Yumurtalık judge Sefa Mutlu. Gören started his film career as an editor, and then continued as an assistant director to Yılmaz Güney. He and Güney started directing Endişe (The Anxiety) in 1974, in the beginning of which Güney was arrested and sent to prison. Gören continued directing the film, which makes it the first film directed by him. The Anxiety was a successful movie which won six awards at the 12th Antalya Film Festival in 1975 including Best National Film and Best National Director. He directed more than thirty films in a decade. His activities also brought some trouble. As he served as the chairman of the Film Directors Association during 1979–80, he was arrested in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup. After his release he started directing the film Yol in 1981. Gören died of complications from a fall on 8 December 2024, at the age of 80.

5. Nikos Koundouros (1926 - 2017)

With an HPI of 45.34, Nikos Koundouros is the 5th most famous Greek Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Nikos Koundouros (Greek: Νίκος Κούνδουρος; 15 December 1926 – 22 February 2017) was a Greek film director.

6. Athina Rachel Tsangari (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 38.83, Athina Rachel Tsangari is the 6th most famous Greek Film Director.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greek: Αθηνά Ραχήλ Τσαγγάρη, IPA: [aθiˈna raˈçil t͡saŋˈɡari]; born 2 April 1966) is a Greek filmmaker. Some of her most notable works include her feature films, The Slow Business of Going (2000), Attenberg (2010) and Chevalier (2015) as well as the co-production of Yorgos Lanthimos' films Kinetta (2005), Dogtooth (2009), and Alps (2011). In her versatile work for cinema, she has also founded and been director of the Cinematexas International Short Film Festival. In 2014–2015, she was invited to Harvard University's Visual and Environmental Studies department as a visiting lecturer on art, film, and visual studies.

7. Phedon Papamichael (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 38.14, Phedon Papamichael is the 7th most famous Greek Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Phedon Papamichael, ASC (Greek: Φαίδων Παπαμιχαήλ, Faidon Papamihail; born February 1962) is a Greek cinematographer and film director, known for his collaborations with directors James Mangold, Alexander Payne and Wim Wenders. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography. He has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers since 2000.