Origins In the spring of 1897, the Greeks of
Athens watched the first cinematic ventures (short movies in "journal"). In 1906 Greek cinema was born when the
Manakis brothers started recording in
Macedonia, and the French filmmaker "Leons" produced the first "Newscast" from the midi-
Olympic games of Athens (the unofficial Olympic games of 1906). The first cine-theater of Athens opened about a year later and other special 'projection rooms' begun their activity. In 1910-11 the first short comic movies were produced by director
Spiros Dimitrakopoulos (Spyridion), who also starred in most of his movies. In 1911
Kostas Bachatoris presented
Golfo (), a well known traditional love story, considered the first Greek
feature film. In 1912 was founded the first film company (
Athina Film) and in 1916 the
Asty Film. During the
First World War, production was limited to documentaries and newscasts only. Directors like George Prokopiou and
Dimitris Gaziadis are distinguished for filming scenes from the battlefield and later, during the Greco-Turkish War, of the efforts of the Hellenic Army and finally the
Great Fire of Smyrna (1922). , pioneers of the cinema in the Balkans The first commercially successful Greek film was ''Villar in the Women's Baths of Faliro
(''), written, directed by and starring comedian Villar (Nikolaos Sfakianakis) and Nitsa Philosofou. In 1924, Michael Michael (1895–1944), a Greek comedian, presented some
short film comedies. In 1922, Gaziadis founded
Dag Films and tried to produce the first
speaking movies. This company presented its first movie,
Love and Waves (''
), in 1927, and experienced moderate success in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The company mainly produced historical movies, usually adaptations of novels. In 1930, Dag made an attempt for a speaking movie, The Apaches of Athens (''), which was based on a Greek
operetta by
Nikos Hatziapostolou. Gaziadis also filmed the 1927 Delphic Festival, an idea of
Angelos Sikelianos and Eva Palmer-Sikelianos, as part of his general effort towards the revival of the "Delphic Idea". The event consisted of
Olympic contests, an exhibition of
folk art, and a performance of
Prometheus Bound. The 1931 film
Daphnis and Chloe (
Δάφνις και Χλόη), directed by
Orestis Laskos (1908–1992), contained the first voyeuristic nude scene in the history of European cinema; it was also the first Greek movie which was played abroad. In 1932
Olympia Films presented the speaking movie ''The Shepherdess's Lover
(Ο αγαπητικός της βοσκοπούλας
), which was based on a play by Dimitris Koromilas. Also influential during this period was director Achilleas Madras, whose work included Maria Pentagiotissa
(1929) and Sorcerer of Athens'' (1931). In 1944,
Katina Paxinou was honoured with the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Pilar" in the
Sam Wood film,
For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The Golden Age (modern period) in
Israel, 1964 The 1950s and 1960s are considered by many to be the "Golden Age" of Greek cinema. In 1999, TV series writers
Michalis Reppas and
Thanasis Papathanasiou, collaborating with contemporary famous actors made the sex taboo comedy
Safe Sex, which was the most successful movie of the decade. In 2003,
A Touch of Spice (
Politiki kouzina), a big-budget film by director
Tasos Boulmetis, was the most successful film of the year at the Greek
box office, making over 12 million euros. 2004 was also a good year for Greek films, with
Pantelis Voulgaris's
Brides (
Nyfes) gathering more than a million spectators and over 7 million at the box office. In 2007 the most successful film was
El Greco, directed by
Yannis Smaragdis. In 2009,
Dogtooth, directed by
Yorgos Lanthimos, won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2011 was nominated for
Best Foreign Language Film at the
83rd Academy Awards. The 2010 film
Attenberg, directed by
Athina Rachel Tsangari, won the Coppa Volpi Award for Best Actress (
Ariane Labed) at the Venice Film Festival. Also, at the same festival that year,
Homeland, directed by
Syllas Tzoumerkas screened at the International Critics' Week, ''Plato's Academy
by Filippos Tsitos screened at a special event in Venice Days, and Casus Belli'', a short film by director Yorgos Zois, screened at the
Orizzonti section, prompting Nick Vivarelli of
Variety to write about "the country's biggest showing in decades". In 2011
Alps won the Osella Award for Best Screenplay (
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimiοs Filippou) at the 68th Venice Film Festival.
Dogtooth,
Attenberg and
Alps are part of what some film critics, including Steve Rose of
The Guardian, have termed the "
Greek Weird Wave," which involves movies with haunting cinematography, alienated protagonists and absurdist dialogue. Other films mentioned as part of this "wave" include
Panos H. Koutras's
Strella (2009) and Yannis Economides's
Knifer (2010). In 2011, the 46th
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival presented a tribute to Young Greek Cinema with seven feature films:
Attenberg, Dogtooth, Homeland,
Strella,
Tale 52 (directed by Alexis Alexiou) and
Wasted Youth (directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Jan Vogel). The "wave" of Greek cinema continued its course through the decade, producing several titles that were festival and critical sensations and were distributed in many countries. Many tributes to this generation of Greek filmmakers were held by festivals worldwide, most notably by the New Horizons Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland, and the Jeonju International Film Festival in Korea. Recent studies called the Greek Weird Wave, a cinema "that reflects on how systems of power manage groups of people (from a family to a population) and the bodies of individuals", and "a cinema equally sensitive to forms of response, to noise, unease, and subversion". In 2011, just twenty feature-films were produced.
Wasted Youth, directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Jan Vogel was the opening film of the 40th
Rotterdam International Film Festival,
Alps, directed by
Yorgos Lanthimos won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice International Film Festival and
Unfair World, directed by
Filippos Tsitos won the Best Actor Award for
Antonis Kafetzopoulos at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. In 2012,
L by Babis Makridis premiered in competition at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and ''
Boy Eating the Bird's Food'', directed by Ektoras Lygizos, premiered in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, winning a Special Mention for actor Yannis Papadopoulos. In 2013,
Miss Violence, directed by
Alexandros Avranas won
Silver Lion for best director at the
70th Venice International Film Festival.
Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian, compared the film to the previously mentioned, saying that "It (self-evidently) does not have the humour of those movies by
Yorgos Lanthimos and
Athina Rachel Tsangari and by that token, less of their richness and inventiveness. But its force can't be doubted." In 2014,
Stratos, directed by
Yannis Economidis premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival,
Xenia, directed by
Panos H. Koutras, premiered at the Un Certain Régard section of the Cannes Film Festival, and
A Blast, directed by
Syllas Tzoumerkas, premiered in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival. In 2015,
Wednesday 04:45 by Alexis Alexiou premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival,
Chevalier, directed by
Athina Rachel Tsangari premiered in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival and won the Best Film Award at the BFI - London International Film Festival, and
Interruption by Yorgos Zois premiered at the Orizzonti competition section of the Venice International Film Festival. In 2016,
Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos premiered at the Rotterdam and SXSW International Film Festivals and won the Best Film Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. In 2017,
Son of Sofia, directed by Elina Psykou won the Best International Narrative Feature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2018,
Pity, directed by Babis Makridis, premiered in competition at the Sundance and the Rotterdam International Film Festivals. in 2021, Jacqueline Lentzou's
Moon, 66 Questions premiered at the Encounters competition section of the
71st Berlin International Film Festival. ==Notable films==