Koundouros was born in
Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in 1926. He studied
painting and
sculpture at the
Athens School of Fine Arts. During the war he was a member of the left-wing resistance movement
EAM-ELAS, and because of this was subsequently exiled to the
Makronissos prison island. At the age of 28 he decided to follow a career in
cinematography. He started his career as a
director of the film
Magiki Polis (1954), where he combined his
neorealism influences with his own artistic viewpoint. He cast
Thanasis Veggos, who he had met at Makronissos, as one of the characters in
Magiki Polis. After the release of his complex and innovative film
O Drakos (1956), he found acceptance as a prominent artist in
Greece and
Europe, and acquired important awards in various international and Greek film festivals. His 1963 film
Young Aphrodites won the
Silver Bear for Best Director at the
13th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1985 he was a member of the jury at the
14th Moscow International Film Festival. ==Filmography==