French Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterand recently referred to the important work of Greek Cypriot director Mihalis Kakogiannis. Mitterand praised the director’s contribution to art, and put emphasis on his films “Alexis Zorbas” and “Electra”. He wondered about the film “Zorbas”; “Who other than this great director would create such a film played by talented actors like Antony Quinn, Irene Papa and Lila Kedrova”. He also added that Kakogiannis was the heir and successor of Greek mythology, creating an excellent trilogy of Greek tragedies for the cinema, as well as introducing the great actress Irene Papa to the rest of the world. Moreover, Mitterand pointed out that the film “Electra” won the award for Best Film Adaptation in 1962. The popular French newspaper “Le Figaro” also referred to Kakogiannis’ contribution to art with a one page article and a photo. In the article, information is given about his life; more specifically, that he was born in Cyprus, studied in London and finally moved to Athens. Le Figaro also includes Kakogiannis’ filmography, his theatre plays and Greek tragedies and focused in particular on “Electra” and “The Trojan Women” of Evripides, which were very successful in Avignon, France and in New York. Finally, the French newspaper noted that international recognition came in 1964 with the “wonderful film” “Alexis Zorbas” played by Anthony Quinn.
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