THEODOROS "THEO" ANGELOPOULOS
(1935 - 2012) DirectorTheodoros “Theo” Angelopoulos was born in 1935. He studied law at the University of Athens but quit before acquiring his degree. In 1961 he went to Paris to study literature, filmology, and Anthropology at the Sorbonne. He also attended courses at the Film School IDHEC, but his studies there ceased due to a major disagreement with his professor in film directing. He continued his studies at the Musée de l’homme where he delved into cinéma-direct.
He returned to Greece in 1964, and until 1967 he worked as a film critic for the newspaper “Dimokratiki Allaghi” (Democratic Change) with Vasilis Rafailidis and Tonia Marketaki.
He started filming in 1965, and in 1968 his first short film, The Broadcast, was featured at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Soon after, he co-founded (with Vasilis Rafailidis) the magazine “Modern Cinema” and the first issue was published in 1969. They aimed to create a theoretical magazine on films and cinema that would provide commentaries on contemporary cinematography.
His first feature-length film, Reconstruction, was released in 1970, and it was awarded multiple prizes at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and other international film festivals. He participated in various international film festivals, where his films were very well received, making him one of the greatest directors of the contemporary film scene. He received honorary doctorate titles from multiple Greek and foreign universities.
He passed away in 2012 due to a fatal accident during the shooting of the third film of his trilogy, “The Other Sea”. He was politically active and supported the Left through his films.
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