Michael Papas | |
|---|---|
 Papas in 2010. | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Greek-Cypriot and British |
| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Papas |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | michaelpapas.com |
Michael Papas is a Greek-Cypriot independent filmmaker working in England and Cyprus. He is best known for writing, directing and producing The Private Right, The Lifetaker and Tomorrow's Warrior.
In 1966, Papas made his feature film debut as producer, writer and director of the politically controversial, critically acclaimed The Private Right. [1] [2] [3] [4] Set in Cyprus and London, it concerns a group of Cypriot guerrilla rebels engaged in the uprising against the British colonials. After being captured, a Cypriot guerrilla leader is tortured by a fellow Cypriot who is collaborating with the British army. Years later, the victim travels to London to seek revenge against his torturer. [1] [5] The Private Right premiered at the 1966 London Film Festival [1] and opened at theatres in England in 1967. Papas withdrew the film from competition at the 1967 Sydney Film Festival because of cuts demanded by the Commonwealth Censor Board. [3]
The Sunday Times called the film "a striking debut." [6] Sight & Sound called it "astonishing for a first feature" and added, "Papas achieves a heraldic theatrical power." [1] The British Film Institute's Monthly Film Bulletin called Papas "a director eager to experiment with film form, and more important able to do it with authority." [7] The Times said Papas "manages his box of tricks with striking skill and control, and the image he presents of a weirdly unfamiliar nightmare London… is powerfully haunting." [8]
Papas's 1975 English film The Lifetaker stars Terence Morgan as a deceived husband who engages his wife (Lea Dregorn) and her young lover (Peter Duncan) in a series of deadly games. It had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it was both lauded and criticised for its controversial themes of sex and violence and the corruption of youth. [9] [10] According to Papas, the film was scheduled to be released across the UK, but the managing director of EMI distribution cancelled the release after viewing the completed film due to its controversial themes. [11]
In Offbeat, a 2012 collection on British cinema edited by Julian Upton, The Lifetaker is called a “stylish and erotically charged tale of obsession” that is “not only the quintessence of the kind of film they don’t make anymore, but is also radically unlike the kind of film they made even then.” [11] The film is praised for its “consistent use of inch-perfect composition, bold camera moves, sumptuous colour schemes and daring set pieces.” [11]
Papas’s 1981 film Tomorrow’s Warrior, shot in the UK and Cyprus and also known by its Greek title Avrianos Polemistis, is based on true events from the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and stars Christos Zannidis. The story concerns a young Cypriot boy and his family who flee their village in advance of a Turkish invasion, struggling to survive in a Greek refugee camp. [12] The Sunday Times called the initial invasion sequence a "stunning, mind-bending centre piece" that "has few equals anywhere in the cinema." [13] The New Statesman wrote that such sequences "portray man's reasonless inhumanity to man everywhere." [14]
In 2011, Papas returned with Little Odysseus and the Cyclops and Secret Paths, which were filmed one after the other. Little Odysseus and the Cyclops is a modern day retelling of a story from Homer's The Odyssey . The fantasy adventure film premiered at Papas's Acropole Cinemas in Nicosia. [15]
Papas was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. [16] His wife, Susan Papas, co-produced his later films with him. [2] Together they own and run the Acropole Cinemas in Nicosia, which they opened in 1995. [17] His son, Minos Papas, is a New York-based filmmaker [2] who was the director of photography on Little Odysseus and the Cyclops [15] and Secret Paths.
| Year | Title | Credited as |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Private Right | Writer/director/producer |
| 1972 | Solitaire | Director |
| 1975 | The Lifetaker | Writer/director/producer |
| 1981 | Tomorrow's Warrior (aka Avrianos Polemistis) | Writer/director/producer |
| 2011 | Little Odysseus and the Cyclops | Writer/director/producer |
| 2013 | Secret Paths | Writer/director/producer |
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Makarios III was a Cypriot clergyman and politician who served as the archbishop and primate of the autocephalous Church of Cyprus (1950–1977) and as the first president of Cyprus (1960–1977). In his three terms as president he survived four assassination attempts and a coup d'état. He is widely regarded by Greek Cypriots as the Father of the Nation or "Ethnarch".
Irene Papas is a Greek actress and singer who has starred in over 70 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. She gained international recognition through such popular award-winning films as The Guns of Navarone (1961) and Zorba the Greek (1964). She was a powerful protagonist in films including The Trojan Women (1971) and Iphigenia (1977). She played the title roles in Antigone (1961) and Electra (1962).
Michael Cacoyannis was a Greek Cypriot filmmaker, best known for his 1964 film Zorba the Greek. He directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film. Much of his work was rooted in classical texts, especially those of the Greek tragedian Euripides. He was nominated for an Academy Award five times, a record for any Cypriot film artist. He received Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film nominations for Zorba the Greek, and two nominations in the Foreign Language Film category for Electra and Iphigenia.
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The Turkish invasion of Cyprus was launched on 20 July 1974, following the Cypriot coup d'état on 15 July 1974.
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Cyclops is an ancient Greek satyr play by Euripides, based closely on an episode from the Odyssey. It would have been the fourth part of a tetralogy presented by Euripides in a dramatic festival in 5th Century BC Athens. The date of its composition is unknown, but it was probably written late in Euripides' career. It is the only complete satyr play extant.
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Nicosia International Airport is a largely disused airport located 8.2 km (5.1 mi) west of the Cypriot capital city of Nicosia in the Lakatamia suburb. It was originally the main airport for the island, but commercial activity ceased following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. The airport site is now mainly used as the headquarters of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
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William "Bill" Papas was a political cartoonist and caricaturist, book author and illustrator, and watercolourist. In the 1960s and 1970s he worked for The Guardian, The Sunday Times and Punch. His work has won international acclaim and is included in many private and corporate collections around the world.
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Papadopoulos & Sons is a 2012 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Marcus Markou and self-distributed in the UK and Ireland by Markou's own company Double M Films through an agreement with Cineworld on 5 April 2013. Cineworld initially agreed to distribute the film for one week only in a limited number of screens across the UK, but due to unprecedented audience demand, extended the run while expanding to more venues.