Penelope Spheeris (Director, USA)

penelope-spheeris Often referred to as a Rock ‘n Roll anthropologist, filmmaker Spheeris (1945) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Greek immigrant father. Spheeris is the first cousin of the Greek-French director Costa Gavras, whom she says makes her consider that there is something to the genetic aspects to the job description.

Her first feature film was The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), a punk rock documentary that she produced as well as directed. She followed up with The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, this time about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1988, with footage and interviews of legendary metal bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Megadeth and Motφrhead.

In addition, she worked as a writer for the TV series Roseanne (1988-1997). In the 1990s, Spheeris directed Wayne's World, a movie that grossed an impressive $121 million and became a popular hit.

The 3rd Los Angeles Greek Film Festival will honor Penelope Spheeris with a special screening of her documentary short No Use Walkin' When You Can Stroll (1998) and her eighties cult classic feature Suburbia (1984), followed by a panel discussion with Spheeris, Ross Albert, Christina Beck, and Bert Dragin, moderated by UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Dean Robert Rosen.

Spheeris - Official Website
"Serious Rock and Roll Anthropology" - Spheeris interviewed for the Austin Chronicle

Spiros Stathoulopoulos (Director, Colombia)

stathoulopolos Born in 1978, Spiros Stathoulopoulos was raised in Thessaloniki. He started making films at an early age. At 14, five years after his family has moved from Greece to Colombia, he earned his first award with a fiction video short. After moving to Los Angeles to finish a formal education in filmmaking and establishing his own production company, Kosmokrator Sinema, he has completed his first feature film entitled PVC-1.

This directorial debut premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2007 as an official selection of The Directors' Fortnight and won numerous awards at the 48th International Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Stathoulopoulos at Wikipedia
International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI ) Review of PVC-1

Costa-Gavras (Director, France)

costa-gavras Costa Gavras (born in Greece, February 13, 1933, ) is a Greek-French filmmaker best known for films with overt political themes, most famously political thrillers Z (1969), Missing (1982), The Music Box (1989) etc.

He has attempted several genres - including murder mystery, war film, and straight-up political fiction films - but his trademark is the merging of controversial political issues with the entertainment value of cinema, focusing on issues such as the abuse of power -especially by repressive regimes - complicity and interventionism by world powers in the affairs of other countries, torture and interrogation against the rule of law. He brings attention to international issues in the tradition of cinematic story-telling, by pouring politics into plot and interweaving epic conflicts with personal conflicts.
Gavras headed the international jury of the Berlinale Film Festival for 2008.

Gavras at Wikipedia
Gavras at the Internet Movie Database
Gavras interviewed by the British Film Institute

Constantine Alexander Payne (Director, USA)

alexander_payne Greek-American film director and screenwriter Constantine Alexander Payne (his grandfather's family name was Anglicized from Papadopoulos) was born February 10, 1961, in Omaha, Nebraska. He is best known for his films Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002) and Sideways (2004).

His films are noted for their dark sense of humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received a Golden Globe for his screenplays in About Schmidt and Sideways, as well as the Best Screenplay Academy Award for Sideways.

Payne at Wikipedia
Payne at the Internet Movie Database
Payne's interview with the BBC

Nia Vardalos (Writer/Actress, Canada)

nia_vardalos Nia Vardalos was born Antonia Eugenia Vardalos in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Greek-Canadian parents. She is an actor, screenwriter and producer for TV and film, who gained almost overnight success and international fame with her movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a romantic comedy about the life of a Greek-American woman.

Parts of her latest film, My Life In Ruins, where shot in Acropolis, Delphi and Ancient Olympia.

Vardalos at Wikipedia
Varldalos at the Internet Movie Database

George Miller (Director/Producer, Australia)

george_miller Academy-Award winning, Greek Australian film and television screenwriter, director and producer, Dr George (Miliotis) Miller, was born on March 3, 1945, in Queensland Australia, to Greek immigrant parents.

He is probably most well known for his work on the Mad Max, but has been involved in a wide range of projects, including The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Lorenzo's Oil (1992), Babe: Pig in the City (1998), and the Oscar-winning Happy Feet (2006).

Miller at Wikipedia
Miller at the Internet Movie Database

Nadia Tass (Director / Producer, Austratlia)

nadia_tass Greek born Nadia (Tassopoulos) Tass is one of Australia's most respected and unique filmmakers. Tass's career as a film director began in 1986, with her first feature film Malcolm (1986), which received critical acclaim throughout the world, winning 21 international awards. Her biggest hit to date was "Amy" (1998, starring Rachel Griffiths).

Tass has recently has completed four high end television movies in the U.S. She has also directed plays in Australia, including Miss Bosnia, Cosi and Summer of the Aliens.

Tass's biography at Cascade Films Website

Ana Kokkinos (Director, Australia)

anakokkinos An Australian film director, Ana Kokkinos was born in Melbourne in 1958.

Her films include a 1992 short film Antamasi, 1994's Only The Brave and 1998's Head On (based on the novel "Loaded" by Christos Tsolkias).

Ana Kokkinos at Wikipedia
Ana Kokkinos at the Internet Movie Database
Head on review in NY Times

Nick Cassavetes (Actor/Writer/Director, USA)

nick_cassavettes An American actor, writer and director, Nicholas Cassavetes was born in 1959 in New York City, New York, the son of actress Gena Rowlands and Greek-American actor and director John Cassavetes. He has directed several films, including Unhook the Stars(1996), The Notebook (2004) and Alpha Dog (2006).

Cassavetes at Wikipedia
Cassavetes at the Internet Movie Database

Zoe Cassavetes (Actress/Director, USA)

zoe_cassavetes Daughter of Greek-Americanactor-director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands, Zoe Cassavetes was born in Los Angeles in 1970. Cassavetes’s first feature, Broken English, follows the love life of a thirtysomething New Yorker, played by indie queen Parker Posey and has been nominated for several awards, including Best First Screenplay in the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.

Cassavetes at the Internet Movie Database
Cassevetes's interview for her film Broken English

Jennifer Aniston (Actress, USA)

aniston Jennifer Joanne Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American film and television actress. Her big break came via her role as Rachel Green in the sitcom Friends. She has starred in several Hollywood films, including Bruce Almighty, Office Space, Along Came Polly, Derailed, as well as in independent films The Good Girl and She's the One.

Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, and grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of the actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston's father is a Greek American born on the island of Crete, Greece, while her mother was born in New York City.

Aniston at Wikipedia
Aniston at IMDb

Elias Koteas (Actor, Canada)

elias_koteas Actor Elias Koteas was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

His parents are both of Greek descent, and he speaks Greek fluently. Koteas had noteworthy roles in Atom Egoyan's Exotica, Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line and David Cronenberg's Crash.

Koteas at Wikipedia
Koteas at IMDb

Olympia Dukakis (Actress, USA)

dukakis_oly An Academy Award-winning American actress, Olympia Dukakis was born in 1931 in Massachusetts, the daughter of Greek immigrants. She is the cousin of 1988 Democratic US presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

Dukakis has starred in many films, including Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus, Mighty Aphrodite, and Moonstruck, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Dukakis at Wikipedia
Dukakis at IMDb

Alex Proyas (Director, Australia)

proyas Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer Alex Proyas was born to Greek parents in Egypt, and moved to Sydney, Australia when he was 3 years of age. Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds.

He is best known for his films The Crow (1994), Dark City (1998), and I, Robot (2004).

Proyas at Wikipedia
Proyas at IMDb

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