Theodoros Angelopoulos

The much-celebrated Greek director, Theodoros Angelopoulos, was born in Athens on 27th April 1935. He began to follow law at the University of Athens, which he abandoned to study French philology and cinematography in Paris.

In 1968, he presented his first short film, "Ekpompi", at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and, in 1970, his first feature film, "Anaparastasi", won the first prize at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Since then, his films have participated in international festivals and he has won many accolades, among which was the Golden Palm in the Cannes Festival in 1998 for his film, "An Eternity and a Day", distinctions that established him internationally as a one of the most important directors of modern cinema.

Theodoros Angelopoulos has been awarded honorary Ph. D. by the University of Brussels, the University X Nanterre in Paris and the University of Essex.

Theodoros Angelopoulos died on 24th January 2012, hours after being involved in an accident in Athens.