Irene Papas is one of the most distinguished international figures of our country, an actress who is identified with modern Greek civilization. She represents the strength, the singularity, the autonomy and brilliance of this land. Along with Melina Mercouri and Katina Paxinou, she belongs to those actresses who were able to cross our national borders and enjoy a successful international career. From America to France; from England to Italy; from Robert Wise to Michael Cacoyannis; from Yorgos Tzavellas to Elio Petri, Alberto Lattuada and Francesco Rosi; from Costa-Gavras to Ruy Guerra, Irene Papas is Electra, Antigone, the widow in Zorba, Erendira’s grandmother, a face at once sombre and bright, familiar and uncanny, magical and maternal. She established herself in world cinema by virtue of her physique, evoking ancient Greek tragedy, and her performances, each one different, many-faceted and solid. In a way, she represents what is classical: she is both esoteric and epic, severe and unpretentious. She maintains an economy of movement, never resorting to facileness. And if Melina incarnated the passion and Paxinou the moral breadth of this country, Papas is its depth, its pride and its tragedy. Moreover, she displayed bravery during troubled times, enlisting her fame and international influence in the struggle against the dictatorship, and she remained selfless throughout, staying away from petty expediency. The International Thessaloniki Film Festival has organized the first ever tribute to Irene Papas. It is the least honour that can be conferred upon this great actress, woman and personality of the art of film.

Michel Demopoulos

Nekri politia
DEAD CITY
Greece 1951

When Petros returns to his village after a long absence, everybody expects him to do his duty, by killing Lambros and putting an end to a vedetta that has existed between the two families for many years. But Petros has come home with new ideas, and has no intention of harming anyone. He prefers to go to Mystras and paint. There, he will meet and fall in love with Lena, Lambros’ daughter. But the young woman is also the object of the desire of Mathios, a friend and creditor of Lena’s father.

Direction: Frixos Iliadis. / Screenplay: Frixos Iliadis. / Cinematography: Joseph Hepp, A. Karydis-Fuchs. Editing: A. Karydis-Fuchs. / Sound: Markos Zervas. / Music: Manos Hadjidakis. / Cast: Irene Papas, Nikos Tzoyias, Yannis Argiris, Eleni Zafiriou, Christina Kalogerikou, Yorgos Foundas. / Production: / Finos Film. 35mm / B&W 90’
Le infedeli
THE UNFAITHFUL
Italy 1953

Oswaldo, a private detective, makes a living by blackmailing wealthy women, threatening to reveal their sexual indiscretions. As a result, a young woman is driven to suicide. His ex-lover, disgusted by his appalling behaviour, decides to kill him.

Direction: Mario Monicelli, Stefano Vanzina (Steno). / Cinematography: Aldo Tonti. / Music: Armando Trovaioli. / Cast: Margherita Bagni, Irene Papas, May Britt, Giulio Cali, Marina Vlady, Gina Lollobrigida, Carlo Lammas, Pierre Cressoy.
Ilektra
ELECTRA
Greece 1961-62

Electra awaits the opportunity to avenge the murder of her father, Agamemnon. The opportunity arises when she is reunited with her brother, Orestes; the two siblings kill their mother, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus.

Direction: Michael Cacoyannis. / Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on Euripides’ tragedy. / Cinematography: Walter Lassally. / Sound: Mikes Damalas. / Music: Mikis Theodorakis. / Sets: / Spiros Vassiliou. / Costumes: Spiros Vassiliou. / Cast: Irene Papas, Yannis Fertis, Aleka Katseli, Fivos Razis, Manos Katrakis, Notis Pergialis, Takis Emmanouil, Theano Ioannidou. / Producer: Michael Cacoyannis. 35mm B&W 110’
Alexis Zorbas
ZORBA THE GREEK
Greece 1963-64

A writer comes to Greece to re-open an old mine he has inherited. There he meets and cooperates with Alexis Zorbas, an unyielding, impulsive man who will reveal to the writer another aspect of life. The plans about the mine fail, and the writer’s relationship with a young widow ends in tragedy. Nevertheless Zorbas retains his optimistic view of life.

Direction: Michael Cacoyannis. / Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel. / Cinematography: Walter Lassally. / Sound: Mikes Damalas. / Editing: John Dwyre. / Music: / Mikis Theodorakis. / Sets: Vassilis Fotopoulos. / Costumes: Vassilis Fotopoulos. / Cast: Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas, Lila Kedrova, Yorgos Foundas, Eleni Anoussaki, Takis Emmanouil, Sotiris Moustakas. / Producer: Michael Kakoyannis. / 35mm / B&W 142'
A ciascump il suo
TO EACH HIS OWN
Italy 1967

Paolo Laurana begins a personal investigation into the murder of a doctor and a pharmacist in a small Sicilian town. Everybody thinks it was a crime of honour, but Laurana suspects that the Mafia may have been involved. During his investigation, he falls in love with Louisa, the doctor’s widow, whose cousin, Rossello, begins to emerge as the prime suspect. Laurana shares his thoughts with Louisa, unaware that she is the one who masterminded her husband’s murder.

Direction: Elio Petri. / Screenplay: Elio Petri, Ugo Pirro. / Cinematography: Luigi Kuveiller. / Editing: Ruggero Mastroianni. / Cast: Gian Maria Volonté, Irene Papas, Luigi Pistilli, Gabrielle Ferzetti. 35mm / Colour 92’
Z
Z
France 1969

Yves Montand plays a parliamentary deputy (the film is based on the assassination of Greek pacifist Grigoris Lambrakis), who is determined to be the main speaker at a peace rally, despite warnings from his wife and friends that an attempt is to be made on his life. Following his speech, the deputy is run down by a speeding van; three days later, he dies in hospital. The magistrate appointed to investigate the case is supposed merely to go through the motions, but he establishes that the deputy was in fact assassinated.

Direction: Costa-Gavras. / Screenplay: Costa-Gavras, Jorge Semprun, based on the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos. / Cinematography: Raoul Coutard. / Editing: Françoise Bonnot. / Sets: Jacques d’Ovidio. / Music: / Mikis Theodorakis. / Cast: Yves Montand, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Irene Papas, Jacques Perrin, Charles Denner, François Périer, Renato Salvatori, Marcel Bozzuffi, Magali Noël. / Production: Jacques Perrin, Hamed Rachedi. 35mm /Colour 127’
Bambina - Le faro da padre
BAMBINA
Italy 1973

Saverio Mazzacoli has an ambitious plan to build a village resort. He has ideas, enthusiasm, friends in high places and political connections; all he’s missing is the money. In an effort to get it, he begins to flirt with a rich countess, but, in order to participate in the venture, she demands a huge percentage of the profits. Saverio believes he will have better luck with the countess’ daughter who is mentally retarded, and whom he asks to marry him.

Direction: Alberto Lattuada. / Screenplay: Ottavio Jemma, Alberto Lattuada. / Cinematography: Lamberto Caimi. / Editing: Sergio Montanari. / Music: Fred Bongusto. / Sets: Vincenzo del Prato. / Cast: Luigi Proietti, Irene Papas, Teresa Ann Savoy, Mario Scaccia, Bruno Civino, Lina Polito. / Production: Clesi Cinematografica. 35mm / Colour 108’
Iphigenia
IPHIGENIA
Greece 1976-77

The Greek army has been stranded in Aulis. Unfavourable winds do not allow the departure of the fleet. The seer Calchas claims that the gods will send fair winds only if Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia. Agamemnon sends to Argos for his daughter under the pretext that he wants to marry her to Achilles before the fleet sails. Clytemnestra comes to Aulis accompanying her daughter and as soon as she realizes Agamemnon’s plans, she tries to make him change his mind.

Direction: Michael Cacoyannis. / Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on Euripides’ tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis. / Cinematography: Yorgos Arvanitis. / Editing: Michael Cacoyannis, Takis Yannopoulos. / Sets: Dionissis Fotopoulos. / Costumes: Dionissis Fotopoulos. / Music: / Mikis Theodorakis. / Sound: Mimis Cassimatis. / Cast: Irene Papas, Tatiana Papamoschou, Costas Kazakos, Costas Carras, Christos Tsangas, Panos Michalopoulos, Angelos Yannoulis, Dimitris Aronis / Production: Greek Film Centre. / 35mm Colour 130'
Eboli - Christo si e fermato a Eboli
EBOLI – Christ stopped in eboli
Italy 1979

Against the background of Mussolini’s Italy and the first portents of WW II,anti-Fascist writer/artist Levi is exiled to a small mountain village in the southern region of Lucania. As the "civilized" northerner becomes acquainted with this backward, forgotten place, he will be confronted with the struggle for survival waged by the primitive, uneducated, superstitious villagers; a struggle far removed from Levi’s political, ideological and social concerns.

Direction: Francesco Rosi. / Screenplay: Francesco Rosi, Tonino Guerra, Raffaele La Capria, based on the novel by Carlo Levi. / Cinematography: Pasqualino De Santis. / Editing: Ruggero Mastroianni. / Music: Piero Piccioni. / Sets: Andrea Crisanti. / Cast: Gian Maria Volontè, Irene Papas, Lea Massari, Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, François Simon. / Production: Franco Cristaldi. 35mm / Colour 120’
Erendira
ERENDIRA
France - Germany - Mexico 1983

Erendira has just turned fourteen. She lives with her grandmother in a run-down old mansion, in the middle of the desert. Her grandmother suffers from delusions of grandeur, while poor Erendira is forced to do all the housework. One evening, utterly exhausted, she forgets to blow out the candles, and the house burns down. The wicked grandmother puts her granddaughter to work as a prostitute to repay her for the damage caused by the fire. One day, a young man, Odysseus,...

Direction: Ruy Guerra. / Screenplay: Gabriel Garcia M’arquez. / Cinematography: Denys Clerval. / Editing: Kenout Peltier. / Music: Maurice Lecoeur. / Costumes: Alberto Negron. / Cast: Irene Papas, Claudia Fegan, Blanca Guerra. / Production: Les Films du Triangle. 35mm / Colour 103’