Kostas Ferris

Kostas Ferris was born on April 18, 1935, in Cairo, Egypt. He is Greek, with family roots in Cyprus and Lebanon (from the Lahoud family). His education was internationally oriented but grounded in his Greek heritage. He studied at the Ambetios School and the Drama School of Takis Tsakonas in Cairo, at the Higher School of Cinema in Athens, and continued his studies with courses in Nanterre and at the Sorbonne in Paris. Since 1957, he has been residing in Greece. He worked as an assistant director on more than 60 feature films, collaborating with notable figures such as Michalis Cacoyannis, Nikos Koundouros, Takis Kanellopoulos, Grigoris Grigoriou, Andrew Marton, James Neilson, Robert Aldrich, Edouard Molinaro, Richard Sarafian, Laszlo Benedek, Richard Wilson, Pierre Kast, Jean-Daniel Pollet, among others. He joined the research group for rebetiko music and, primarily through his own initiative, formed the Group for the Renewal of Greek Cinema. By 1967, he directed his first short film, "Your Eyelashes Shine" (1961), the anonymously credited film "A Young Man" (1963), signed by author Manolis Skouloudis, and his first feature film, "Some Prefer It Khaki" (1965). Before and during his exile in Paris (1967-1973), he collaborated closely with French director (and friend since 1962) Jean-Daniel Pollet. Together, they actively participated in the May 1968 movement. During this period, he also met Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog, Barbet Schroeder, Nicholas Ray, Samuel Fuller, Ruy Guerra, Anatole and Pascale Dauman, and others. The script for a film, an opera, and a rock oratorio marked his Parisian period. After returning to Greece in 1973, he directed films such as "The Murderess," 1974, "Prometheus in the Second Person," 1975, "Two Moons in August," 1978, "Rebetiko," 1983 (Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, 1984, and Grand Prize at the Alexandria Film Festival, 1985), and "Oh Babylon," 1988, as well as nine television series totaling approximately 120 hours for Greek television, and more than 80 hours of music programs, documentaries, educational, and research films. He was known for his involvement in the intense debates between directors and critics from 1974 to 1990. A director and screenwriter for cinema, theater, multimedia, and other performances, a librettist, lyricist, audiovisual theorist, film and music producer, editor, and occasionally an actor or singer, he has also been a journalist, publisher, television presenter, and directing teacher. With three international awards and more than 30 national ones, and as a member of the European Film Academy, Kostas Ferris has been one of the most versatile film creators in our country. Television Series "The Merchants of Nations," 52 episodes, ERT, 1973-1974 "Menexedenia Politeia," 30 episodes, ERT, 1975 "Helen of the Donkeys," 26 episodes, ERT, 1976 "Love and Revolution," 6 episodes, ERT, 1978 "Crime in Psychiko," 20 episodes, ERT, 1979 "The Zardi Family," 14 episodes, ERT, 1982 "Escape," 13 episodes, ERT, 1985 "Rebetiko" the mini-series, 4 episodes, ERT, 1985 "Kaiti Grey: My Life" (Like a Fairy Tale), 280 minutes, unpublished Musical and Theatrical Television Series "The Assembly of Animals," a musical fairy tale in video art, 30 minutes, ERT 1982 "Commonly Accepted," a musical-theatrical series, 13 episodes, ERT 1989 "Come to Light," in collaboration with Minos Volanakis, a musical-theatrical series, 13 episodes, ERT 1990 "Tonight at Thomas's," a musical series, 13 episodes, ERT 1990 Awards and Participation * Member of the European Film Academy * President of the Jury, Balkan Film Festival, 1981 * Member of the Council of the European Script Fund, 1996-1997 (London) * Member of the French Society of Playwrights (S.A.C.D.) * Representative of Greece in FERA (Federation of European Film Directors) * Presenter at the European Parliament, 1996, on Audiovisual Education