The Most Famous
FILM DIRECTORS from Cyprus
This page contains a list of the greatest Cypriot Film Directors. The pantheon dataset contains 2,041 Film Directors, 2 of which were born in Cyprus. This makes Cyprus the birth place of the 65th most number of Film Directors behind Monaco, and Belarus.
Top 2
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Cypriot Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Cypriot Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Michael Cacoyannis (1922 - 2011)
With an HPI of 66.14, Michael Cacoyannis is the most famous Cypriot Film Director. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.
Michalis Kakogiannis (Greek: Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης; ; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), usually credited as Michael Cacoyannis or Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriot filmmaker, theatre director, and playwright. He is best known for writing, directing, producing, and editing Zorba the Greek (1964), an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name. He also directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film in addition to writing, directing, designing, and translating dozens of stage play and opera productions. Cacoyannis was nominated for five Academy Awards, more than any other any Cypriot: three of the nominations were for Zorba the Greek (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay) whilst the other two were Best Foreign Language Film nominations for Electra (1962) and Iphigenia (1977). He received many other accolades, including the Technical Grand Prize and six Palme d'Or nominations at the Cannes Film Festival.
2. Dome Karukoski (b. 1976)
With an HPI of 45.47, Dome Karukoski is the 2nd most famous Cypriot Film Director. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Thomas August George Dome Karukoski (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈdome ˈkɑruˌkoski]; born 29 December 1976) is a Finnish film director. He has won over 30 festival awards and having directed six feature films that became blockbusters in his home country and also received international recognition.
People
Pantheon has 2 people classified as Cypriot film directors born between 1922 and 1976. Of these 2, 1 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Cypriot film directors include Dome Karukoski. The most famous deceased Cypriot film directors include Michael Cacoyannis. As of April 2024, 2 new Cypriot film directors have been added to Pantheon including Michael Cacoyannis, and Dome Karukoski.
