Cinema of Greece

Cinema of Greece
Olympion Cinema in Thessaloniki
No. of screens	370 (2010)
• Per capita	3.7 per 100,000 (2010)
Produced feature films (2010)
Fictional	16
Animated	-
Documentary	2
Number of admissions (2011)
Total	11,900,000
• Per capita	0.9 (2012)
Gross box office (2011)
Total	$130 million

The Cinema of Greece has a long and rich history. Though hampered at times by war or political instability, the Greek film industry dominates the domestic market and has experienced international success. Characteristics of Greek cinema include a dynamic plot, strong character development and erotic themes. Two Greek films, Missing (1982) and Eternity and a Day (1998), have won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Five Greek films have received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Though Greek cinema took root in the early 1900s, the first mature films weren't produced until the 1920s, after the end of the Greco-Turkish War. Films during this period, such as Astero (1929) by Dimitris Gaziadis and Maria Pentagiotissa (1929) by Ahilleas Madras, consisted of emotional melodramas with an abundance of folkloristic elements.Orestis Laskos's Daphnis and Chloe (1931), one of the first Greek films to be shown abroad, contained the first voyeuristic nude scene in a European film. During the Axis occupation, the Greek film industry struggled as it was forced to relocate overseas.

Following the Greek Civil War, Greek cinema experienced a revival. Inspired by Italian neorealism, directors such as Grigoris Grigoriou and Stelios Tatasopoulos created works during this period shot on location using non-professional actors. During the 1950s and 1960s, Greek cinema experienced a golden age, starting with Michael Cacoyannis's Stella (1955), which was screened at Cannes. The 1960 film Never on Sunday was nominated for five Academy Awards, and its lead actress, Melina Mercouri, won the Best Actress Award at Cannes. Cacoyannis's Zorba the Greek (1964) won three Academy Awards.