Costa-Gavras

(1933– )

   French director, writer, actor, and producer. Born in Athens, Greece, as Konstantinos Gavras. A graduate of the Institut de Hautes Études Cinématographiques in Paris, Costa-Gavras captured the attention of the U.S. moviegoing public with the first of a trilogy of political thrillers starring Yves Montand. Z (1969), a critique of the Greek junta, then in power, was awarded an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and earned Costa-Gavras nominations for directing the film and co-writing the screenplay. Z was followed by The Confession (1970) and State of Siege (1973), a critique of U.S. intervention in South America set against the backdrop of Uruguay. Costa-Gavras would revisit the politics of South America in his film Missing (1982), the first of a string of successful films made in Hollywood. Missing examines the issue of the desaparecidos following the overthrow of Salvador Allende Gossens in Chile. It won Costa-Gavras an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay and a Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival. Later films include Betrayed (1988), Music Box (1990), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and The Little Apocalypse (1993). Costa-Gavras directed the Cinémathèque française between 1982 and 1987.