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grief of the loss, but without mourning the end
of the man, because great artists never end.
For many decades, Cacoyiannis’s films and
theatrical works expressed the key elements
of Greek society, its trends and its agonies, and
showed how that society has evolved. Very
few people were as connected to the rise of
Greece and Cyprus in the 1950s and the 1960s
as Michael Cacoyannis – he is an illustrious
example for all of us these days, when great
persons of culture and art have become so rare.
All of us in Greece and Cyprus must follow his
example. His ability to express, through works
of exceptional artistic value, the historical,
social and political forces which rule human
fate and history, has made him one of the most
prominent figures of 20th century cinema. His
film about the 1974 tragedy of Cyprus depicted
the political dimensions of the tragedy and the
marks that it left on our wounded country more
dramatically than any other similar work.
People inGreece and Cyprus were deeply touched
by the loss of the great director, and artists,
politicians, organisations and fans and admirers
of Cacoyiannis’s work all expressed their sorrow
over his death – condolences via telegram and
mail arrived at the Foundation from all over the
world. Following the news of his death, print and
online media worldwide published tributes to the
great director, praising his work.
Note: Texts and photo provided by the Michael
Cacoyannis Foundation.
Cacoyiannis and Cyprus
Although he left Cyprus at the age of 17,Michael
Cacoyiannis’s ties with his beloved country
remained strong throughout his life, particularly
since most of his family remained on the island.
In July 1974, when Turkey launched its
invasion of Cyprus, Cacoyannis was staging
Oedipus
at the National Theatre of Ireland. In
a state of shock and unaware of any other way
to “fight”, he rushed to Cyprus to record the
facts. Working only with a cameraman and a
sound engineer, Cacoyannis filmed a unique
documentary of the Cyprus tragedy,
Attila ’74:
The Rape of Cyprus
.
The documentary is his testimony to the island’s
tragedy and a chronicle of the events that
preceded the invasion. Using interviews with
politicians and ordinary Cypriots, Cacoyiannis
created a vivid and timely record whose purpose
was to raise international awareness of the
suffering of the people of Cyprus and to urge
foreign governments and peoples to support
them in their cause.
Touched by everything he saw, heard and lived
while filming
Attila ‘74
, Cacoyannis felt the need
for more personal involvement with the victims.
On hearing there was an immediate need for an
elementary school for refugee children in the area
ofAgioiAnargyroi, he arranged ameetingwith the
Minister of Education and made a donation for a
new school building. The “Michael Cacoyannis”
Elementary School of Agioi Anargyroi was
inaugurated on 28 January 1978.