Born in Limassol, Cyprus, he studied Law and Dramatic Art in London. After working as an actor and a director for the English stage he arrived in Athens in 1953 and devoted himself to the cinema. He made WINDFALL IN ATHENS (1954), STELLA (1955), THE GIRL IN BLACK (1956), A MATTER OF DIGNITY (1958) and was the first Greek director to achieve international recognition. He went on to make the films: OUR LAST SPRING (1960), THE WASTREL (1961) and brought to the screen Euripides' ELECTRA (1962). ALEXIS ZORBA / ZORBA THE GREEK (1964) was a huge success worldwide, winning six Oscar® nominations and three Oscars. His other films include THE DAY THE FISHES CAME OUT (1967), two further tragedies: THE TROJAN WOMEN (1971) and IPHIGENIA (1976), a fervent documentary about the plight of Cyprus ATTILAS '74 (1975), SWEET COUNTRY (1986), UP, DOWN AND SIDEWAYS (1992) and THE CHERRY ORCHARD (1999).  Nominated for Best Picture 1964: ALEXIS ZORBA (ZORBA THE GREEK) - Producer at Rocheley  Nominated for Directing 1964: ALEXIS ZORBA (ZORBA THE GREEK)  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) 1964: ALEXIS ZORBA (ZORBA THE GREEK) 3 nominations