Michael Papas

Michael Papas is a Greek-Cypriot independent filmmaker working in England and Cyprus. He is best known for writing, directing and producing The Private Right, The Lifetaker and Tomorrow's Warrior.

Career The Private Right (1966) In 1966, Papas made his feature film debut as producer, writer and director of the politically controversial, critically acclaimed The Private Right. Set in Cyprus and London, it concerns a group of Cypriot guerrilla rebels engaged in the uprising against the British colonials. After being captured, a Cypriot guerrilla leader is tortured by a fellow Cypriot who is collaborating with the British army. Years later, the victim travels to London to seek revenge against his torturer. The Private Right premiered at the 1966 London Film Festival Sight & Sound called it "astonishing for a first feature" and added, "Papas achieves a heraldic theatrical power." The Times said Papas "manages his box of tricks with striking skill and control, and the image he presents of a weirdly unfamiliar nightmare London… is powerfully haunting."

The Lifetaker (1975) Papas's 1975 English film The Lifetaker stars Terence Morgan as a deceived husband who engages his wife (Lea Dregorn) and her young lover (Peter Duncan) in a series of deadly games. It had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it was both lauded and criticised for its controversial themes of sex and violence and the corruption of youth. According to Papas, the film was scheduled to be released across the UK, but the managing director of EMI distribution cancelled the release after viewing the completed film due to its controversial themes.

In Offbeat, a 2012 collection on British cinema edited by Julian Upton, The Lifetaker is called a “stylish and erotically charged tale of obsession” that is “not only the quintessence of the kind of film they don’t make anymore, but is also radically unlike the kind of film they made even then.” The Sunday Times called the initial invasion sequence a "stunning, mind-bending centre piece" that "has few equals anywhere in the cinema." The New Statesman wrote that such sequences "portray man's reasonless inhumanity to man everywhere."

Little Odysseus and the Cyclops (2011) In 2011, Papas returned with Little Odysseus and the Cyclops and Secret Paths, which were filmed one after the other. Little Odysseus and the Cyclops is a modern day retelling of a story from Homer's The Odyssey. The fantasy adventure film premiered at Papas's Acropole Cinemas in Nicosia.

Personal life Papas was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. His wife, Susan Papas, co-produced his later films with him. His son, Minos Papas, is a New York-based filmmaker

Filmography Year Title Credited as 1966 The Private Right Writer/director/producer 1972 Solitaire Director 1975 The Lifetaker Writer/director/producer 1981 Tomorrow's Warrior (aka Avrianos Polemistis) Writer/director/producer 2011 Little Odysseus and the Cyclops Writer/director/producer 2013 Secret Paths Writer/director/producer