On January 24, 2012, Greek director Theo Angelopoulos died in a road accident.
Since the beginning of the 1970s he was regarded as one of Europe’s major auteurs. Angelopoulos received numerous awards for his films, including a Golden Lion in Venice for O Megalexandros (Alexander the Great) and the Palme d’or in Cannes for Mia aioniotita kai mia mera (Eternity and a Day).
Angelopoulos had been a guest at the Berlin International Film Festival many times. In 1978 he was a member of the International Jury. In 1989, his film Topio stin omichli (Landscape in the Mist) screened in the Forum, in 1990 he presented O thiassos (The Travelling Actors), again in the Forum. In 2004, he participated in the Competition with Trilogia: To livadi pou dakrisi (Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow). Most recently, Theo Angelopoulos presented I skoni tou chronou (The Dust of Time) in the Berlinale Competition in 2009.
