Milton Manaki

Biography

Miltos (Miltiadis) Manakis (Aromanian: Milton Manachia, Greek: Μίλτος Μανάκης, 1882–1964) was a leading pioneer of cinema and photography in the Balkans. Together with his brother, Giannakis, they are considered the "Lumier brothers of the Balkans", as in 1905 they created the first motion picture in the region, capturing their 114-year-old grandmother spinning wool in Avdella, Grevena.

He born in 1882 in Avdella, Grevena, a Vlach village in Pindos that at the time belonged to the Ottoman Empire (today Greece).

Miltos Manakis and his brother left a vast cultural legacy that includes: They recorded 67 short films, mainly of ethnographic and historical interest, such as the visits of Sultan Mehmet V to Monastir and scenes from the Balkan Wars. It is estimated that they took over 12,500 photographs, capturing the daily life, traditions and landscapes of Macedonia and Epirus.

The "Manakia" Cinema: In 1921 they founded their own cinema in Monastir, which was a cultural center of the time until its destruction by fire.

Their work inspired Theodoros Angelopoulos in the film "The Gaze of Ulysses" (1995), in which the protagonist searches for three lost reels of film by the Manaki brothers. In their honor, the "Manaki Brothers" International Film Festival is organized every year in Monastir, which is the oldest festival in the world dedicated to the art of cinematography.