An exciting overview of Costa-Gavras oeuvre, while also attending to the Greek-French filmmaker's life as it weaves through history from his own childhood and adolescence in World War II and Cold War Greece to his last socio-political films.

Costa-Gavras: Encounters with History explores the life and work of the director intertwined with historical and socio-political events, from the early stages of his career: emigrating to France from Greece in 1955 and first studying at the Sorbonne, then focusing on filmmaking at IDHEC, now La Fémis. He became an internationally respected director, first with his Oscar-award winning film Z (1969) and continued with a vast array of films, including his most recent work, Adults in the Room (2019). His films portray the complexities of human nature, relationships challenged by historical and contemporary socio-political issues. In this overview of the director’s films, the authors shed light on his encounters with history from his youth in war-torn Greece to his later films on immigration, unemployment, global capitalistic greed, and the abuse of political and economic power in Europe. Costa-Gavras' films have spanned several decades and several continents, to combat unethical laws and injustice, oppression, legal/illegal violence, and torture. Throughout his evolution in the world of cinema for over half a century as director, writer, and producer, Costa-Gavras has told human-interest stories that entertain and inspire, and that help us better understand ourselves and a fragile, fragmented world.

"The authors of this book contribute significantly to a thorough understanding of the historical background of the entire work of Costa-Gavras. With an apt classification of films based on historical themes rather than chronology, they provide an in-depth insight into how the director highlights the effects of the past on the present and the collective memory." - Mado Spyropoulou, Associate Researcher, Paris University 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle, CERLIS, France

"Long-time film history scholar John Michalczyk and his wife, film and literature professor Susan Michalczyk, both documentary filmmakers, collaborate once again to give us a much needed update of the political cinema of Costa-Gavras. Together, they do an admirable job of discussing 14 of his landmark films made over 50 years, from Z to Adults in the Room. Deeply researched, filled with anecdotes, and amply illustrated, their volume reveals the way that this pivotal director has tackled the crucial social and political issues of our times, from the terrors of fascism and Communism, to the ongoing abuses of capitalism and the crisis of migration. There is no better survey of the work of the legendary director." - Steve Kovacs, Professor Emeritus, School of Cinema, San Francisco State University, USA

"Along with offering a detailed, informative history of Costa-Gavras's extraordinary political films, the Michalczyks also reveal how real-world politics, usually of oppression and corruption, affected this legendary director's humane view of social justice in modern global history." - Homer B. Pettey, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona, USA, and author of The Films of Costa-Gavras

"Costa-Gavras: Encounters with History is the best book in English on one of the world’s most consequential and influential filmmakers, a compelling and informative blend of biography, historical and political contextualization, production history, and critical response to the films. It offers a renewed appreciation of the early and controversial classics as well as the lesser-known works and encourage readers to seek them out for screening or rescreening." - Gary Crowdus, Editor-in-Chief, Cineaste Magazine, USA