Romain Gavras

Romain Gavras is a French-Greek director born in 1981, the son of the engaged film director Costa Gavras. He created the Kourtrajmé collective of artists in 1994 with his friends Ladj Ly (“Les Misérables”, 2019), JR and Kim Chapiron ; largely influenced by action movies, hip-hop and urban culture.

Romain Gavras' powerful and sometimes shocking imagery has often been the talk of the town and has highlighted his talents as a director. His versatility and ability to capture the spirit of the times allow him to create unforgettable films. As an example, Romain Gavras' controversial video for Justice's track “Stress” broke records on YouTube, such as his subsequent video for M.I.A.'s “Born Free” which sparked the first political debate of its kind on the Internet.

In 2012, he created M.I.A.'s “Bad Girl” music video and garnered over 130 million views, earning him the MTV Video Music Award for “Best Music Video”, as well as the UK Music Video Awards for “Best Director”, “Best Music Video of the Year” and “Best Pop Music Video”.

The same year, he did Jay-Z and Kanye West's “No Church in The Wild”, which was acclaimed worldwide.

His work exudes a raw and compelling energy. He films his characters with an uncompromising eye that sublimates their differences. He’s passionate about authentic and unusual characters and always ends up creating unique images.

Each of his films is an event. His music video "Gosh" for Jamie XX was a phenomenon, winning a Golden Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival in 2016.

After his first feature film titled “Our Day Will Come” (2010), starring French actor Vincent Cassel, Romain directed “The World Is Yours” (2018) with legendary actress Isabelle Adjani, Vincent Cassel, Karim Leklou and François Damiens. The film was presented at Cannes 2018 as part of the Directors' Fortnight and garnered several César nominations.

Ηis third feature film “Athena” (2022) – a modern Greek tragedy about an undeclared, all-out war that plunges the French suburbs into chaos – premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival.