Mikis Theodorakis Centenary 2025 marks 100 years since the birth of the internationally renowned Greek composer, and his life and legacy are being celebrated throughout the year with a number of events and projects, including a new film in the works dedicated to the emblematic Greek composer.
Last summer, Greece’s Culture Ministry declared that 2025 would be dedicated to Mikis Theodorakis, the most prominent composer and artistic personality in the country’s post-war “golden era” of musical achievement and international achievement in the arts. Theodorakis was born on July 29, 1925 and died on September 2, 2021 at the age of 96.
In February, the Athens-based production company Tanweer announced that it had acquired the rights to produce a biographical film about the influential musician, known for his iconic compositions and political activism.
“As we enter 2025, which has been declared by the Ministry of Culture as the year dedicated to Mikis Theodorakis, Tanweer is happy and honored to announce that it has acquired the rights for the production of a film on the life and work of our great composer, directed by Eva Nathena,” the company said in a statement.
Nathena is known for her film Fonissa (The Murderess), based on the classic novel by Alexandros Papadiamantis while Tanweer has previously produced successful music biopics including Eftychia, about lyricist Eftychia Papagiannopoulou and Iparcho (I Exist), which chronicled Stelios Kazantzidis’ rise to fame and became a box office hit in Greece.
According to reports, the much-awaited film is said to hit the big screen in 2026.
Meanwhile, a new YouTube channel dedicated to Theodorakis has been launched, seeking to give the iconic and universal composer “a digital home and a global platform for his music, thoughts, humor, and competitive democratic spirit,” the organizers said.
The initiative, by Schott Music, in cooperation with Aviator Management, will be curated by Asteris Kutulas, one of Theodorakis’ long-time collaborators and will feature an ever-growing collection of material.
The legendary composer is also honored through the Bank of Greece’s numismatic program with a 200-euro coin bearing his image along with the inscription “100 Years Since the Birth of Mikis Theodorakis” while a series of concerts are scheduled across the country this spring and summer dedicated to the late composer, such as those on the island of Lesvos called Singing Mikis, the Athens Concert Hall, Thessaloniki, the Little Theater of Ancient Epidaurus, as well as in Cyprus.
Mikis Theodorakis, the greatest Greek composer in history to whom 2025 is dedicated in Greece
Mikis Theodorakis, the greatest Greek composer in history, whose music has touched generations, penned what is probably the best-known piece of Greek music, the film score to “Zorba the Greek,” an instrumental which is still played and danced to around the world to this day.
Theodorakis produced a staggering number of musical works, encompassing both symphonic music and most predominantly Greek folk music, from which he drew most of his inspiration, making it famous the world over.
His ability to compose music that conveyed emotion and struggle is perhaps best displayed in his composition “The Ballad of Mauthausen.” This music has been described as one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written about the Holocaust.
The legacy which the incomparable Theodorakis has left behind is not only that of the greatest Greek composer of all time, but also that of a visionary humanitarian. Starting out as a socialist, in his later years he tried to unite all the Greek people, regardless of their political affiliation.
