The Hellenic American Union in Athens (HAU) is set to host a tribute to Francis Ford Coppola this Thursday, April 17, at 7p.m., as part of its series of events titled “Leading Directors – Great American Movies.” The public will have the opportunity to view excerpts from Coppola’s films, followed by an open discussion led by authors and journalists.

Marlon Brando and Francis Ford Coppola in The Godfather (1972)

Born on April 7, 1939, Coppola is widely regarded as one of the foremost innovators of American cinema in the 1970s and one of its most significant directors overall. The mastermind behind some of the most iconic films ever-made (including The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation), he traversed various stages of filmmaking before making his directorial debut with Dementia 13 (1963).

Coppola’s illustrious filmography, comprising twenty-three feature films, has earned him fourteen Academy Award nominations, with five wins to his credit. However, the financial failure of One From the Heart (1982) led him to bankruptcy. Now aged eighty-five, the legendary American director is poised to unveil his latest project, “Megalopolis,” following his 2016 film Distant Vision.