Yannis Leontaris was born in Athens, Greece in 1965. He studied Modern Greek Literature in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 1997 he received his PhD on Comparative Literature from Paris X-Nanterre University. From 1989 to 1997 he attended courses of Ηistory and Sociology of Cinema in E.H.E.S.S. in Paris. He also attended workshops of Direction by Anatoli Vassiliev. His PhD thesis was on the comparative approach of cinematographic and literature narratives from the perspective of Reception Theory. (Doctoral Thesis: Non-dit et negativité dans le récit écrit et le récit filmique: le rôle du lecteur implicite devant le silence de l'oeuvre chez Angelopoulos, Godard, Valtinos, Duras, Tornès (Silence and Negativity in Literary and Filming Narration. The Role of the Implied Reader in front of the Silence of the Text, in Angelopoulos, Godard, Valtinos, Duras and Tornes) Thèse de Doctorat (PhD) at Paris X - Nanterre University under the supervision of Professor Claude De Grève. (Presented on 8-12-1997) (Mention: Tres Honorable avec felicitations du jury). He currently holds the position of Professor in the Department of Theatre Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Peloponese, where he teaches Direction and Acting. His inquiring interests are focused in the comparative study of Cinema and Literature as for narrativity, and in Theatre Directing. He has participated with his writings in collective, scientific publications and several of his articles have been published in scientific journals and conferences minutes. From January 2016 since Mars 2017 was President of the Board of Direction of the Greek Film Center. He worked as a film director from 1987 to 2004. His films have been awarded with the National Award for Best Short Film (1994, 1996) and the National Award for the Best Documentary Film (2002). Since 2004 he directs for the theatre. He is a founding member of the theatre group “Kanigunda Theatre Company”. From 2005 to 2017 he has directed various theatre pieces and has translated various plays in Greek. He has collaborated with the National Theatre, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, Onassis Cultural Center, Athens Festival, Theatro tou Notou, “Karolos Koun” Theatre and Peiramatiki Skini tis “Technis”. He has also presented his theatre works in collaboration with international theatre institutions and festivals such as Festival Avignon OFF (2008, 2018), Festival Chantiers d’Europe (Paris 2013), Heidelberger Stuckemarkt Festival (2103) and Between the Seas Festival (New York 2013). In 2019, his work for the performance “The Elephant” was selected as the greek participation at the 18^th edition of the Union des Theatres de l’Europe Festival (Cluj -Romania). He has directed plays by Hoffmanstahl, Shakespeare, Bulgakov, Viripaev, Pommerat, Sherman and others. He organized, by invitation, theatrical workshops at the European Cultural Center of Delphi (Delphi Festivals and Ancient Drama, July 2017), the State Theatre of Northern Greece (2014, 2017), the Onassis Foundation for Literature and Arts (2010, 2013), the project Argos-Mycenae International Place (2017).

WORKS IN THEATRE (Directions)  WITH KANIGUNDA THEATRE GROUP

• 2005-2007. Electra by Hugo Von Hofmannsthal, (In Summer 2008 participated with 23 performances at the AVIGNON OFF Festival)
• 2007. The Shepherd Dog (Anonymous) - Amore Theatre (May 2007).
• 2009. Ivan Viripaev's Genesis No 2 - coproduced with the Charles Koun Art Theatre. Theatre of Frynichou Street.
• 2009. The Veggera, by Elias Kapetanakis, National Theatre (Modern Athens Theatre.)
• 2010. Hamlet,  (co-directed with Theodore Gonis), Philippi-Kavala Festival, July-August 2010, Medieval Castle of Kavala.
• 2012: co-produced with Stegi Grammaton Onassis Foundation, participates in the dramaturgy and directs the play City-State presented in Athens and for two performances at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. (Festival Chantiers d'Europe). In 2013, the play is presented at the Heidelberger Stuckemarkt Festival and the Wild Project Theatre (Between the Seas Festival) in New York
• 2012, Performance with Maria Kehagioglou, based on S. Beckett's Those Happy Days, at the Page_31 festival at CAMP in Athens.
• 2013, April, in Stegi Grammaton Onassis Foundation, directs Joel Pommerat's play, Cercles / Stories for the first time in Greece.  

IN COLABORATION WITH OTHER THEATRICAL ORGANIZATIONS

• 2008. The Merchants of Joel Pommerat, in collaboration with EXPERIMENTAL SCENE OF ART, (Thessaloniki, Amalia Theatre). The play was presented in June 2009 in the Athens Festival at the School Theatre.
• 2014. Jim Cartwright's The Mobile Phone Show,  at the Teen Theatre Festival of Stegi Grammaton Onassis Foundation
• 2014. Electra and Iphigenia Project, by George Veltsos, Fougaro, Nafplio, Athens, Theatre of Cyclades Street Lefteris Vogiatzis.
• 2015. Don Quixote by Michael Bulgakov at the State Theatre of Northern Greece.
• 2017. The Threat of Artemis Moustaklidou at the Municipal Theatre of Athens. Kozani. In July 2018  participates with 23 performances at the AVIGNON OFF Festival.
• 2017-18. Ariagni by Stratis Circa's "Ruling States" - co-produced by National Theatre and Art Theatre.
• 2018-19. The Elephant by Kostas Mostantzoglou at the State Theatre of Northern Greece. Summer 2019, 18^th edition of the Union des Theatres de l’Europe Festival (Cluj -Romania).
• 2020-21. Gently Down the Stream, by Martin Sherman, Stathmos Theatre, Athens.
• 2021. Dr. Palomero’s method, by Laurent Baffie, Cyprus-Nicosia, “Dentro” Theatre.
• 2022. Iro and Leandros, by Ioannis Skylitsis, Cyprus-Nicosia, “Dentro” Theatre.
• 2022. Psychologie of a husband of Syros – Christine, by Emm. Roidis, Stathmos Theatre, Athens
• 2022. Urgent e-mail from Tchekhov, by Anton Tchekhov and Neil Simon, Cyprus-Nicosia, “Dentro” Theatre.
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PUBLICATIONS (SELECTION)

Books

• Yannis Leontaris, Minefields of Reading: Aspects of the reading adventure in Literature, Cinema, Theater, Ypsilon/Books, Athens, 2021

·   Yannis Leontaris, Ιnhabitants of the Stage and Verbal Actions: Tools for Actors, Ypsilon/Books, Athens, 2023.

Cinema theory: exploring the relationship between literature and cinema through the lens of comparative poetics.  
Comparative approach of cinema and theater to issues of theory of acting and function of the actor in the two arts.  
Study of the historical development of the acting art of the film and theater actor.  
Theater Theory: expressive codes of acting and theater directing tools.  Practical practice in the codes of acting art in the field of theater rehearsal/performance and film shooting.  
Practical application of theater acting and theater directing models.