Tonia Marketaki directs her first film “Ioannis o viaios” (violent John)

Tonia Marketaki (1942-1994) studied in the cinematography department at the legendary cinema school IDHEC in Paris even though she wanted to become a director, a field of studies that was not offered to women at the time. During the military dictatorship in Greece, she was arrested and imprisoned. She escaped to Algiers, where she worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, producing educational films for farmers. She returned to Greece in 1973 and directed possibly her best film, “Violent John.” The film received awards at the Film Festival of Thessaloniki and represented the country in the festivals of San Remo and Berlin. The movie “Violent John” is a milestone in modern Greek cinema, a sharp criticism on social taboos and the place of women in Greek society, where she was suffocating under the predicaments of family honor and dowry.