'Zorba The Greek' director Michael Cacoyannis dies, aged 89

Zorba The Greek director Michael Cacoyannis has died at the age of 89.

Cacoyannis passed away early Monday morning in Athens from a heart attack and chronic respiratory problems, a hospital spokesperson told The AP. No funeral plans have been announced.

The Cyprus-born Cacoyannis began his career by directing a series of critically-acclaimed Greek films, including 1955's Golden Globe-winning Stella and the 1960 hit Our Last Spring.

Zorba The Greek earned Cacoyannis international success and numerous accolades. The tale of a British man who returns to his ancestral homeland of Greece won three Academy Awards in 1965.

Watch a scene from Zorba The Greek below:



In his later years, Cacoyannis directed the award-winning documentary Attila '74 - The Rape of Cyprus and Iphigenia, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival.

Cacoyannis's final film was 1999's The Cherry Orchard, which starred Charlotte Rampling as an aristocrat who struggles to comes to grips with her family's financial collapse.

The filmmaker is survived by his sister Giannoula.

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