Film Still, from the fast-paced thriller Z (1969) by Costa-Gavras. Konstantinos Gavras, born 12 February 1933; Greek-French film director and producer, who lives and works in France. He is known for films with overt political themes, most famously the fast-paced thriller Z (1969); Algerian-French epic political thriller film directed by Costa-Gavras, with a screenplay by Gavras and Jorge Semprun, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Vassilis Vassilikos. The film presents a thinly fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963