Mavrikios Novak

Mavrikios Novak was a Greek film director, screenwriter, producer, and production manager whose work was closely tied to the development of post-war Greek cinema through the family-run company Novak Film. Active from the late 1930s through the 1960s, he initially worked in technical positions as a sound engineer and sound recordist on early Greek sound productions before gradually expanding into production management and filmmaking. He directed and wrote a number of feature films and documentaries, often handling multiple creative and production responsibilities on the same project. Among his best-known works are Ohyro 27 (1947), Orkistika ekdikisi (1952), We Have to Marry Them Off (1953), Mamma, I Want You Alive! (1957), The Wax Doll (1958), and Gia tin agapi mias orfanis (1960). Through Novak Film, he also collaborated with several important Greek filmmakers of the era, including Giorgos Tzavellas, Maria Plyta, Filippos Fylaktos, Nestoras Matsas, Grigoris Grigoriou, and Orestis Laskos. Although not widely documented in international film histories, Novak played a steady behind-the-scenes role in sustaining Greek film production during a difficult transitional period for the industry, contributing as a technician, producer, writer, and director across numerous productions.