OUR HISTORY
If there is something, making KOLOSSAION PRODUCTIONS exceptionally proud, it is our “roots” and our history.
Our company, together with “A. Rappou” company, are the natural progression of “Zafeiriou-Rappos Cinematic-Theatrical Corporation”, a corporation of great involvement in the artistic affairs of the country, with emphasis in Thessaloniki since 1966. Through its more than half a century course, it managed to become one of the most well-known and reliable providers of quality productions in the field of culture, entertainment and spectacle nationwide, distinguished for the quality of all the artistic events it hosts or produces.
Our founder, Kosmas Zafiriou was not just a man who lived and breathed cinema and theater, they were his whole life. At the age of 9, already in love with cinema, he puts together a makeshift film camera, made out of a tin “halva” can, he gathers all the neighborhood kids in the backyard and has a movie showing. He makes a promise to himself that when he’s older, he’ll have his own cinema theaters. In 1962, he works over the summer as a projection mechanic at “Doville” in Karaboumaki, during the winter he works for the famous “Dionysia” and “Egnatia” theatres. The same year, he enlisted in the army as a film camera instructor for the Military Geographical Service, by the end of his service he has acquired a Film Engineer diploma. He worked as an engineer up till 1966. In the meantime, he has married Thomai Rappou and with the first money from her brother’s scholarship, then a college student-later a decade-long partner – Gabriel Rappou – they open their first business. The open-air, summer theatre “Posidon”, later followed by “Avra” in Harilaou Street, gradually leading to the utilization of tens of other theaters like the “Iraion”, the “Oscar”, “Argentina”, “Natali”, “Amiral”, “Cine Cleo”, “Egnatia”, “Radio City”, “Esperos”, “Makedonikon”, “Cine Adda”, “Maxim”, “Rex”, “Rivolli “Atheneon”, “Alkionis”, “Zefiros”, “Idéal”, “Achilleon”, “Titania”, and the most recent ones “Kolossaion”, “Ellinis” and many many more…
By simply naming all these spaces, we automatically make all the citizens of Thessaloniki and its suburbs, part of our history. We all have something to remember from the pleasant and unforgettable moments we spent in those theaters, the laughing, the crying, the fear, the love and all the different emotions that films and theatrical plays have engraved in our memories. In 1966, the two partners started a Motion Picture Distribution Office, managing to ensure the exclusive distribution of most Greek films in Northem Greece, collaborating mainly with Spentzos Films. Their company also included the film rights to the “5 Vs” (Vougiouklaki, Voutsas, Vasiliadou, Veggos, Vlachopoulou), famous performers at that time, with great box office successes.
Today, the company, having proceeded to a significant upgrade with a wide range of services provided to the audience, it cooperates with the business world, the Local Government, the educational community and institutions, both of Thessaloniki and all of Greece and Cyprus, as a provider of culture (theater, cinema, music) and event hosting (conferences, educational seminars, speeches, gatherings, etc.).
Regarding KOLOSSAION PRODUCTIONS, it was created in 2008 by Thomai Zafeiriou under the direction of Giannis Zafeiriou-son of the late Kosmas – who has been active for many years in the field of entertainment and advertising, the preservation of this family tradition, is a legacy and obligation, which he continues to honor in the best way.
OUR VISION
KOLOSSAION PRODUCTIONS, continuing a family tradition of more than half a century, under the direction of Yannis Zafeiriou, has passed into the new era of entertainment, spectacle and events.
It organizes and hosts film and theatrical productions, as well as events of high aesthetics and quality, it utilizes the state-of-the-art technological equipment it has, together with a spirit of innovation and love for culture and the people who are a part of it. The spaces available to the company include the cinemas KOLOSSAION and FARGANI and the open-air cinemas ELLINIS and ELLINIS 2. At the same time, in the spirit of openness and family tradition, it cooperates with the company “A. Rappou”, which operates the cinema theaters “Makedonikon”, “Appolon”, “Natali” and Vakoura.
Both the philosophy and the vision of Kolossaion Productions is based on three main pillars that encapsulate the spirit of the company which aims to maintain its tradition in the field and highlight its strong potential for the future.
- UTILIZATION / INVESTMENT IN THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY
- CONTINUATION AND UPGRADING (or BROADENING) OF OUR COOPERATION WITH THE BUSINESS SECTOR, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, CITY CULTURE BODIES AND LOCAL PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
- MAINTAINING THE KOLOSSAION CINEMA THEATRE AS A PLACE OF CULTURE AND HIGHLIGHTING IT AS A MODERN MULTIPURPOSE SPACE WITH MULTIPLE POSSIBILITIES
For all of us, the cooperation with those who are active in the field of entertainment, culture, education and event planning, is a life’s work and legacy that we manage with a high sense of responsibility and passion for success.