Difference between revisions of "Yanaki and Milton Manaki"

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|death_place = Bitola, Yugoslavia
 
|death_place = Bitola, Yugoslavia
 
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The brothers Ianachia (Ion, Ionel, Ianakis, Ianaki sau Iovan, 1878–1954) and Milton Manachia (Miltiade, Maltu, 1882–1964) were pioneering photographers and the early filmmakers in the Balkans.
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The brothers '''Ianachia''' (Ion, Ionel, Ianakis, Ianaki sau Iovan, Yanaki, 1878–1954) and '''Milton Manachia''' (Miltiade, Maltu, 1882–1964) were photography and cinema pioneers who gained reputation for bringing the first film camera and creating the first motion pictures on the Balkan Peninsula and the Ottoman Empire. Their work was done in the city of Bitola, a strong economical and cultural center in Ottoman Rumelia.  
  
== Photography ==
+
==Photography==
They began to work together in 1898. Ienache opened an photographic studio in Epir, where he worked as a teacher of drawing and calligraphy.  
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Yanaki was employed as an art teacher in a Romanian school in Ioannina. Here he opened his first photographic studio in 1898 where he asked his brother to go along and learn photography.  
  
In 1903 they captured still images of a popular uprising for the newspaper ''Universul''.[http://books.google.com/books?id=4r8cRrzOavEC&pg=PA774]
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In 1903 they photographed a popular uprising for the newspaper ''Universul'' [http://books.google.com/books?id=4r8cRrzOavEC&pg=PA774]. In 1904 the two moved from their birthplace Avdella to the town Manastir (present-day Bitola). One year after, they open their own atelier for photographic art. After their excellent work is seen by the Balkan public, in 1906 they get an invitation from the king Carol I of Romania to participate in the World Photo Exhibition in Sinaia, Romania, where they won a gold medal for their collection. Later, they become the official photographers of the Ottoman Sultan, and in 1929 to the King of Yugoslavia Alexander Karađorđević.
  
Milton had to leave Ianina in 1905 after the scandal of Vouvousa and they moved to Bitola (Monastir) in Macedonia where they opened the famous ''Studio of Art and Photography''. The studio used the label in two language, Romanian and Turkish, the official language of the Ottoman Empire.
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==Film==
 +
According to the memoirs of Milton Manaki, in 1905, his older brother traveled through several European capitals. In London he bought 35 mm Bioscope film camera with serial number 300 from the Charles Urban Trade Company. With this camera they shot the 60 seconds long documentary film of their 114-year-old grandmother Despina weaving in Avdella, titled ''The Weavers'' [Viaţa casnică la aromâncele din Pind], and regarded as the first motion picture shot in the Balkans. The film was made only 10 years after the shooting of the first Lumière brothers film, which influenced the brothers. Living in a time of transition from the 19th to 20th century, during the Ilinden Uprising, the Balkan Wars and the First World War, the development of Bitola as a consulate and military center of the Ottoman Empire, the brothers Manaki with their films helped to perpetuate these historical events.
  
The Manakis brothers became the official photographers of the Romanian Court Royal in 1906, of the Ottoman in 1911 and of king Aleksandar Karadjordevic in 1929.
+
Yanaki and Milton recorded a number of films, mostly documentaries that were talking about all aspects of life in the city of Bitola such as popular dances, religious rituals, weddings, and funerals.
  
In total, they took over 17,300 photographs in 120 localities.
+
The brothers also pioneered the longer newsreel film by recording the visits of Sultan Mehmed Rashid V to Salonika and Bitola in 1911. [http://books.google.com/books?id=4r8cRrzOavEC&pg=PA774]
  
==Film==
+
Apart from their activity in filmmaking and photography, in 1921 they built an outdoor cinema named "Manaki", under the open sky on the main street Shirok Sokak. However this temporary solution does not satisfy the two brothers, so they built a movie theater, which began its work on the 1st of December 1923. Unfortunately, this historic building was destroyed in 1939 in a fire.
They successfully exhibited their work at the 1906 International Exhibition in Bucharest, where they saw the cinematographic camera for the first time.[http://books.google.com/books?id=4r8cRrzOavEC&pg=PA774]
 
  
The two bought a Bioscope 300 (35mm) camera from the Charles Urban & Co. firm during a trip that took them from Paris to London, owing to a grant from King Karol I. During the same year they made a documentary film, ''Household Traditions of the Romanian-Macedonian Women from Pind'', soon followed by several other productions showing popular dances, religious rituals, weddings, and funerals of the same region, which can be considered among the first ethnographic films in the world. [http://books.google.com/books?id=4r8cRrzOavEC&pg=PA774] (Rudolf Pöch's ethnographic films from New Guinea are from 1904.) One of their films, ''The Weavers'' [Viaţa casnică la aromâncele din Pind] (c1906) is a silent, black and white documentary short made in the small Aromanian village of Avdella, in the Ottoman vilayet of Monastir. It depicts the Manaki's aunts and 114-year-old grandmother Despina spinning and weaving. It is said to be the first film shot in the Ottoman Balkans.  
+
==Legacy==
 +
Today at the National Archive of the Republic of Macedonia are preserved more than 17.000 photos made in 120 locations and over 2000 meters recorded film frоm the brothers Manaki. They left a rich legacy of important documentary value of the historical and cultural development of Eastern Europe. In their honor the Manaki Brothers Film Festival is held every year.  
  
The Manaki brothers also pioneered the longer newsreel film by recording the visits of Sultan Mehmed Rashid V to Salonika and Bitola in 1911.[http://books.google.com/books?id=4r8cRrzOavEC&pg=PA774]
+
In honor of their work, the International Cinematographers' Film Festival "Manaki Brothers" (founded in 1979 and renamed to "Manaki Brothers" in 1993) is held every year in Bitola. The film award is named "Room 300" [Camera 300].
  
 
== Gallery ==
 
== Gallery ==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Janaki_Manaki_1.jpg|''Ienache Manakis''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_1.jpg|''Ienache Manaki''
File:Janaki_Manaki_2.jpg|''Ienache Manakis''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_2.jpg|''Ienache Manaki''
File:Janaki_Manaki_3.jpg|''Ienache Manakis''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_3.jpg|''Ienache Manaki''
File:Janaki_Manaki_4.jpg|''Ienache Manakis''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_4.jpg|''Ienache Manaki''
File:Janaki_Manaki_5.jpg|''face of man''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_5.jpg|''Face of a man''
File:Janaki_Manaki_6.jpg|''man''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_6.jpg|''Man''
File:Janaki_Manaki_7.jpg|''face of woman''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_7.jpg|''Face of a woman''
File:Janaki_Manaki_8.jpg|''mother with baby''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_8.jpg|''Mother with baby''
 
File:Janaki_Manaki_9.jpg|''3 men''
 
File:Janaki_Manaki_9.jpg|''3 men''
 
File:Janaki_Manaki_10.jpg|''2 women''
 
File:Janaki_Manaki_10.jpg|''2 women''
 
File:Janaki_Manaki_11.jpg|''2 Aromanians''
 
File:Janaki_Manaki_11.jpg|''2 Aromanians''
File:Janaki_Manaki_12.jpg|''young man''
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File:Janaki_Manaki_12.jpg|''Young man''
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
== Awards ==
+
==Filmography==
* 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal at the International Exhibition in Bucharest, 1906.
+
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanaki_and_Milton_Manaki#Filmography At Wikipedia]
 
+
* [http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/NewArts/ManakisBrothers.html At Mlahanas.de]
== Legacy==
 
In honor of their work, the International Cinematographers' Film Festival "Manaki Brothers" (founded in 1979 and renamed to "Manaki Brothers" in 1993) is held every year in Bitola, the city where most of their activities were organized. The film award is named "Room 300" [Camera 300].
 
  
== Documentary films about the Manakis brothers==
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== Documentary films about the brothers==
 
* ''Room 300'' [Camera 300], short film by the Croatian director Branko Ranitović, 1958.
 
* ''Room 300'' [Camera 300], short film by the Croatian director Branko Ranitović, 1958.
 
* ''The Manakis brothers - the Balkan pioneers'' [Fratii Manakia - pionierii din Balcani], dir. Manuela Tanase, screenplay: Marian Ţuţui, 1995.
 
* ''The Manakis brothers - the Balkan pioneers'' [Fratii Manakia - pionierii din Balcani], dir. Manuela Tanase, screenplay: Marian Ţuţui, 1995.
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== Literature==
 
== Literature==
 +
* Giorgis Exarchos, ''Αδελφοί Μανάκια: πρωτοπόροι του κινηματογράφου στα Βαλκάνια και το "Βλαχικόν ζήτημα"'', [The Brothers Manakia: Pioneers of the Cinema in the Balkans and the "Vlach Question"], Athens: Gavriilidis, 1991. (in Greek)
 +
* Igor Stardelov, [http://www.fiafnet.org/pdf/uk/fiaf54.pdf "Preservation of Manaki Brothers Film Heritage" ], ''Journal of Film Preservation'' 26:54 (April 1997), pp 27-30.
 
* Marian Ţuţui, ''Orient Express: filmul românesc şi filmul balcanic sau Cinematograful balcanic'', Bucharest: Editura Noi Media Print, 2008. (in Romanian)
 
* Marian Ţuţui, ''Orient Express: filmul românesc şi filmul balcanic sau Cinematograful balcanic'', Bucharest: Editura Noi Media Print, 2008. (in Romanian)
 
* Marian Ţuţui, ''Fraţii Manakia şi imaginea Balcanilor'', Bucharest: Editura Noi Media Print, 2009 (in Romanian).
 
* Marian Ţuţui, ''Fraţii Manakia şi imaginea Balcanilor'', Bucharest: Editura Noi Media Print, 2009 (in Romanian).
* Goran Trenčovski, "[http://www.filmfestival-goeast.de/index.php?article_id=194&clang=1 A View Of The Macedonian Documentary Film]".
+
* Goran Trenčovski, [http://www.filmfestival-goeast.de/index.php?article_id=194&clang=1 "A View Of The Macedonian Documentary Film"].
* Igor Stardelov, [http://www.fiafnet.org/pdf/uk/fiaf54.pdf "Preservation of Manaki Brothers Film Heritage" ], ''Journal of Film Preservation'', April 1997, 26:54:27-30.
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanaki_and_Milton_Manaki#Further_reading More]
  
 
== External links==
 
== External links==
* [http://www.manaki.com.mk/ Manaki Brothers Film Festival Official Website]
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanaki_and_Milton_Manaki Manaki brothers at Wikipedia]  
* [http://bitolatourist.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=272%3A2010-05-07-11-42-55&catid=57%3A2010-04-08-23-19-42&Itemid=107&lang=en Photo Gallery on Bitola Tourist info]
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* [http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_%C8%99i_Ianaki_Manakia Manaki brothers at Romanian Wikipedia]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manakis_brothers Manakis brothers at Wikipedia]  
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* [http://proiectavdhela.ro/index.php?pag=media&id_cap=1 Photographs by Manaki brothers]
* [http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_%C8%99i_Ianaki_Manakia Manakis brothers at Romanian Wikipedia]  
 
 
* [http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/burt/middleagesonfilm//editingassewing.html Theo Angelopoulos' ''Ulysses Gaze'' (1995) features ''The Weavers'']
 
* [http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/burt/middleagesonfilm//editingassewing.html Theo Angelopoulos' ''Ulysses Gaze'' (1995) features ''The Weavers'']
* [http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/NewArts/ManakisBrothers.html Manakis brothers Filmography]
+
* [http://www.manaki.com.mk/ Manaki Brothers Film Festival]
* [http://proiectavdhela.ro/index.php?pag=media&id_cap=1 Manakis brothers Photography]
 
  
 
[[Category:Photography|Manakis brothers]]
 
[[Category:Photography|Manakis brothers]]
 
[[Category:Early cinema|Manakis brothers]]
 
[[Category:Early cinema|Manakis brothers]]

Revision as of 20:47, 9 April 2014


Photo of Ienache Manakia, 1917.
Born May 18, 1878(1878-05-18)
Avdella, Ottoman Empire (today northern Greece)
Died May 19, 1954(1954-05-19) (aged 76)
Thessaloniki, Greece

Milton Manakia in a scene from the movie Camera 300.
Born May 18, 1878(1878-05-18)
Avdella, Ottoman Empire (today northern Greece)
Died May 19, 1954(1954-05-19) (aged 76)
Bitola, Yugoslavia

The brothers Ianachia (Ion, Ionel, Ianakis, Ianaki sau Iovan, Yanaki, 1878–1954) and Milton Manachia (Miltiade, Maltu, 1882–1964) were photography and cinema pioneers who gained reputation for bringing the first film camera and creating the first motion pictures on the Balkan Peninsula and the Ottoman Empire. Their work was done in the city of Bitola, a strong economical and cultural center in Ottoman Rumelia.

Photography

Yanaki was employed as an art teacher in a Romanian school in Ioannina. Here he opened his first photographic studio in 1898 where he asked his brother to go along and learn photography.

In 1903 they photographed a popular uprising for the newspaper Universul [1]. In 1904 the two moved from their birthplace Avdella to the town Manastir (present-day Bitola). One year after, they open their own atelier for photographic art. After their excellent work is seen by the Balkan public, in 1906 they get an invitation from the king Carol I of Romania to participate in the World Photo Exhibition in Sinaia, Romania, where they won a gold medal for their collection. Later, they become the official photographers of the Ottoman Sultan, and in 1929 to the King of Yugoslavia Alexander Karađorđević.

Film

According to the memoirs of Milton Manaki, in 1905, his older brother traveled through several European capitals. In London he bought 35 mm Bioscope film camera with serial number 300 from the Charles Urban Trade Company. With this camera they shot the 60 seconds long documentary film of their 114-year-old grandmother Despina weaving in Avdella, titled The Weavers [Viaţa casnică la aromâncele din Pind], and regarded as the first motion picture shot in the Balkans. The film was made only 10 years after the shooting of the first Lumière brothers film, which influenced the brothers. Living in a time of transition from the 19th to 20th century, during the Ilinden Uprising, the Balkan Wars and the First World War, the development of Bitola as a consulate and military center of the Ottoman Empire, the brothers Manaki with their films helped to perpetuate these historical events.

Yanaki and Milton recorded a number of films, mostly documentaries that were talking about all aspects of life in the city of Bitola such as popular dances, religious rituals, weddings, and funerals.

The brothers also pioneered the longer newsreel film by recording the visits of Sultan Mehmed Rashid V to Salonika and Bitola in 1911. [2]

Apart from their activity in filmmaking and photography, in 1921 they built an outdoor cinema named "Manaki", under the open sky on the main street Shirok Sokak. However this temporary solution does not satisfy the two brothers, so they built a movie theater, which began its work on the 1st of December 1923. Unfortunately, this historic building was destroyed in 1939 in a fire.

Legacy

Today at the National Archive of the Republic of Macedonia are preserved more than 17.000 photos made in 120 locations and over 2000 meters recorded film frоm the brothers Manaki. They left a rich legacy of important documentary value of the historical and cultural development of Eastern Europe. In their honor the Manaki Brothers Film Festival is held every year.

In honor of their work, the International Cinematographers' Film Festival "Manaki Brothers" (founded in 1979 and renamed to "Manaki Brothers" in 1993) is held every year in Bitola. The film award is named "Room 300" [Camera 300].

Gallery

Filmography

Documentary films about the brothers

  • Room 300 [Camera 300], short film by the Croatian director Branko Ranitović, 1958.
  • The Manakis brothers - the Balkan pioneers [Fratii Manakia - pionierii din Balcani], dir. Manuela Tanase, screenplay: Marian Ţuţui, 1995.
  • The Manakis brothers [Fratii Manakia], dir. Sabina Pop, screenplay: Marian Ţuţui, 2002. Co-production of the national televisions of Macedonia, Albania and Romania.

See also

Literature

  • Giorgis Exarchos, Αδελφοί Μανάκια: πρωτοπόροι του κινηματογράφου στα Βαλκάνια και το "Βλαχικόν ζήτημα", [The Brothers Manakia: Pioneers of the Cinema in the Balkans and the "Vlach Question"], Athens: Gavriilidis, 1991. (in Greek)
  • Igor Stardelov, "Preservation of Manaki Brothers Film Heritage" , Journal of Film Preservation 26:54 (April 1997), pp 27-30.
  • Marian Ţuţui, Orient Express: filmul românesc şi filmul balcanic sau Cinematograful balcanic, Bucharest: Editura Noi Media Print, 2008. (in Romanian)
  • Marian Ţuţui, Fraţii Manakia şi imaginea Balcanilor, Bucharest: Editura Noi Media Print, 2009 (in Romanian).
  • Goran Trenčovski, "A View Of The Macedonian Documentary Film".

More

External links