Mad Max Director George Miller Honored With Cultural Center on Kythera

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KYTHERA — The island of Kythera has named a new film and cultural center after Greek-Australian director George Miller, creator of the Mad Max films.

The Dr. George Miller Cultural Center opened on September 26 in Mitata, converting a former primary school and an adjoining municipal building into a cinema and events venue.

Miller did not attend. He sent a recorded message from Australia. His daughter, Augusta Miller, was there, along with Deputy Culture Minister Iason Fotilas and local officials.

Heritage and family

Miller’s father, Dimitris, came from Mitata. His parents left Greece for Australia, where George was born.

He said the tribute mattered because it honored them as well as him.

“If I were not Greek, I would not have become the storyteller I am,” he said.

Augusta thanked those who built the center and said her grandparents, Dimitris and Evangelia, would have been proud. When they emigrated, she said, they could hardly have imagined one of their children becoming an internationally known filmmaker.

Miller has also directed The Witches of Eastwick and Happy Feet and co-wrote and produced Babe. Happy Feet won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Mad Max: Fury Road earned him a Best Director nomination and a Best Picture nomination as producer.

From schoolhouse to cinema

The old primary school now houses a cinema with modern projection and sound. The former community building next door was fully renovated. The complex includes dressing rooms, support spaces and an open-air theater seating 150.

Funding came from the Antonis Tritsis local-government program. The Municipality of Kythera and Antikythera ran the project with technical help from the Attica Islands municipal cooperation network.

Officials said it is part of a wider plan to reuse empty schools and municipal buildings on the island. The opening included a talk on the old Mitata school, from a time when the village still filled its classrooms.

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