Their first film together was Z (1969); James Berardinelli has written recently that, "Z was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras, but it is the movie that captured him to the world's attention, winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Film pertama mereka yang dibuat bersama-sama adalah Z (1969); James Berardinelli mengatakan bahwa, "Z adalah film fitur ketiga dari Costa-Gavras kelahiran Yunani, namun film tersebut membuatnya mendapatkan sambutan di seluruh dunia, dengan memenangkan Oscar Film Berbahasa Asing Terbaik."