Giannis In The Cities kicks off the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival
I attended day one of The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, which premiered its first film, “Giannis In The Cities”. Directed, written, and produced by the talented Eleni Alexandrakis, who was present at the screening at St. Sophia’s Jim Gianopulos Family Theater, the film transported me to a story I hadn’t known before.
Based on a book by Greek writer Giannis Atzakas, the film opens with six-year-old Giannis, who is full of life as he interacts with his grandmother while she makes bread. Set in 1949 and spanning decades, it tells the profound tale of a boy torn from his natural surroundings. Giannis is sent to a childcare city, an educational camp formed during the Greek Civil War. This sends a shiver down my spine, as I found the history of these camps haunting, illustrating the dark side of public education in Greece.
We witness Giannis’s father’s struggle with illiteracy and Giannis’s remarkable journey as he learns to read and write and eventually excels in his studies. Yet, beneath the surface lies a narrative filled with propaganda. When Giannis and his classmates wander off the grounds, one child stepping on a landmine drives home the reality of their imprisonment.
A powerful scene underscores this: the queen visits and takes a few children with her, stirring thoughts of foul play or human trafficking. The teachers tell Giannis about families in America and the possibility of being sent there as a double orphan—a story twisted from the truth. His grandparents raised him while his father fought in the war; they wrongly believe his father is dead, when in fact he has joined the militia.
As years unfold, we see Giannis take on the mantle of a teacher in one of these camps. He reads a heartfelt letter from his father, expressing pride in his son’s accomplishments as an educator and a literate adult. In a poignant moment, he visits his father, reuniting for the first time since he was six, now a husband and father himself.
The film dazzles with beautiful cinematography, a testament to the artistry of the project. With Giannis portrayed by three actors and a cast of fifty children and fifty adults, this grand production is not just a film—it’s an educational journey that sheds light on a war previously shrouded in darkness.
