2023 will be the third year for GIFFT and it is packed with full length, short films and documentaries from Greece or films produced by Greeks outside of Greece. The Greek film industry has developed to a level of excellence over the last 10 years and here is a chance for Canadians to immerse themselves in it showing feature films in 11 Canadian cites. Feature films will be in person but the non “top tier” full length films may be seen online throughout Canada. For further information including cost and scheduling go to www.gifft.ca.
“My People” is a personal journey of Anna Rezan to discover the fate of her grandmother an Athenian Jew arrested by the German occupiers, transported to Auschwitz and never to return to Greece. And not talked about by the family and many others after the Second World War ended for which Rezan is difficult to understand. Rezan travels to Auschwitz attempting to find some record of her grandmother at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum but finds nothing. Instead she interviews the Greek Jews that escaped death and the stories are horrific. No need to repeat them here as you can watch and share the horror. There were 80,000 Jews living in two dozen Greek cities and towns at the outset of the war.
The Second World War began for Greece with Italy invading Greece on October 23, 1940. There were some 14,000 Greek Jews in the Greek army. Germany invaded Greece on April 6, 1941, dissatisfied with the botched Italian invasion and Greece was broken into three control zones under the Italians, Bulgarians and Germans. Then the Final Solution began to be implemented. Some 50,000 Thessaloniki Jews were ordered to board the trains to Auschwitz and Treblinka many after being publicly abused and humiliated in a square by the waterfront and old port I know well in addition to the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki. You can see my article on Thessaloniki Jews here; https://www.thesuburban.com/opinion/op_ed/the-decimation-of-the-jews-of-thessaloniki/article_af964a20-20d5-502e-996a-afc908606cf0.html . You can also read my review of the short film “Eleftheromania” about Greek Jews refusing to be sonderkommandos in Auschwitz here; https://a-little-birdie-told-me.ca/2022/10/17/rks-film-eleftheromania-greek-prisoners-in-auschwitz-face-moral-dilemma/
The Greek Orthodox church refused to co-operate with the German occupiers by destroying lists of all temple goers and writing directly to Hitler saying the Greek Orthodox religion does not recognize the superiority of any race or religion. Some Greek clerics and rabbis fought in the Greek resistance which badgered the Germans who massacred villages in retribution. Villagers locked in churches and burned alive and all manner of atrocities. The police chief of Athens arranged for false identification papers to be issued to some Athenian Jews.
I suppose that Rezan never had exact information about the fate of her grandmother but through the survivors of the concentration and forced labour camps little doubt of her fate would be logical.
This 92-minute American film is directed by Anna Rezan.
In Toronto it plays in theatre on October 3rd. For other cities check the link in the first paragraph above.
RKS 2023 Film Rating 86/100.
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