ΚΑΛΩΣ ΗΛΘΑΤΕ! Kalos ilthate! Welcome!
Welcome to the Global Greek World - a world of Greek-Somethings which stretches from Auckland to Zanzibar, from Aruba to Zimbabwe.
Wherever you are in the world, this is YOUR world!
A young boy saves his money to buy a pet. When he visits a pet shop on the outskirts of Athens, he is upset because the price the owner is asking for the pets is way beyond his reach, until he sees a pet which is just the right one for him...
pET sHOPis a multi-award winning short film by talented Greek director Michael-Gabriel Zenelis. Thoughtful and sensitive yet powerful, it focuses on today's society and its questionable priorities and sense of values, where appearance is often more important than substance and is priced accordingly...
Michael-Gabriel Zenelis was born in Athens in 1978.
He studied film direction at the Stavrakos School and has collaborated with various production companies in the fields of cinema and television.
pET sHOP, is his first film and has already received a number of awards - a great beginning to a promising career!
Best Short Film -Olympia International Film Festival for Children & Young People,
Best Short Film/Special Award - Patras Film Festival
Special Award, Special Mention -Pescara European Short Film Festival,
Special Mention -Naoussa International Film Festival,
Silver Medal- Festival der Nationen,
Silver Medal -International Film Festival Des Nightkommerziellen Films Awards...
As the whole of Greece gets ready to celebrate OXI Day, the anniversary of the day on the 28th October in 1940, when the Greeks said a firm 'NO' to the invading forces of Italy's leader, Benito Mussolini, Greek children, in Greece and in our communities abroad are preparing for the day's celebrations and learning about the events and the incredible heroism of the Greek nation as a whole during the dreadful years of the Second World War.
As schools prepare the students for the αnnual OXI Day school Yiortes and Parades, they are learning much about how Greece and her people survived a catastrophic war which left the country destitute and in ruins, both physically and economically.
In my daughter's school books, one of the things the children are asked to do is have a parent or grandparent recount an event that took place during the War and the German Occupation, and they must write it in their own words. Each child learns to recite a poem, or take part in a play which recounts events during the War specially for the school Yiorti or celebration, and if old enough, proudly takes part in the school parades in cities and towns all over Greece. This Thursday, on the 28th October, our daughter will be part of that parade for the first time and she is very excited!
As part of their learning more about the events of World War II and its consequences for Greece, my 10 year old daughter's class, (she's 5th year- Pempti - by the way) was taken to see a new release of a marvellous movie about children growing up in war ravaged Thessaloniki. She loved it, as did all the children, and as she was telling me about the movie, Το Ξυπόλυτο Τάγμα or The Barefoot Battalion, and I read the pamphlet they were given, I remembered my own parents telling us about the same movie when we were growing up in our own community so far away from Greece, each time the 28th October celebrations took place there.
I realised then that it was something that I would like to share with the readers of Global Greek World ...
Gregg Tallas 1950's
Photo Source: Tallas Family Archives
As I researched the material for this post a lot of previously unknown facts came to light about this wonderful film
the director was none other than one of our Global Greeks - Gregg Tallas born Gregory Thalassinos in Constantinople in 1903 ...
Many of the cast and crew were of Greek descent including Peter Boudoures, the producer, a Greek-American restaurateur in San Francisco who had been the regional director of Greek War Relief on the West Coast of the USA from 1940-1949
The film's production cost was $38,000.
It was shot without sound, using a 1920s era camera and minimal technical equipment.
The music for the film was the first film score that Greece's legendary composer,Mikis Theodorakis ever wrote
The Barefoot Battalion opened in New York on 28 May 1954 and Los Angeles on 11 June of the same year to great acclaim
In 1955 it was awarded the Golden Laurel at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, thus becoming the first Greek film to win a prize at an international film festival
It has been the subject of many university studies around the world, especially historical studies
In post war Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1953, a young, barefoot, ragged and homeless boy named Stavros wakes up on an abandoned rowboat... It is getting cold on the boat so he goes to shore, and, in order to buy a blanket, attempts to steal a purse from a woman in the crowded market. Demetri, a young man who sees the whole thing and sees him run off, follows the boy, catches him and searches him.
When Stavros begins to cry, saying he has no family, Demetri explains that he only wants to help and that he too used to steal on the street for a living... As the two talk we flashback to 1943 to wartorn, besieged Thessaloniki in German-occupied Greece and Demetri relates his own story - a war orphan who lives with his young sister Martha in an abandoned wrecked boat, with only food rations for survival. As they become desperate for food they join a group of boys, known as Το Ξυπόλυτο Τάγμα or The Barefoot Battalion.
Based on a true story of a group of young boys who lost their parents when the Nazis occupied Greece in 1941, and the children sent to orphanages, this delightful film recounts the courage and bravery of a marvellous group of children, "The Barefoot Battalion" who got together to provide food for themselves and others who had no means, while at the same time working closely with Greece's dynamic underground resistance movement who worked to help Americans and Allied Forces escape to the Middle East, hiding and eventually smuggling an American airman out of the country...
The idea for the film came in the late 40's, when Greek actor Nikos Katsiotis, who was in the USA at the time, was discussing with Greek American director Gregg Tallas, the story of Thessaloniki's victory parade in November of 1944, on the day it celebrated its liberation from German Occupation. Katsiotis told Tallas how right at the tail end, a group of barefoot, bedraggled kids paraded, holding a banner with the words 'Το Ξυπόλυτο Τάγμα' ...
Gregg Tallas 1966
Photo Source: Tallas Family Archives
Gregg Tallas was so enchanted and moved by this story that he decided to make it into a film, a film which was shot on location in Thessaloniki and Athens, even at the notorious black market site and the cast was made up of some of Greece's well known actors of the day, while 63 of the 66 children came from orphanages and reform institutions in Athens and Thessaloniki...
Gregg Tallas 1970's
Photo Source: Tallas Family Archives
For those that would
like to watch To Xypolito Tagma in it's entirety here is this brilliant film - a film which the reknowned director Vittorio de Sica is said to have praised so highly that he told Gregg Tallas that if The Barefoot Battalion had preceeded his own masterpiece 'Bicycle Thief', then he, Tallas, would have been de Sica...
- it's well worth while!
Mikis Theodorakis and Gregg Tallas Composer and Director - Two of our Global Greek legends together
Shortly after this post was published, we were delighted to receive a comment in our visitors book from Rhett Tallas, the grandson of Gregg Tallas. He was kind enough to share the photos of Gregg Tallas from their family archives with us and all our readers. He also sent us this note from Gregg's brother Alex, who lives in Greece and is often invited to speak before screenings of this wonderful movie.
The movie's story line is simple, clear and concise and it retells a true story that took place in Thessaloniki ( Greece's second largest city located in Northern Greece).
In a nutshell: It recounts the story of more than 150 orphan teenagers whose orphanage (The Papafion) was commandeered by the German High Command of Norhern
Greece and they were let out to starve.
They showed great initiative, courage and a great will to survive - by stealing food from the Germans and Italians,but also sharing the food they could spare with the starving civilian population of the city of Thessaloniki - whilst also helping to smuggle American, British and Greek officers who had fallen behind as the front collapsed to Cairo to join the Allied forces there.
Thank you for the fedback Rhett and Alex. We are grateful to you and the entire Tallas Family for allowing us the use of the photos of Gregg Tallas from the family archives.
Other Sources: www.moviereviews.gr
At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!
Greek Australian Steve Karamitsis (The Wog Boy) inherits a beach on the Greek resort island of Mykonos from an uncle he’s never met. Here is how he goes about claiming his inheritance! His adventures in magnificent Mykonos are well worth watching!
The film is directed by Peter Andrikidis and stars Nick Giannopoulos, Vince Colosimo, Alex Dimitriades, Zeta Makrypoulia and of course MYKONOS!!!
Check out the trailer of the film!
Coming Soon! We're looking forward to it!
Australia: May 20, 2010
Greece : June 3, 2010
'The second film is defined by its affections rather than afflictions. Giannopoulos has said that it's partly ''a thank you to our parents'', and that generosity makes the film more relaxed and charming'.
Paul Byrnes for the Sydney Morning Herald, May 20, 2010
Nick is a very well known actor/writer/producer/director born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia, to Greek Immigrant parents and grew up mainly in the inner Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy & Richmond where he went to school.
In 1981 he was accepted into the Drama School at the prestigious Victorian College Of The Arts and graduated in 1985 with a Degree in Dramatic Arts.
In 1987-90 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wogs Out Of Work", which he also co-wrote and produced. A huge success it played to over 750,000 people.
In 1989-92 he starred in TV sitcom "Acropolis Now" for 5 seasons (63 episodes) which he also created and co-wrote and which was hugely popular in Australia.
In 1990 he toured Australia with the play "The Heartbreak Kid" in which he played the lead role. In 1990-1991 he toured Australia with the stage production of "Acropolis Now Live", which he also co-wrote & produced.
In 1991 he played Danny Zuko in the David Atkins production of the musical "Grease" at the Footbridge Theatre in Sydney. In 1993-1995 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wog-A-Rama", which he also wrote, produced & directed.
In 1996-1998 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wogboys" which he also wrote, produced & directed. In 1999 he starred in the feature film "The Wog Boy" which he also co-wrote & produced. It went on to gross more than 12 million dollars at the Australian Box office becoming one of the most popular Australian films of all time.
In 2000-02 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wog Story", which he also wrote, produced & directed. In 2003 he starred in the feature film "The Wannabes" which he also co-wrote & produced.
In 2004 he hosted & produced the TV special "Greece Is The Word" which was watched by over 3 million people on the Seven Network and repeated before the Athens Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Another excellent, beautifully made short film by Greek director Constantine Pilavios.
From the creator of 'What is That' - poignant, and sensitive, with a universal message of optimism which transgresses all language barriers, it is a wonderful example of what we Global Greeks can achieve!
We are sure it will make you think about the meaning of life...
Macedonia Airport, Greece, 2035....A metallic briefcase carried by a private aircraft becomes the cause of several killings...what on earth could it have in it to justify so much bloodshed?
This week has not been a brilliant one for Greece on the European stage. In the light of so many doomsday predictions regarding the Greek Economy which have been directed at Greece in the last couple of weeks, we feel that we in the Global Greek World need to dwell on something much more positive!
What better way to start the week than with the news that the award-winning short film 'World Water War' by two Greek students, Stelios Alexandrakis and Menelaos Pamboukidis from the Aristotelian University Film School in Thessaloniki, was screened at the U.N. Climate Change Conference on Monday 7 December 2009 , in Copenhagen.
World Water War succeeded in winning the short film competition 'Think. Act. Change' organised by the European Union's EPP - European People's Party, earlier this year, sending out a strong message for the protection of the environment to European and World Leaders. In London last month, and renamed World War III, it also won the Best Made by an Organisation Film Award in the 'One Minute to Save the World' International Film Competition.
What was especially pleasing was that the 2nd prize in the 'Think.Act.Change' competition went to another Greek entry 'Our Last Shot' by fellow student Kostas Karydas...
Our congratulations and our thanks go to these three sensitive and talented young people who by creating such excellent short films ensured that the urgent message of conservation and environmental protection would come through loud and clear to all those who can do something about it.
Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.... How many of us who read this poem ever believed that that time would come in our lifetime? Unfortunately it has and in a world of continually shrinking natural resources, destroyed by man's greed for more and more worldly goods, T.S. Eliot's words from his poem Wasteland, have never been more frighteningly relevant...
Have we got the message? It will be interesting to see if we have and what we plan to do about it while there is still time, but more importantly, what our leaders do about it after Copnhagen!
For the sake of our future and that of our children we will be waiting to see the results...
'What is That?' - 2007
an excellent, beautifully made short film by Greek director Constantine Pilavios.
Poignant, and sensitive, with a universal message which transgresses all language barriers, it is a wonderful example of what we Global Greeks can achieve!
We are sure it will move you as much as it moved us...
Let's hug them tight, they made us who we are!
The Promise of Tomorrow - The First GenerationDocumentary will Premiere on Thursday, November 12, 2009, in the presence of many of our Global Hollywood Greeks at the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences.
If you can attend and support this great undertaking, please do, but book early! Click on poster above for details...
The Greek Heritage Society (GHS), a non profit organization, was established in 1985 to preserve the rich culture, heritage and traditions of Greek immigrants in Southern California.
It's website banner proudly proclaims the objective of it's existence: Preservation of American Hellenic History and indeed, this is what the Society has done!
To achieve this objective the Society has interviewed over 300 Greek immigrants and Greek Americans in Southern California in order to put their experiences on record.
Historical photos, private footage, and folk art treasures have been catalogued for present and future projects. The GHS has contributed photos to the Ellis Island Museum and continues to conduct oral histories of the Greek American community.
In 2002, during the 36th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress in Los Angeles, it successfully presented a Historical and Folk Art Exhibit whilst in October 2005, on the 20th anniversary of it's establishment, it celebrated the event with a concert, again in Los Angeles.
The Promise of Tomorrow
The Promise of Tomorrow, Part Two of the Greek Heritage Society's award winning series, The Greeks of Southern California — Through the Century, is the universal story of the Greek American experience as seen through the eyes of those who settled in Southern California.
The Documentary highlights the first and second generation of Greek Americans and the changing face of our community. Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis hosts the documentary, with additional narration by John Kapelos, as it explores the way in which the Greek American community has become an integral part of American history while maintaining a strong and unique Greek identity.
The Pioneers, 1900-1942
In 2002, GHS completed Part One, The Pioneers: 1900-1942, highlighting the achievements of early Greek immigrants. The Pioneers premiered at 20th Century Fox Studios and received the prestigious Award of Excellence from the Film Advisory Board. The film also was awarded "Best Documentary" at the 2003 International Panorama of Independent Filmmakers Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece.
To Read more about The Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, Click here
