Film festivals are currently in full swing all around Australia, and the 26th Australian Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) taking place from October 26 to November 23, will include two amazing and highly regarded Greek films.
Screening across six cities—Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane and Auckland- JIFF will present both Cloudy Sunday and Treasures: The Lost Jews of Kastoria.
CLOUDY SUNDAY (Ouzeri Tsitsanis) →
Is a Greek film by filmmaker Manoussos Manoussakis, and is set in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1942. It follows Estrea, a Jewish girl, and Giorgos, a Christian boy, who fall in love against a background of German occupation. Their relationship is forbidden by law, forcing them to seek sanctuary at the historic Ouzeri Tsitsanis, presided over by one of the greatest composers and singers of the 20th century, Vasilis Tsitsanis. Inspired by real events, Cloudy Sunday follows the hunt for Jews and the precariousness of Estrea and Giorgos’ situation.
Inspired by real events, and adapted from George Skarbadonis’s novel of the same name, Cloudy Sunday is the winner of multiple 2016 Hellenic Film Academy Awards.
jiff.com.au/films/cloudy-sunday/
TREASURES: THE LOST JEWS OF KASTORIA, GREECE (Trezoros) →
Is a Greek produced and Greek language documentary by Lawrence Russo and Larry Confino. It is about the coastal city of Kastoria, renowned for its idyllic beauty and the harmonious and vibrant population of Jews and Christians that it once homed. Illuminating the stories of those forced from their homes, this carefully crafted documentary serves as a tribute to, and reminder of, the displaced communities afflicted by the Holocaust. Using never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with survivors, Treasures stitches together a compelling portrait of what was once a dynamic Jewish community.
Using never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with survivors scattered across the diaspora, Trezoros stitches together a compelling and affecting portrait of what was once a dynamic Jewish community.
Director Lawrence Russo will also be a guest of the festival.
jiff.com.au/films/trezoros-lost-jews-kastoria/
JIFF dates around Australia and New Zealand →
Sydney: 26 October - 23 November
Perth: 26 October - 6 November
Melbourne: 27 October - 23 November
Auckland, Brisbane & Canberra: 10, 12,13, 19 & 20 November
