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“Ithaca… am Main”: The Successful Film by Greek Pupils in Germany

A deeply emotional film created by Greek pupils who fled Greece over the past three years due to the financial crisis and went to live in Germany with their families has attracted great attention. The creators are pupils of the 1st grade of the Greek High School in Frankfurt in whose “Project” class they were assigned to create a film. The film scenario is based on interviews taken with pupils who migrated to Frankfurt during the past three years combined with the known poem “Ithaca” by K. Kavafis.

The short-length film received a significant distinction during the Pan-Hellenic Short-Length Film Competition under the title “One planet… One Opportunity.”v The film by the Greek-German pupils titled “Ithaca… am Main” was among the 14 films that were distinguished among 180 participants. It received the 3rd Special Prize of the competition. The official award ceremony took place on June 6 and the film will also participate in the Film Festival in Drama this coming September.

“We want to show exactly what we’ve been through, because no one has realized how difficult it was for us to leave our country,” explains Athena,a girl who migrated to Germany three years ago.

“Changes are so difficult. Your life changes, people change, everything changes,” adds Marina noting that she terribly misses her friends and her old neighborhood.

The pupils seek one single answer to the big question: “Is Frankfurt our Ithaca?” explains their Greeks teacher and deputy director of the Greek High School in Frankfurt, Chrysa Kehagia.

The film describes the lives of four children who recently came to Germany having fled Greece. The interviews project their experiences, their thoughts and emotions, whether they agreed with their parents’ choice. The story line is based on true stories and is not mixed up with ‘soap opera’ elements.

Teacher Kehagia sounded the alarm for the future of the Greek High School in Frankfurt and most importantly the future of the Greek language abroad, as the Greek Ministry of Culture is not actually supporting the promotion of the language within Greek communities in foreign countries.

Greek Story by Inga Athanasiadou

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