Film Screening:

Kisses to the Children 

(Vassilis Loules, 2012, 115 min, Greece, in Greek w/ English subtitles, Color/B&W, DVD)

-- Introduced by Harry Karahalios (Romance Studies)
-- Q&A to follow w/ director Vassilis Loules!

Five Greek-Jewish children who were saved by Christian families during the German Occupation, five "Hidden Children" who lived in total silence, tell their stories. Stories of terror, anguish and confusion but also stories of salvation and carefree childhood into the arms of strangers - which became Secret Gardens of Eden, nests of love away from the horror of the Holocaust. Five children were forced to mature abruptly. Rosina, Iossif, Eftyhia, Shelly and Marios grew old, carrying the memory of those children who were never given time to grow up.

The movie focuses on these persons, revealing secret aspects of their lives and invaluable personal documents. It also depicts the life of the Greek Jewish Communities before the War, complemented with rare images of Occupied Greece from archival material, as well as amateur films by German soldiers and illegal footage shot by Greek patriots.

Kisses to the Children is not just another film about the Holocaust; it's a film about childhood in the shadow of the Holocaust.

-- Winner of 8 Awards at Greek and International Film Festivals!

Cost: Free and open to the public

Sponsors: Center for Jewish Studies (CJS), and the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI).