A short film about a group of Greek prisoners at Auschwitz who were faced with an unthinkable moral dilemma is an official selection at the prestigious Toronto Shorts International Film Festival and will have its world premier on Friday, March 2 at the festival.
Eleftheromania is based on four years of research by Gregory C. Pappas who uncovered the story of this team of Greek prisoners from Ioannina, Corfu and elsewhere in Greece who arrived at the death camp in June of 1944.
Joanna Tsanis wrote the screenplay and produced the film, together with Pappas and Toronto-based producer Chuck Scott. The 20-minute film was directed by award-winning Canadian director David Antoniuk.
Switching from contemporary scenes in modern-day New York City, octogenarian Holocaust survivor Piroska (Olympia Dukakis) recounts whispers in the camp about the Greek prisoners and their exploits to her journalist friend played by Anthoula Katsimatides.
Eleftheromania (Official Trailer)
The story plays out inside a barracks at Auschwitz when the prisoners have a discussion about their options, after given unthinkable orders from their Nazi captors.
The Auschwitz scenes were shot in Toronto with local actors and musicians.
Greek singer Glykeria’s voice closes the film with her very own rendition of the historic song Minore Tis Avgis, which also plays a role in the story.
Listen to Glyleria’s rendition that was recorded specifically for the film:
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