“Kisses to the Children”

Five Jewish children saved by Christians in German-occupied Greece. Childhood was their Garden of Eden.
Even though they spent it in hiding, even though they lost it in the shadow of the Holocaust.

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. 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 thousands of children, those who were never given the time to grow up.

The movie follows these persons from childhood to present day, revealing their hidden stories and invaluable personal documents -a diary of a child, photographs and home movies. 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. Personal, little stories in the turbulence of History. “Kisses to the Children” was shot in Athens, Thessaloniki, Ioannina & Chania, Greece, and in Auschwitz, Poland.

For 10 weeks it was in theatrical release in Athens & Thessaloniki, was screened in many Greek towns, won awards at film festivals and received many rave reviews. It was screened in New York on June 19th 2013 as a special event organized by American Sephardi Federation and American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece.

* The film’s director Vassilis Loules will be present every night to share his experiences with the audience and answer questions after the screenings.
*On Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th of October 2013, the documentary is going to be projected with English Subtitles.

Festival Awards

Greek Film Festival Chicago 2012, USA
-Audience Award

Agon-International Meeting of Archaeological Film 2012, Athens, Greece
-Best Direction Award of the Jury
-Award of the Public

Olympia International Film Festival for Children & Young People 2011, Greece
-Best Feature Length Documentary Award of the International Jury
-Best Feature Length Documentary Award of the Children’s Jury

Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival 2011, Greece
-Best Direction
-2nd Best Documentary
-Best Music

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Testimonies
Rosina Asser-Pardo
Iossif Ventura
Eftyhia Nachman-Nachmia
Shelly Kounio-Cohen
Marios Soussis

Written and directed by
Vassilis Loules

Research
Vassilis Loules
Rea Apostolides

With the collaboration of
THE JEWISH MUSEUM OF GREECE

Editing
Vassilis Loules
Chronis Theocharis
Yannis Katsamboulas

Music
Nikos Kypourgos

Produced by
-MASSIVE PRODUCTIONS
-VASSILIS LOULES
-GREEK FILM CENTRE
-HELLENIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION (ERT)

With the kind support of
-THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION
-JEWISH COMMUNITY OF THESSALONIKI
-CENTRAL BOARD OF JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN GREECE
-AMERICAN SEPHARDI FEDERATION
-THE AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM OF GREECE
-TASK FORCE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION, REMEMBRANCE, AND RESEARCH

Film archive footage and Photographs kindly provided by
-THE JEWISH MUSEUM OF GREECE
-UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
-GREEK FILM ARCHIVE
-WAR MUSEUM OF ATHENS
-JEWISH MUSEUM OF THESSALONIKI
-FOTOS LABRINOS FILM ARCHIVE
-PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE OF BENAKI MUSEUM

Developed in the workshops of
STORYDOC – The Educational Institute for Documentaries

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Director’s CV and Filmography
Vassilis Loules is a fiction and documentary director. Studied Electrical Engineering at the National Technical Univesity of Athens, Greece. He also studied Cinema. Collaborated with Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) as Coordinator of the Short Films Program and with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs Film Archive. His films have won awards at festivals. His short “A Bright Shining Sun” participated in many international film festivals (including Clermont-Ferrand, France 2001) and was screened all over the world within the framework of “The New Greek Cinema” Tribute. Into his films, both fiction and documentaries, he is interested in people’s little stories in the turbulence of History.

Filmography (selection)
2012   Kisses to the Children, documentary, 115 mins
2005   Lela Karayannis, the Fragrance of a Heroine, doc., 29 mins
2000   A Bright Shining Sun, fiction, 36 mins
1999   Elefsis; Stories from Machines Echoing, doc., 30 mins
1996   Meteora and Pindos mountain, doc., 93 mins
1993   The American, fiction, 39 mins
1990   Absent, fiction, 15 mins