Bessie Karras-Lazaris, President of the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, is a guest on this episode of the Voice that Unites Us.
Mrs. Lazaris has co-produced and translated a documentay film trilogy, narrated by Academy Award Winner Olympia Dukakis.
The Pioneers (1900-1942), The Promise of Tomorrow (1900-1942) and The New Greek Americans (1960-1918), written/directed by Anna Giannotis and produced by Antonia Lianos, on behalf of GHS. All three films highlight immigration, assimilation, and success of two Greek American generations, and have received several awards from international film festivals in the U.S. and Greece.
The New Greek Americans, the final documentary of the trilogy, completed in May 2019, was selected to screen at the 10th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra, where it will be competing under the category of International Feature Length Documentaries on August 11th at 9:00 p.m., in the Ierapetra Mosque in Ierapetra Seaside Square.
”The film focuses on 2nd and 3rd generations of Greek-Americans and how they identify with their rich cultural background. It also raises the question of how the Greek language and culture can survive and how the New Greek Americans can keep the flame of Hellenism burning.
Bessie Karras-Lazaris, Anna Giannotis, and Antonia Lianos will be attending the screening, representing GHS.