Constantinople has always reigned in my heart. Ever since I first saw it when I was 8 years old.
Something magical connects me to this place and the pogrom of September 1955 always shocked me, piqued my curiosity.
Not because there have been no other pogroms in humanity but because it took place in peacetime and in post-war Europe.
My first involvement with the subject was in my university degree with Professor Giallouridis. When I suggested the subject he looked at me meaningfully and said: “We will have to swim In difficult waters but let’s do it”
And that’s where the study started, the collection of data, the pieces of the puzzle that were missing.
How is it possible for a human mind to conceive of something so satanic?
After so many years in the world of moving images, I felt like the Duty knocked on my artistic door.
The story had to be heard. People’s stories.
And It all started in November 2017, the first interview was that of Ioannis Stoupakis.
A lot has happened since then. A so called “coup d’ etat”, dozens of difficulties, insurmountable obstacles, the coronavirus but not for a moment did we think to give up. Our duty has been, for the whole world, to learn about the Greeks of Constantinople.
And if we succeed in this, we may then say that we have fulfilled our duty to the Nation and have helped restored the historical truth.
Synopsis
“The UnLost Homeland” follows the story of 12 Greeks from Constantinople who lived through the Istanbul pogrom of 1955 in Turkey.
It is notorious in modern history as the only pogrom of such magnitude to have taken place during peacetime. The camera lens together with the presenter transports us to the stories of all the refugees who were forced to leave their country as well as of one Turk, philosopher, writer and University Professor Cengiz Aktar who is in self-exile. These are the stories of everyday people who were brutally uprooted.
How did Turkey manage to eradicate all these minorities? What truly happened in these genocides that have been so masterfully silenced?
Who were the Greeks of Istanbul really? How did they continue the Byzantine legacy? How did they manage to keep intact their language, their religion and their identity for 500 years after the fall of Constantinople?
How did they interact with the other minorities (Armenians / Jews) of the city? Where were they on the night of the pogrom? What was their education, their relationship with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, their everyday life, their cuisine?
The story of this elite society unfolds through these rare interviews.
Utilising fast-paced montage, and innovative animated text on screen, the viewer is transported to an imaginary table, where everyone is sitting together without knowing each other, answering and complementing each other. In the end. It feels as if everybody is somehow related to one another. Through common memories and mutual pain these people are united by a unique and universal bond.
One of these Greeks returns home after 46 years with his grandson. Is his house still there? How does it feel to return to his birthplace?
What is really left? Is this the end?
Because in the end history is not just the cold facts; it is comprised of the stories and trials of the people who wrote history.
Crew Credits
Creative Director, Producer, Presenter: Eftychia Fragou
Original Score: Evanthia Reboutsika
Editor – Post Production Supervisor: Christina Vamvaka
Motion designers: Giorgos Eleftheroglou, Froso Papadimitriou
DOP – Camera: Stamos Birsim, Yorgos Demir, George Chinas
Colour Correction: Ioannis Kotoulas
Sound design & mixing: George Simatos @ Paraktio studio
Music Recording – mixing: Stathis Skouropoulos
Additional filmings – Camera: Ioannis Kotoulas, Theofanis Gkountinakis
Archive Research: Eftychia Fragou, Christina Vamvaka
Poster Designer: Dimitris Mitsianis
Hand drawn maps: Rodrigo Pires
Hand drawn titles: Joe Furlong
Greek subtitling: Stefanos Psaromiligas – TXR
English subtitling: Nathan Protopapas – TXR
Location Manager: Kosta Puskuloglu
Transcripts: Ariadni Sarantari
Interviewees
Giannis Demirtzoglou, Emilios Eden, +Anastasia Eden , Stavros Kaloumenos, Eleni Nioti, Giannis Ntokmetzioglou, Panagiotis Pantelidis, Marina Papaconstantinou, Andonis Parizianos, +Thomas Poulas, Konstantinos Portokalidis, Vassilis Sidiropoulos, +Ioannis Stoupakis, Nikolas Tsironis, Cengiz Aktar, and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and New Rome, Bartholomew
Festivals and awards
| Country | Festival | Award |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Balkan New Film Festival | Award winner – Special Prize |
| Vancouver, Canada | Vancouver Independent Film Festival | Finalist |
| Tokyo, Japan | Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival | Official Selection |
| Los Angeles, USA | Los Angeles Greek Film Festival | Audience Award Best Documentary Film |
| Paris, France | Paris Play Festival | Finalist |
| San Francisco, USA | San Francisco Greek Film Festival | Official Selection |
| Montreal, Canada | Montreal Independent Film Festival | Official Selection |
| Amsterdam, Netherland | New Vision International Film Awards | Official Selection |
| Calcutta, India | Cult Critic Movie Awards | Award winner |
| Rome, Italy | Rome Independent Prisma Awards | Finalist |
| Rome, Italy | Rome International Movie Awards | Award Winner Best Feature Documentary Best First time Director Best Original Score Best Editing Best Poster |
| Sweden | Sweden Film Awards | Winner – Best First Documentary |
| London, Great Britain | Falcon International Film Festival | Award Winner |
| London, Great Britain | London Greek Film Festival | Honorable Mention |
| Vienna, Austria | Vienna Indie Short film Festival | Semi Finalist |
| Toronto, Canada | Toronto International Women Film Festival | Official Selection |
| Thessaloniki, Greece | Thessaloniki Documentary Festival | Official Selection |
| Cannes, France | Cannes Indies Cinema Awards | Award Winner – Best Composer |
| Los Angeles, USA | LA Independent Film Channel Festival | Official Selection |
| Madrid, Spain | Madrid Arthouse Film Festival | Semi Finalist |
| Tokyo, Japan | Tokyo Shorts Film Festival | Nominee |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Indie Film Festival | Semi Finalist |
| New York, USA | New York International Women Festival | Award Winner- Best producer |
| Peloponnese, Greece | Bridges International Film Festival | Award Winner (Best female director award and Audience Feature Film award) |
| Ierapetra, Crete, Greece | International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra | Audience Award Best Documentary Film |
| Patmos, Greece | Patmos Cinema Festival | Official Selection |
| Los Angeles, USA | LA Indies | Award Winner- Best Director |
| Perast, Montenegro | Forteca International Film Festival | Official Selection |
| Toronto, Canada | Greek International Film Festival of Toronto | Official Selection |
| Toronto, Canada | International Migration & Enviromental Film Festival | Honorable Mention |
| Rosanna, Australia | ByzanFest | Nominee for Best Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Film |
| Nigeria | Adamawa Film Festival | Semi-Finalist |
| Athens, Greece | Athens International Monthly Film Festival | Best Documentary Award |
| Nicosia, Cyprus | Cyprus International Film Festival | Award Winner |
| Halkida, Greece | Greek Documentary Festival- Docfest | Official Selection |
| London, UK | London Lift-Off Film Festival | Official Selection |
| Nazareth, Israel | Near Nazareth Festival | Finalist |
| London, UK | Lift-off Global Network | Finalist |
| Kampala, Uganda | Pearl International Film Festival | Nominee for Best International Movie |
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