The Journey: The Greek American Dream

This documentary and the accompanying exhibition of photographs for which I was the historical advisor, was produced by Proteas, a non-profit archive preservation organization, and directed by Maria Iliou who won awards as the director and scriptwriter of the film Alexandria (2001, 105 mins.) at the Thessaloniki and the Houston Film Festivals in 2002.

The historical narrative around which the documentary is based is designed to offer an overview of the Greek immigrant experience in the United States that is accessible to a broader audience but is also academically rigorous. It stays away from simplistic explanations that explain the history of Greek America as a collective attainment of the American Dream or as a confirmation of the genius of the Greeks. The narrative also seeks to balance between showing the extent of the assimilation of the Greeks into American society and the ways in which they retained their ethnicity. This approach grows out of the research and writing on the Greek American experience I am currently engaged in.

The Journey: The Greek American Dream was made possible thanks to the generosity of the following: Jaharis family, Lucy Foundation, Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation, J.F. Costopoulos Foundation, Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, Catsimatides Foundation, National Bank of Greece, Hellenic Parliament Television.

The documentary (which will appear in dvd form in late 2007) was screened in Athens at the Benaki Museum and the Hellenic American Union in January – February 2007 when the exhibition was on display at the Benaki Museum. It will be screened for the first time in the United States at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City in May 2007.

The Athens and the Greek American press greeted the documentary and the exhibition with universal acclaim. For links to English language reviews go to:

Kathimerini (English Edition)

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=79277

Athens News

http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13219&m=A29&aa=1&eidos=S

English Language National Herald (NY) click here