It is a little known fact that there were thriving Jewish communities in Greece prior to World War II.
The Romaniote communities have been in Greece since the fall of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the Sephardim since the height of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492.
It is also a little known fact that 87 per cent of Greek Jews perished under the Nazi occupation of Greece in World War II.
Many Greeks risked their lives by hiding Jews or helping them escape deportation.
For the past 25 years, Melbourne based writer and the administrator for March of The Living Australia, Carol Gordon had a burning desire to tell the story of these communities and, through the movie Shira’s Journey she is now committed and compelled to get it done.
Through the multifaceted project – documentary, photographic exhibition by Emmanuel Santos and book – the relatively untold story of the Greek Jewish communities can finally be shared with the wider community.
Shira’s Journey is a road movie-with-a-difference involving three unlikely travelling companions: Shira, an ex-South African documentary filmmaker from Melbourne; Avram an octogenarian Greek Jewish Holocaust survivor, and his American grandson Jeremy, an idealistic lawyer from New York.
On their journey from Corfu to Ioannina, Athens, Volos, Thessaloniki and Rhodos, Avram becomes Shira’s guide and mentor, and as she learns about the history of the Greek Jews she uncovers her own hurdles to finding happiness, self-actualisation and self-belief.
Her journey through Greece facilitates her inner journey of growth and leads her to understand that she must change within herself in order to leave a destructive relationship.
Supported by the Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture, a crowdfunding campaign is now running to finalise the film.
To make a tax deductible donation, visit www.greekcommunity.com.au/gocmv_public/index.php/en/donate
For more information about Shira’s Journey, visit www.shirasjourney.com or www.facebook.com/FollowingShirasJourney