A Greek-American Searching for His Roots in Turkey

Chrysovalantis Stamelos is a young Greek-American filmmaker living in Turkey for the last year. Valantis, as his friends call him, grew up listening to legendary stories of his great grandparents; Greeks of the Ottoman Empire. They lived in Smyrna, one of the most beautifully rich and artistic cities of the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is what initially intrigued him to start searching for his roots.

As a Greek-American, he returned to Izmir to establish a new life in order to connect with the life and culture there, as well as connect with the historic Greek community known as the “Rumlar”.

As a filmmaker, he quickly came up with the idea to capture the rare and inspirational journey of settling down and traveling through one of the most historically rich areas in the entire world, seeking out the remnants of Turkey’s Greek communities, as well as his family history which derives from Izmir. Watch the trailer below.

He started a kickstarter campaign and then… an unexpected email from the Greek America Foundation informed him that the organization would cover the initial budget for the documentary, and become the film’s executive producer.

“We will explore Turkey today; its neighborhoods, people, food, nightlife, and whatever else comes our way…” Chrysovalantis adds via a Skype video call from Izmir, Turkey.

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“Such a task has never been done before, and with a global audience as my reach, the documentary will be shot and produced in English.”

Once filming is wrapped, the documentary will be edited and submitted to film festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Greece and Turkey.