Theofanis Orfanos at Geislingen.
UPDATED, Oct. 2: The Robbins library was the host fir filmmaker Emilio Guido for a screening of his film, “Laugh Now: A Perspective on Life, Liberty and the Holocaust,” set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2.
An estimated 85 people, a number of them relatives of the film’s subject, attended.
The film features Arlington resident Theofanis Orfanos, whose childhood was disrupted by the Nazi invasion of Greece in 1940. The 15-year-old joined his country in resistance and was captured by Nazi forces.
Guido is excited to screen the filem in the Robbins Library, where he filmed interviews with Orfanos. Screening the film here gives Orfanos a chance to share his story in the neighborhood he has lived in and contributed to for decades.
Like many other World War II survivors, Orfanos shares his story of hope and determination in the face of oppression for all those willing to listen.
For 18 months, he was subjected to spirit-crushing conditions in a forced-labor camp in Geislingen an der steige, Germany until he was able to make a daring escape. He returned to Greece to find that the people he fought with a year earlier had turned against each other, resulting in civil war that fractured the country.
After 10 years, Orfanos moved to America and settled in Arlington, where he now lives with his wife and children.
Director Guido fell in love with movies as a distraction from life. He studies film at Northeastern University, where he has written, directed and produced two short films: Echoes of What Used to Be and Catch Your Breath.
He met Orfanos nearly a year ago, and after learning about his harrowing journey and the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, Emilio knew he needed to help share Theofanis’s story with the world.
For more information on this event, contact library director Andrea Nicolay at 781-316-3201.
This news announcement was published Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 and updated Oct. 2.
