GIFFT FEATURE: OPERATION STAR

Written by; Emorphia Margaritis
With great care and a humanin approach, Vasilis Tsikaras, most recognised for his trilogy films on the Greek Revolutions of 1821, has written and directed another successfully captivating historical war film, ‘Operation Star’.
Having won more than 30 awards at multiple international film festivals, ‘Operation Star’, is a film that gently intertwines truth with imagination in a story that takes place in and around the village of Eleftherochori in Pella, Greece during World War 2.
The story begins in 1943, with Greece being under German occupation. Captain Hans Schmeichel and his soldiers are relentlessly hunting down Major Vasilis Kostakis and Sergeant Pavlos Linos, the only two survivors on the run after the failure of Operation Star. When a woman named Anthi encounters the two men, she helps hide them in her village. The Germans quickly invade and begin the atrocities. Meanwhile a group of men led by Brigadier general name Naoum, portrayed in the film by Vasilis Tsikaras, wait in the crossfire to be informed about the outcome of Operation Star.
When embarking on the journey of creating this film, Vasili wanted to honor the region, as well as, the people of Pella by telling a story which lives within Greek history yet remains unheard of. His love for history pushes him to seek out unknown truths that are hidden within his home country, those are the type of stories he gravitates towards.
What’s the significance of watching films about the past? Vasilis replied by stating its relevance; ‘This story pushes us to revisit something that hurt us globally, W.W.2’, he continues to say that when revisiting this tragic reality of the past, it forces us to reflect, empathize and therefore gain wisdom from such events for sake of having a better tomorrow.
Vasilis opened up about the magnitude of having these types of stories on film; ‘A lot of people nowadays are trying to find their identity, just go back to your history.’ He continues to elaborate on this by explaining that through digitizing Greek history in a cinematic way it ensures that these stories stay accessible for each generation and can therefore be passed down, securing their importance throughout time.
Vasili uses a metaphor to express what his identity means to him: It's like being in a relay race, your responsibility is to be ready to take that baton, run the distance that's meant for you before slowing down and passing the baton to the next runner. Meaning, when you're searching for a better understanding of who you are, that self-discovery comes with an acknowledgment of your past followed by the responsibility to hand it down to the next generation. By attending films which show you a part of your history, it helps deepen your understanding of who you are today.
Even though Operation Star takes us back to a painful time in history, it still manages to leave the audience with a message of love for liberty and your fellow human, love for your country, and the significance of self-sacrifice, ‘which is the ultimate act of heroism’ as stated by Vasili.
‘Operation Star’ will be screened at the Greek International Film Festival Tour of Canada. To find out more about the film visit: www.gifft.ca. To find out more about the creator of the film visit:
www.tsikaras.com.

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