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In October 2017, a highly anticipated documentary called Life Will Smile was released. This piece, filmed on the island of Zakynthos, was a brave documentary about the life of the islands Jewish population during WW2.
The story of the Zakynthian Jews during the Second World War, has become a well known tale that originally was relatively unknown by visitors to Zakynthos. It talks of the bravery of Bishop Chrysostomos and Mayor Karrer, who both heroically put their own lives on the line by hiding all 275 Jewish Zakynthian souls, and producing a list of Jewish Zakynthian residents for the Germans containing only two names on the list; their own.
The documentary of Life Will Smile has been shown at special viewings, worldwide but unfortunately many who wanted to watch it have been unable to. Now, this Easter 2020, the production company behind the documentary have put the film up on Vimeo, for a short period of time, to allow as many people to see it as possible.
We at Zakynthos Informer would like to once again congratulate the team on this incredible documentary. Haim Konstantine, who features in the film, is incredibly engaging and brings to life the reality of what happened at the time. What he tells us, in his own words, is not a work of fiction but the reality of life during the war, living with the enemy at the time and what it was like to go into hiding with his family, in order to be able to survive in the future. Cut in with Haim’s words are wonderful images of the island, depicting that described life, as well as a timeline setting out major points during the war, that ties it all together, along with images and footage from the war itself.
This documentary of Life Will Smile is hard hitting, honest and very thought provoking. It’s worth every second of viewing and deserves to be watched by everyone, so they can learn the facts of Haim, his family and fellow Jewish residents, during the Second World War. This is probably one of the most important historical documentary’s of recent times and deserves its own place not only in Zakynthian history but throughout the world.
Click to watch in Greek with English subtitles
Click to watch in Greek with Hebrew subtitles
The documentary will be available to watch online until Monday 13th April 2020.
