Chrysovalantis Stamelos grew up hearing about Smyrna and Asia Minor. Eventually, the stories became a journey: he moved to Izmir, seeking the places and connections his family had left behind.
His documentary Hello Anatolia followed that search. It brought family memory into conversation with people living there in the present, exploring ancestry through neighborhoods, language and the relationships he formed.
The Greek America Foundation helped gather support for the project, launching a grassroots campaign that raised more than $6,400. Contributors from different backgrounds joined an effort to make one filmmaker’s personal search available to a wider audience.
The resulting film offers viewers something many descendants of immigrants recognize: the desire to know a place first encountered through someone else’s memories. By supporting the work, our community helped turn that private longing into a shared encounter, opening space for understanding across histories often marked by separation.