PBS Cyprus Documentary Town Hall Screenings Held in Detroit, Boston Suburbs

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) series of “Town Hall Screenings” of the one-hour documentary “Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure” continued with events held in Plymouth, Mich., May 6, 2012 and Brookline, Mass., May 9, 2012.

In Plymouth, the Town Hall Screening was held at the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church. AHI hosted the event in cooperation with the American Hellenic Congress and the American Cyprus Association of Michigan. AHI President Nick Larigakis led the discussion, which was moderated by Maria Psilis, chairperson, American Hellenic Congress. Psilas, a chief organizer of the event, is the niece of Andrew Kassapis, a 17-year-old American citizen who was in Cyprus during the summer of 1974 and went missing for 24 years before his remains were discovered in Cyprus in 1998.

“We deeply appreciated the assistance of Maria Psilis who helped to make the event a tremendous success,” said Larigakis. “She is deeply passionate about seeking justice for Cyprus, and I am confident her uncle would be very proud of her efforts here today.”

A host of organizations and individuals also contributed to screening’s success in Plymouth, including: Pan-Macedonian Association of Michigan, Nativity of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, Peter and Litsa Drossos, Dr. Demetri and Irmgard Pallas, Dr. Demetrios and Dina Demetriou, Fay, Paul and Melina Mili; Costas and Eleni Kassapis, Andy and Irene Psilis, Fr. James Stathakios, Fr. Michael Varlamos, Angie Pallas, and Kosta and Cathy Kyriakou. More than 100 persons attended the screening.

The venue for the Brookline screening was the Maliotis Cultural Center at Hellenic College. The event was held in cooperation with AHEPA Athens Chapter 24, Boston and Sons of Pericles Hub Chapter 27. A discussion about the documentary and the Cyprus issue featuring AHI President Nick Larigakis followed. AHI is grateful for the contributions of Mr. Peter Vergados, who organized the event and moderated the discussion.  Also in attendance were: Ilias Fotopoulos, consul general of Greece; Dr. Lee Tamis, executive director, Maliotis Center; Demetrios G. Vidalis, president, AHEPA Athens Chapter 24; and Jason Vergados, president, Sons of Pericles Hub Chapter 27.

“The documentary sheds light and scrutinizes U.S. foreign policy toward Cyprus surrounding the 1974 Turkish invasion,” said AHI President Larigakis. “We are deeply grateful to the outstanding support provided by the Greek American communities of Plymouth and Brookline. It was a pleasure to work in cooperation with them, and we thank the individuals who attended and expressed a commitment to raising awareness about the Cyprus issue in the community. Our goal is to encourage communities to urge their PBS affiliates to air the documentary.”

The documentary has aired on Maryland Public Television (October 17, 2011) and Detroit Public Television (September 13, 2010). The documentary was made possible by the support of the American Hellenic Institute Foundation.

To view a preview of the documentary on YouTube, please click here.

The screenings in Hollywood, Fla., San Diego and Seattle bring the total number of cities across North America in which the documentary has been viewed to 19.  AHI previously hosted “Town Hall Screenings” at Clearwater, Fla., New York City, Ohio, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento; and Portland, Ore., and Phoenix, Mexico City, Mexico, New Jersey, Chicago and St. Louis, Norfolk, Va, northern Virginia, Miami, Atlantic City, and Seattle, San Diego and Hollywood, Fla. Please visit www.ahiworld.org calendar for updates on future screenings.

The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

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For additional information, please contact Demetra Atsaloglou at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org.