Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 2012
Directed by
Maria Ilioú
Made by
Graal
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 Plot Summary
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After four years of meticulous research, the director and curator, Maria Iliou, teams up with historical consultant Alexandros Kitroev to present Smyrna through a rich tapestry of previously unseen visual materials drawn from archives across the United States and Europe. Building on their earlier project, The Journey, which debuted at the Benaki Museum in 2007, this documentary and its accompanying exhibition offer a carefully composed look at a cosmopolitan city that once buzzed with life, now preserved through careful curation and fresh perspectives.
The project also features insights from Leyla Neyzi, Eleni Bastea, Giles Milton, Jack Nalbantian, Viktoria Solomonidou, and Thanos Veremis as themselves, lending a multiplicity of voices to the story this film seeks to tell.
What emerges is a history told with balance: historians from the US and Europe lay out the big picture, while first, second and third generation Smyrniots share intimate, personal narratives. Three of these voices recount family stories from Greek, Armenian and Turkish perspectives, tracing Smyrna’s arc from cosmopolitan grandeur to catastrophe, without collapsing into simplistic or one-sided interpretations.
To bring the material to life, editor Aliki Panagi weaves sounds from the period into the film’s soundscape, while musician Nikos Platyrachos composes original music that draws on traditional Smyrna songs and the era’s popular tunes. The result is a listening experience that mirrors the visual archive—vivid, historically grounded, and emotionally resonant.
The archival materials were collected and preserved by the not-for-profit PROTEUS, with sponsorship from the Bodossakis Foundation, ensuring the preservation of these rare images for future study and appreciation. The project also preserves a rare film by Robert Davidian, discovered in Los Angeles and preserved by Colorlab in Washington DC, highlighting the collaborative effort behind bringing Smyrna’s hidden history back into view.
Together, these elements create a documentary and photographic exhibition that refuses to let Smyrna fade from memory. It honors the city’s cosmopolitan spirit, acknowledges the disaster that ended that era, and reinforces the discipline of history by presenting a nuanced, evidence-based narrative. Through voices, visuals, and sound, Smyrna endures as an idea of vitality, resilience, and memory that continues to inspire discussion long after the screen fades.
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 Timeline
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Research and archival gathering
Director Maria Iliou and historical consultant Alexander Kitroeff undertake four years of research to reconstruct Smyrna's story. They draw on unseen visual materials from archives in the United States and Europe to illuminate perspectives that have been overlooked. The team frames their documentary as a careful archival project that respects multiple viewpoints.
Unseen Smyrna visuals revealed
The film presents previously unknown images of Smyrna, offering glimpses of the city before its destruction. These visuals help viewers understand the cosmopolitan life and daily realities of Smyrna's diverse communities. The discovery of these materials expands the historical record beyond well-known narratives.
A balanced historical stance
Iliou and Kitroeff pursue a perspective that stays distant from nationalist amplification and from efforts to hide uncomfortable truths. The project emphasizes disciplined history and critical engagement with sources. This approach allows the archive to speak with more nuance about a tumultuous period.
Smyrna's destruction in 1922
The documentary situates Smyrna's cosmopolitan cityscape within the catastrophe of 1922. It documents the moment of destruction and its enduring impact on communities who once lived there. The event is presented not just as an end, but as a turning point in regional history.
A 90-year tribute
Ninety years after the disaster, the film and its accompanying exhibition pay tribute to the world that was lost. The tribute also honors the ongoing discipline of history, with scholars guiding interpretation and remembrance. It frames memory as an active, living practice.
Historians provide the macro view
Historians from the United States and Europe offer the big-picture context that surrounds Smyrna's crisis. Their analysis helps place local narratives within broader geopolitical and social currents. This global perspective anchors personal stories within a wider historical framework.
First-, second-, and third-generation Smyrniots share stories
The documentary weaves in personal testimonies from Smyrniot families across generations. These voices bridge memories of cosmopolitan life with the experiences of displacement and diaspora. They bring intimacy to the historical account while highlighting diverse backgrounds.
Greek, Armenian and Turkish perspectives
Three family stories are presented from Greek, Armenian, and Turkish viewpoints. They trace the arc from cosmopolitan happiness to the catastrophe, revealing how communities experienced the same events through different lenses. The collection of perspectives helps resist a single-sided narration.
Period-sound soundscape
Editor Aliki Panagi incorporated sounds from Smyrna's era to bring events to life. The soundscape helps situate viewers in the historical moment and adds emotional depth to the archival images. It connects the audience with the atmosphere of early 20th-century Smyrna.
Original score rooted in Smyrna
Composer Nikos Platyrachos created original music drawing on Smyrna songs and era hits. The score reinforces the film's sense of time and place, pairing musical memory with archival visuals. It enriches the audience's experience of the documentary's atmosphere.
Archival preservation by PROTEUS
The archival materials were collected and preserved by the not-for-profit organization PROTEUS, with sponsorship from the Bodossakis Foundation. This collaboration safeguards fragile images and footage for future study and exhibition. The partnership highlights the importance of archival stewardship.
Rare Smyrna film: discovery and preservation
A rare film by Robert Davidian was found in Los Angeles and later preserved by Colorlab in Washington, DC. The discovery adds a crucial visual record to Smyrna's history and demonstrates the role of archival recovery in documentary filmmaking. The preservation ensures this material remains accessible for researchers and audiences alike.
Earlier project: The Journey at Benaki Museum
The director and curator previously presented The Journey at the Benaki Museum in 2007, demonstrating a track record in sharing Smyrna-related stories. This prior work laid the groundwork for the current documentary approach. It reflects a sustained commitment to commemorating cosmopolitan Smyrna and its legacy.
Smyrna as living idea
Even after its destruction, Smyrna persists as an idea tied to cosmopolitanism, joie de vivre, and disaster. The documentary suggests that memory and scholarship keep Smyrna alive in the present. This framing invites ongoing reflection on the city's multifaceted history.
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 Characters
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Leyla Neyzi
An anthropologist and historian appearing as herself, Leyla Neyzi helps frame the film’s approach to memory and history. She emphasizes presenting multiple voices from Smyrna’s Greek, Armenian and Turkish communities and grounds the project in careful historiography. Her commentary anchors the narrative by connecting archival material with personal recollection, illustrating how memory shapes our understanding of cosmopolitanism and disaster.
Eleni Bastea
As Self, Eleni Bastea offers the Greek perspective on Smyrna’s cosmopolitan culture and its collapse. Her testimony complements scholars' analysis by sharing family memories and lived experience.
Giles Milton
A Self, British historian, he provides the big-picture historical framing of Smyrna’s cosmopolitan era. He contextualizes the interplay of empire, migration and violence that culminated in 1922.
Jack Nalbantian
Self; Armenian heritage; shares family memories of Smyrna’s Armenian community and its diaspora. His testimony helps illuminate how the Armenian community experienced the events differently from others.
Alexandros Kitroev
Self; historian and consultant who frames the narrative within Smyrna’s broader history. He discusses how the documentary balances archival material with personal testimony to avoid nationalist bias.
Viktoria Solomonidou
Self; Smyrna descendant; offers personal memory of the city and its communities, adding a down-to-earth perspective. Her contribution highlights how memory and lineage shape the public archive.
Thanos Veremis
Self; Greek historian who provides scholarly framing to Smyrna’s cosmopolitan past. He situates the documentary within the broader discourse on memory and identity formation.
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 Settings
Learn where and when Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 (2012) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.
Time period
1900-1922
The narrative tracks Smyrna from the turn of the century through its destruction in 1922. This period spans the late Ottoman era and the upheavals that culminated in catastrophe. The sequence of events is presented through archival footage and testimonies that anchor the historical narrative.
Location
Smyrna, İzmir
Set in the historic port city of Smyrna, known for its diverse Greek, Armenian and Turkish communities. The documentary uses rare archival materials and period sounds to evoke the city’s cosmopolitan life. It frames Smyrna as a symbol of urban multiculturalism that was destroyed in 1922. The project presents memory and history as intertwined, keeping the focus on what was lost and what endures.
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 Themes
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Cosmopolitanism
The film foregrounds Smyrna as a cosmopolitan hub where Greek, Armenian and Turkish communities intersected. Through archival imagery and personal accounts, it highlights the city’s joie de vivre and cultural exchange. The narrative consciously avoids nationalist bias, offering multiple perspectives on a shared urban life. The idea of cosmopolitanism persists even as the city is shown at the moment of destruction.
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Memory & History
Memory is built through voices of first-, second- and third-generation Smyrniots. Scholarly narration provides the big picture, while personal testimonies give intimate detail. The film emphasizes the discipline of history and the importance of archival preservation.
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Archive & Narrative
The documentary relies on archival materials from US and European archives to reconstruct events. Editors balance visuals with sounds from the period to animate the story. The approach seeks to honor both historical accuracy and lived memory.
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 Spoiler-Free Summary
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In a film that unfolds like a living museum, rare photographs rescued from American and European archives are woven together to recreate the bustling, multicultural streets of early‑twentieth‑century Smyrna. The images—once hidden in private collections—reveal a city alive with commerce, music, and a mélange of cultures, hinting at the vibrancy that once defined its daily rhythm. The visual palette is tempered by a soundscape of period recordings, allowing the audience to hear the clatter of horse‑drawn carriages, the call to prayer, and the laughter of cafés, all while a contemporary score composed from forgotten songs underscores the lingering echo of a lost world.
The project is guided by Maria Iliou, whose four years of research have turned her into both director and curator, and by Alexander Kitroeff, the historical consultant who first brought Smyrna’s story to the public eye through earlier museum work. Together they steer a careful balance: they keep distance from overt nationalism while also resisting recent attempts to obscure the tragedy, choosing instead to let the photographs speak for themselves. Their approach is anchored by scholars from the United States and Europe who frame the broader picture, while personal testimonies from three Smyrniot descendants—representing Greek, Armenian, and Turkish perspectives—offer intimate glimpses into ordinary lives before the cataclysm.
Through this delicate choreography of image, sound, and testimony, the documentary becomes a tribute not only to the city that vanished in 1922 but also to the discipline of history itself. It invites viewers to wander through the streets of a once‑cosmopolitan hub, feeling the joie de vivre that persisted amid impending disaster, and to contemplate how memory and archive can keep a vanished world resonant in the present.
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