‘Of Heroes and Villains’: Kalavryta Holocaust and Hitler’s Banning of Comic Books on the Big Screen

Until recently the subject of the banning of comic books in Nazi Germany was very rarely discussed.
However, a film production company called TerraMagma Pictures LLC based in Burbank, California and founded by Greeks Dimitrios Katsantonis and Steven Priovolos, is setting out to tell this important and little-known part of history through the film Of Heroes and Villains set to commence with principal photography in the fall of 2016 in Greece and Bulgaria.
Of Heroes and Villains integrates facts from true events such as the Massacre of Kalavryta, also known as the Holocaust of Kalavryta, which took place at the hands of German occupying forces during World War II, on December 13, 1943.
Also Hitler’s burning and banning of comic books is a historical fact, while at the same time the “American comic books provide the fantasy” in the film, Katsantonis told GreekReporter.

Directed by Konstantinos Mousoulis and written by Dimitrios Katsantonis with Steven Priovolos as Director of Photography, Of Heroes and Villains tells the story of two children, a young boy named Kostas and his little sister, Alexandra, trying to find their way to Athens to find their last surviving relative after being orphaned following the Kalavryta massacre.
Along their journey they meet a teenage German deserter, Johann, who is a sketch artist and has a passion for comics. Johann carries a comic book along with him of which he saved from destruction from the Nazi regime. The comic book becomes a source of energy and courage for the group as they confront the realities and devastation of war as the trio’s perilous adventure parallels much to that of comic book’s themes dealing with super heroes and arch-villains. Also, the bond of the trio evolves into that of a comic book’s tale of a super alliance.

The film’s description on TerraMagma Pictures website reiterates Of Heroes and Villains constant theme that “super heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.”
You can expect to see Katsantonis releasing two other Greek-centric film projects incorporating Greek culture, history and fantasy in the near future.
He is currently working on “Deus Ex Aeon,” a big screen adaptation of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey that is set in a futuristic time where artificial intelligence exists in a post-WWIII atmosphere. The other project, “Lamda” is a science fiction saga that explores the true origin of the stories revolving around the famous 300 of Thermopylae.
For more information about Of Heroes and Villains check out: http://www.terramagmapictures.com/