Anna Ellinas
Interviewer(s):
Theo Xenophontos
Project:
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Toronto, ON
LANGUAGE:
English
DATE:
July 30, 2022

Interview Summary:

Anna Ellinas was born in Toronto, Canada in 1976. Her parents migrated to Canada following the Turkish invasion of 1974. Anna is a former General Secretary for the Cypriot Federation of Canada and was a prominent member of the Cypriot dance group from the 1990s through early 2000s.

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Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
July 30, 2022
Toronto, ON
Interviewee(s)
Anna Ellinas
Interviewer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Languages
English
Reference ID
FAMREF007
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Working Life
Education
Historical Events
Migration
Rites
Tags
Australia
Baptism
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.
Cypriot Federation Of Canada
Cyprus 1974
Dance
English Learning
Greek Community of Toronto Inc.
Greek School
Language
Marriage
Military Service
Music
NEPOMAK Canada
Parades
POMAK
Post-1974 Migration
Pre-1974 Migration
PSEKA
Religion
Soccer
Sponsorship
Traditions
UK
USA
Decades Referenced
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Kyperounda (Limassol District); Kyperounda Regional Hospital (formely Kyperounda Sanatorium); Agia Marina Church (Kyperounda); Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite's Rock); Limassol; Paphos; Larnaca; Kyrenia; Kyrenia Harbour; Agios Epiktitos (Kyrenia District); Northern Cyprus; Canada; Cypriot Community Centre (Throncliffe); Toronto; Parkway Mall; Alice Crescent; Scarborough; Terraview-Willowfield Public School; Willowdale; Canada's Wonderland; Kitchener; Niagara Falls; Greece; Thessaloniki; Lyssarea; Egypt; Australia; The United States of America; The United Kingdom
Occupation(s)
She was the General Secretary for the Cypriot Federation of Canada. She also helped to establish NEPOMAK Canada and was involved with various Cypriot community initiatives, as well as being a prominent member of the Cypriot dance group in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Parents Occupation(s)
Her father was in the Cypriot military before he came to Canada. When he moved back to Cyprus after retiring, he wrote a book of poetry that was locally published in his native village of Kyperounda.
Names Referenced
Christine Amygdalidis (President of the Cypriot Federation of Canada); Theodoros Xenophontos; Helen Power (née Xenophontos); George Patinios

[00:00:07] Biographical and familial background

[00:04:10] Her parents coming to Canada because of 1974

[00:06:35] Discussing her father’s poetry

[00:10:50] Moving from Greek school to Cypriot Greek school

[00:14:17] The Cypriot dance group and NEPOMAK Canada

[00:19:32] How the diaspora and those in Cyprus differ

[00:21:24] The push & pull between tradition & modernity

[00:25:52] Differences between Cypriot and Greek language

[00:30:15] Differences in assimilation pre and post-1974

[00:35:19] How family acts as a link to culture

[00:42:12] Communication with family in Cyprus

[00:46:31] The expansion of Kyperounda

[00:49:54] Various uses of audiovisual media

[00:59:20] Hopes for her children & the Cypriot community

[01:02:33] Photo of her in the Cypriot dance group

[01:03:33] Photo with Cypriots from the UK & Australia

[01:05:58] Photo with the Cypriot Federation of Canada

[01:07:49] Photos of her in Cyprus

[01:12:59] Photo of her yiayia at Canada’s Wonderland

[01:14:24] Photos and videos of her daughters

[01:17:55] Photos and videos of her 2013 trip to Cyprus

[01:25:53] Photo of a cousin visiting from Cyprus

[01:27:24] Assorted Photos

[01:30:08] Collecting rocks from Cyprus as a reminder

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