A new short film titled Georgia is bringing renewed attention to Greece’s hidden adoption scandal, one that remained largely unspoken of for decades.
Created by Greek American and veteran producer James P. Axiotis, the project revisits the postwar era when thousands of children, many born to unmarried mothers, were sent abroad through overseas adoption channels shaped by secrecy, pressure, and unanswered questions.
For many families, the adoption process offered little transparency, leaving behind a painful lack of records, closure, and contact. Through a tightly focused courtroom story set in 1960s Athens, Georgia transforms this forgotten history into a deeply human narrative—built not only from research but from lived experience.
Personal link to Greece’s adoption scandal
Georgia is a fifteen to twenty minute narrative short film being developed by James P. Axiotis, a Greek-born adoptee and long-time film and television producer. His connection to the story is not academic or distant. Rather, it is personal.
Axiotis was born in Athens in 1963 to a young, unmarried mother named Georgia. He was later adopted by an American couple, an outcome that reflected the experiences of many families of the era, when social stigma and institutional pressure often made motherhood nearly impossible for women raising children alone.
What stuck with him over the years was not only the adoption itself but the memories: his mother standing in court, surrendering her child in circumstances that offered little space for real choice. That moment, and all that it represents, now forms the emotional foundation of Georgia.
A courtroom, a mother, and one final request
Set in 1960s Athens, the film follows a young single mother whose newborn son is placed into state custody. Sixteen months later, she returns to the courtroom—not to reverse what has happened, but to request something smaller, more human, and final.
She seeks one last chance to hold her child—a moment of closure before he is handed over to American parents through the overseas adoption system of the time.
Rather than presenting a broad historical overview shaped by statistics or politics, Georgia remains close to the intimacy of a single decision and its irreversible consequences. It is a story of motherhood under pressure, grief carried in silence, and the lifelong impact of an identity shaped by separation.
More than a period drama
Axiotis approaches the project not only as a personal reckoning but also as a response to decades of cultural silence. For the producer, the legacy of these adoptions extends beyond the children sent abroad. It encompasses the mothers left behind, the families who never received answers, and the communities shaped by a loss that was rarely acknowledged publicly.
In this sense, Georgia is an effort to give voice to a chapter of Greek history that many adoptees and birth families have carried privately—often with incomplete records and unresolved questions.
The first narrative film to spotlight this adoption chapter
According to the filmmakers, Georgia is set to become the first narrative short film to dramatize this particular era of government-facilitated overseas adoptions involving children of unwed mothers.
The film is also the inaugural narrative project from Legitimate Son, Axiotis’ production banner focused on stories of identity, belonging, and the overlooked moments that define people’s lives.
Cast, creative team, and production plans
The film’s lead role will be played by acclaimed Greek actor Ifigeneia Tzola, portraying Georgia. Behind the camera, the team includes Academy Award–winning cinematographer Michael Paleodimos, who serves as Director of Photography and Co-Producer. Producing credits include James P. Axiotis, Mark Foligno, and Michael Paleodimos.
Currently in pre-production, Georgia is scheduled to shoot on location in Athens in February 2026. Post-production is planned for March 2026, followed by an international festival run. The team is targeting BAFTA-qualifying and Academy Award–qualifying festivals throughout the 2025–2026 season, positioning the project for global visibility.
The global impact of Greece’s adoption scandal
Although Georgia is a short, the story it tells carries decades of emotional weight and international relevance. The film speaks directly to adoptees raised far from their birthplace, to families who never stopped searching, and to those shaped by policies that erased personal history in the name of social order.
At its center is a question that still echoes across generations: what happens when a society decides who is “fit” to raise a child, and what does it cost when those decisions are made quietly without accountability or consent? For some, Georgia may not feel like a historical film but more like a missing page finally restored.
