NIKARIA MOU
Director Spyros Teskos
Countries Greece
Duration 80 min
Synopsis
“Nikaria mou” is a documentary about the culture of the people who live on the Greek island of Ikaria.(propably the only island in the world where social and and economic life has nothing to do with the sea). The film attempts to explore how this culture was formed though the centuries and how it exists nowadays. The film focuses on the custom of the villagers of Ikaria which the locals call “Mnemosyno” (memorial ) and which is very characteristic of their culture . “ The mnemosyno is the culmination of love, solidarity and equality” says the main character in the film. On Easter Day the villagers share a meal based on the meat that mainly the farmers offer in memory of their deceased. The event in fact is a memorial (a “mnemosyno”) and it is one of the largest feasts of the island. How did this custom come to happen? Which needs helped it survive after so many centuries? Why does it still exist even though life has changed? The answer lies in the everyday life and the wisdom of the 3 main characters of the film who live and work on the island. It also lies in the analysis of their way of life and of the details related to the custom of the “mnemosyno”. Those details help us deepen into the culture and mentality of the people who live on Ikaria. To be more specific, the grocer of the village who is at the same time a beekeeper and a farmer, introduces us to the social history of the place and the people, and through his remarks and parallelisms he brings out the social structure of the island which is not based on social classes. What actually drives the development of the island’s society is solidarity and, by no means, charitable contribution. In the film, there isn’t a narrator. The islanders, themselves, unreel their lives piece by piece. The power of the image leads us deeper and reveals a model able to resists even the loudest sirens of contemporary reality.
“Nikaria mou” is a documentary about the culture of the people who live on the Greek island of Ikaria.(propably the only island in the world where social and and economic life has nothing to do with the sea). The film attempts to explore how this culture was formed though the centuries and how it exists nowadays. The film focuses on the custom of the villagers of Ikaria which the locals call “Mnemosyno” (memorial ) and which is very characteristic of their culture . “ The mnemosyno is the culmination of love, solidarity and equality” says the main character in the film. On Easter Day the villagers share a meal based on the meat that mainly the farmers offer in memory of their deceased. The event in fact is a memorial (a “mnemosyno”) and it is one of the largest feasts of the island. How did this custom come to happen? Which needs helped it survive after so many centuries? Why does it still exist even though life has changed? The answer lies in the everyday life and the wisdom of the 3 main characters of the film who live and work on the island. It also lies in the analysis of their way of life and of the details related to the custom of the “mnemosyno”. Those details help us deepen into the culture and mentality of the people who live on Ikaria. To be more specific, the grocer of the village who is at the same time a beekeeper and a farmer, introduces us to the social history of the place and the people, and through his remarks and parallelisms he brings out the social structure of the island which is not based on social classes. What actually drives the development of the island’s society is solidarity and, by no means, charitable contribution. In the film, there isn’t a narrator. The islanders, themselves, unreel their lives piece by piece. The power of the image leads us deeper and reveals a model able to resists even the loudest sirens of contemporary reality.