About the movie

On the southwestern coast of Lesvos Island in Greece lies the small agricultural village of Eressos which is the birthplace of Sappho, the first female poet to write about love between women.

For centuries, Eressos had been isolated from the rest of the world but in the mid-1970’s, women from across the world began to arrive, in search for Sappho’s traces. At first, the local inhabitants felt pride that these women had come to pay tribute to the great poet, born in their lands.

But in the middle of the 1980s, more women flocked to the island, including filmmaker Tzeli Hadzidimitriou, a lesbian born and raised on the island. The women lived on the beach, there were no separations of class, country or ethnicity. Expressing larger social and political developments, they proudly claimed the right to be called lesbians and to express their identity. This was a radical experience, offering them absolute freedom from the prejudice they had experienced at home.  At the same time, it led to open conflict with the local inhabitants, who felt threatened by the lesbians. 

In the 1990s, lesbians began to rent rooms and buy houses. Hotels and restaurants opened run exclusively for and by women. A lesbian bar opened in the middle of the village square. The conservative villagers of Eressos embraced the new economic force. Hetero normativity was turned on its head. Some villagers sided with the lesbians, identifying with a persecuted minority. Many of the local children came to consider lesbian relationships as natural and local women appreciated the freedom of the foreign women.  Great change took place.

Today, a stable lesbian community of women from across the world lives in Eressos. Filmmaker Tzeli Hadzidimitriou is one of them, spending half of the year in the village.

The documentary is based on archival films and photographs as well as contemporary filming. The materials are combined with personal testimonies and excerpts from the director’s diary, who records the story of lesbian community of Eressos through her personal experience.  

Director’s Statement

I was born and raised on the island of Lesvos, whose light, landscapes, people, and everyday life are my source of inspiration. I am moved by all those stories, things and life forms that are on the verge of disappearing and being lost forever.  In my work, I use all my experiences and possibilities, to give space and voice to ordinary people, who do not stand out in any way, but who live their lives in simplicity, outside daily headlines.

In all my previous works I have sought to capture the spirit of the people of Lesvos. In "Lesvia" - my first feature film - I also want to talk about my own intermediate, borderline experience as a proud member of the lesbian community and tell the story of how this community was created.

After the publication of my book "A Girl's Guide to Lesbos" in 2012, I started collecting pictures, shots, archival photos to tell a bigger story. This film is the result of ten years of filming during which I carried out in-depth interviews with members of the lesbian community, as well as with the local inhabitants. The interviews have been freely structured as a communal voice, giving people the space to be themselves. 

With this documentary I try to discover what happened in the last 40 years in Eressos, where unexpected interactions changed the lives of inhabitants and visitors. 

Eressos itself, this stunning volcanic landscape with a three-kilometer beach, blue sea and unique light that inspired the poet Sappho, is one of the main characters in the film. It exists in the film in all four seasons and is intertwined with my own personal narrative and story. In this sense, the film takes the form of a personal essay film that documents not only my personal journey but also that of the village and the community.

This is a personal film as much as it is a collective film. It  also documents the history of hundreds of lesbians who carved out a space for themselves and the history of the only lesbian community which continues to exist today, evolving and accepting new forms of gender diversities and  offering a safe space for self-expression. 

It is also my first feature-length film.