Film info

Creator / Collector

Description
We are in the rural village of Branias-Epirou. Brania is a village, which belongs to the administrative district of Leptokaryas of the Municipality of Filiaton Thesprotia.

The film opens with the historical valley of Syntenia of the Lagavitsas River - a tributary of Kalamas - in a winter background. Shots of the village, after the rain has stopped, follow with the chimneys of the village’s houses smoking, its green lush landscapes and its surrounding mountains.

We see a local carrying a processed tree trunk apparently to use for domestic use. We also see a group of elderly people who sit on the porch steps of a house. The composition of the group is impressive: the centenarian grandfather and the grandmother with the loom, the host of the house and the producer.

The filmmaker records views from two young local women who get back from the forest laden with wood while beckoning and knitting at the same time. He then shows us an elderly man from Brania offering “tsipouro” (a strong distilled spirit of Greece) of his own production to the filmmaker and his company. It also shows us views of the preparation of the hospitality of the guests with the slaughter of the rooster by the uncle-Costas. Some shots of the village in the rain follow.

The recording continues with shots on the steps of the porch of the Brania house with men from the village. A grandmother who is dressed in black comes towards the lens and then we see her having a conversation with her grandson. The footage continues with the recording of the herd of uncle-Mihalis leading it to pasture while a local man and a grandmother are behind him.

The film closes with one more panoramic shot of the village with the sun reigning over the mountains of Velouna and Malounio.

Coordinates

Film Information

Holder
Gkikas Georgios

Quality
HD (1440x1080)

Sound
No

Color
Yes

Duration (seconds)
130

Format
Super 8mm

Creator's description


Film, from my winter visit (winter 1969) together with my friend Giannis who loves Epirus, to my village Brania Filiaton Thesprotia. My father welcomes us with the slaughter of the rooster, a local custom of hospitality.

During my winter visit, a period of heavy rains, I enjoyed the hospitality of my father... the company of Uncle-Stavros, who would offer us with his own “tsipouro” (a strong distilled spirit of Greece), the company of my centenarian grandfather Yiannis, my unforgettable grandmother "vavo" Panagio where I had a conversation with her.

With my visit I was given the opportunity to record and live closely the daily conditions – life habits of the villagers, such as the supply under harsh weather conditions of firewood transport, from the forest carried by the women of the village, the escort of the herd for grazing etc.
Gkikas Georgios