A ritual that arrived with the monks of Kollivades from Athos and took root elsewhere. Two epitaphs that roam the narrow streets of the island at 4 am. A procession of believers that sings loudly when nature is quiet, as if it wants to be heard everywhere, even in order to “break” the eternal sleep of the dead. V Documentary “All That Insatiable Magic”cinematographer Panagiotis Kountouras follows this unique custom with his camera Skiathos which mixes religious belief with folklore and the heroes of Papadiamantis. The title, however, is borrowed from another great Alexander of the island, Moraitis, whom the Scyafites also especially revere and invoke with respect in much the same way as the Evangelists.

The “magic” of the name is associated with this atmospheric dimension, which is mainly determined by the change in time of the classical custom of the epitaph procession. We made a bet that we could film this whole mystical ritual, in which people of all ages take part; I personally felt that the figures of Papadiamantis are really ready to jump out into the night,” says Panagiotis Kuntouras and adds. : “Another peculiarity was that we decided to shoot everything within two days, which is the custom; even the interviews were all done then, so we were in the right mood.”

He himself is not from Skiathos, but is very familiar with the island and its inhabitants, who, whether they live there permanently or in other parts of Greece and abroad, constantly come for Easter days and especially for Epitaph. As we see in the film, already on the morning of Maundy Thursday and with great care in two parishes, the decoration of Epitaphs begins. Inside and outside the temples, people are preparing for something that obviously means a lot to them. The ritual will end in the early morning of Holy Saturday, when both epitaphs will emerge onto the cobbled streets. At the top of the parish procession, which is also the most “hardcore” one, a young man shouts at the top of his lungs the verses of various panegyrics, which he then repeats to the singing of the next crowd. In other words, almost like it happens in the football stands…

“Indeed, the way the procession is carried out is very special, as is the contrast between the two parishes, one of which sings melodicly, while the other wants to be heard all the way to… Skopelos. However, the common feature noted by one of the documentary’s speakers is love. Love for a place, for tradition, for a friend, even for an enemy, living and dead. Whether you look at it from a Christian or purely humanitarian perspective, the common denominator is how people come together.”

The documentary “All That Insatiable Magic” will be screened at ERT1 V good friday (14/4) at 13:00, after which he will begin his festival journey.