Lesvia

Synopsis

Eressos: at once a traditional Greek village in Lesbos surrounded by the bluest-blue of the Aegean Sea and a “lost paradise” for lesbians from the four corners of the world who lay it all bare in Sappho’s birthplace. An unlikely pairing giving rise to decades of disputes and intense affirmations. “Sappho girls” came to Eressos in the early 20th century in search of traces of the great poetess. Vacationers flocked there during the 90s Golden Age of lesbian-focused businesses and hotels. Compared to the worlds they came from where women’s rights were controlled, leading to fights for their very dignity, Eressos felt safe, liberating. A place where you could stroll hand in hand without fear of violence, where you could play all day on the sand and moan all-night long anywhere you liked. But a “Mecca of women,” nettled locals, and the dictates of capitalism are a volatile mix, and tensions on this little volcanic island seemed set to explode. Filmmaker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou, a lesbian native of Lesbos, captures the nude bodies and naked politics of this unlikely haven, and how heritage and transmission is shaping the future of paradise.

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