The tight grip of two elderly couples reading a book loosens as they turn the pages. Their grip tightens even more after a small interruption from a friend who knocks on the door, informing them of the death of one of their relatives. The news is followed by a request to exhume the grave and move the remains to a mausoleum at the peak of the mountain of Prophet Elias.
Love and death play such a role and radiate a familiar warmth in Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World (Kevin Walker, Irene Zahariadis; 2025). The landscape of Archia, a small village on the volcanic island of Nisyros, is filled with elderly people enjoying their twilight years, waiting for their children and grandchildren to visit them occasionally and relieve their longing. Nine elderly residents—yes, only nine people remain in this tiny island village and highland—invite us to enjoy every corner of their hometown, filled with the beauty of both life and death. We are invited to share a sense of familiarity, as if we were their close kin and family, learning about loyalty, friendship, and love that seems indivisible even by death.
The chairs shift, move, slide closer, then fall. It seems that the ancestors who preceded them in Archia are still trying to show us their warmth and love. They are eager to mark their spirit and love, even though they are no longer in the beautiful and quiet land of Athens. We are spoiled by the scenery of hills, mountains, highland islands swept by wind and waves, and lush trees in autumn. This film echoes how the love and warmth of director duo Irene Zahariadis and Kevin Walker’s hometown is manifested in their relationship, which uses art as a foundation for the resonance of life and death.
The exhumation involved in transporting the ancestors’ remains is similar to Mangongkal Holi, a ceremony involving the exhumation and grave relocation in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The principle is almost the same: families and relatives move the remains of their ancestors, forefathers, and elderly relatives to a higher place as a symbol of placing the remains closer to their Creator. The second burial also prolongs the warmth and memory of the names, families, and respect for those who came before them. It is truly romantic how they care for and preserve those who may have been in separate lives, whether on the left or right side of the road. Death. (Gantar Sinaga) (Ed/Trans. Vanis)
Film Details
THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
Kevin Walker, Irene Zahariadis | 26 min | 2025 | Greece, United States
In Competition for Short Documentary
Festival Film Dokumenter 2025
