71_Empty

The title of this film comes from a saying of Greek fishermen that the plate of a fisherman is ten times empty and one time full. On the Greek island of Symi, off the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea, the saying is painfully true. The picture this film presents is that of an idyllic paradise where tourists come only for a few hours a day and the only cars people have seen are on television. Unfortunately the paradise is dying because the fish are too few and agricultural cultivation on the barren, almost waterless, island is even more difficult. The traditional occupations of sponge diving and boat building are now largely impossible. Since 1913, the local population has decreased from 30,000 to 2,800 and those who remain are mostly wives whose husbands support them from overseas, children and the old.

The text that describes the customs, religion, national celebrations, funeral ceremonies and general life is narrated by Vassilis, a local twelve-year-old boy. Despite economic stress, loyalty to local tradition has remained strong, but Vassilis cannot look to his father's occupation as a fisherman for his future. His family is encouraging further education, but that means Vassilis will have to leave. The film offers no remedy for the situation, only a nostalgia for a way of life that may soon be gone.

The photography is lovely. The film has overtones of a tourist advertisement, but its straightforward narrative and focus on the young boy make it suitable for use in schools. Catalogue number (16mm): RA99 £9.

P.S. Allen, 1982. Review of the film. American Anthropologist, Vol. 84, p. 756.

S. Ferguson, 1989. `The Two Faces of Pascali's Island'. The Independent (London), March 25th, p. 47.

G.O'Connell, 1985. Rhodes and the Dodecanese Islands. Willowbridge, Buckinghamshire.

P. Travis, 1971. Interval on Symie. Gambit, Boston.