Oral histories, hidden identities, silent waters: an audiovisual journey to the Greek side of the Prespa lakes

The documentary film ‘Silent Waters’ along with the doctoral thesis titled ‘Oral Histories, Hidden Identities, Silent Waters: an audiovisual journey to the Greek side of the Prespa lakes’ form the main outcomes from a multifaceted inter-disciplinary practice-based research. The aim was twofold: to produce an ethnographically inspired documentary film depicting the history of the Greek part of the Prespa Lakes and the bilingual communities living in this area, and, to produce a thesis containing a reflective account of both the research process and the creative practice. The reflexivity evident in both the thesis and the film aims to acknowledge the constructed and subjective nature of knowledge. The researcher is therefore situated within the wider context of academic film practice, and the selected case study of the Greek Slavs. The written text and the audiovisual representation deal with personal and collective histories surrounding the formation of Modern Greek identities from the late 19th Century until now. The thesis begins by positioning the researcher within the grand narrative of the Modern Greek nation building, and then provides an overview of the history of the area. It continues with a discussion of inspirational ethnographic films and film-making practices. Thereafter, it presents a diary-style account of the fieldwork. The thesis then describes the post-production process and the editing choices that shaped the narrative structure of the film. It concludes with a reflective epilogue summarising the researcher’s journey within this project. Throughout the audiovisual representation of this extraordinary place and its people, the film interweaves the turbulent history and life stories of the locals with the ‘silent’ waters of the lakes. The film’s structure, non-linear and fragmentary, relies on visual and aural metaphors to create filmic sub-narratives. Apart from the testimonies and the landscape, the film also portrays a feast where local people dance, but do not sing their songs; a reference to salvage ethnography. This film therefore is as much a film about some of the most intriguing Balkan histories, as it is about the lives of its protagonists.