In the community of Marpissa on the Aegean island of Paros, all daily routines come to a halt on Good Friday, as the villagers immerse themselves in preparations for their version of an ancient theatrical presentation from the Christian world—the Passion of Christ. Villagers iron costumes and practice posing for their parts as Roman soldiers and Myrrh-bearing women in scenes from the life of Jesus that will be re-enacted at various locations throughout the village. What began as a school project in 1922 has become a tradition that has lasted for over a century, serving not only as a religious act but also as a form of collective storytelling and cultural preservation. The documentary “Representations” captures the complexities and excitement that go into this multi-generational event that attracts visitors to Marpissa from the Aegean and beyond.

Nikoleta Leousi & Eirini Steirou
Born in Athens in 1981, Nikoleta Leousi studied chemical engineering but soon realized that her true interest lay in cinema. She went on to study film in both Greece and the UK, where she specialized in directing and editing fiction films. Leousi has participated in the Berlinale and Sarajevo Talents, and she is currently writing the script for her first feature film. Her previous films focus on individuals facing everyday problems who choose to act in unique ways, with the action set against the backdrop of major social change, thereby blending character-driven storytelling with political cinema. Eirini Steirou transitioned into filmmaking from architecture after moving to San Francisco, California, where she attended San Francisco State University as a Fulbright scholar.Since then, she has viewed audiovisual art as a powerful social tool for community empowerment—whether through established institutions or independent collectives. In 2011, fer short film Counterattack was selected as Greece’s official entry at the 2011 Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, held in Rome. In addition to filmmaking, Steirou is a co-founder of the creative lighting collective Beforelight, which produces large-scale public lighting installations in cities across Europe.