Words by Loucas Tsilas

All my memories of my Grandmother revolve around her and her love for swimming.

Inspired by my Yiayia’s love for the sea, I set out to capture her daily swim. There was no plan, I just filmed.

Taking place in Marathon Greece, Thalassa Mou took form almost a year after the footage was captured. After asking my Yiayia to write a poem about her relationship with the sea, the story started coming to life.

How do I feel about this film? I truly don’t know. The idea that my name is being attached to it as the director feels… well, it feels just off.

I did not shoot this as a director. I barely even think about the fact that I shot the film. There was no prep, no process, no directing. It was just me accompanying my Yiayia on her daily swim. Throughout our walk down to the beach my Yiayia and I were chit-chatting. The camera became invisible. When the Super 8 camera was rolling, I momentarily did not exist. Having a rough idea of the story I wanted to develop, I just captured.

For context, my Yiayia likes to swim - haha. She is always the bright colored spec you see in the distance thanks to her colorful hats. She will swim for hours and hours on end. My Papou thinks she is crazy… but I love it… I hope you do too :)

Aging is the most fascinating thing. I really love it. The accumulation of memories, emotions, people, and information seems overwhelming yet so pure. Aging to me is a process where one becomes who they are.

In this film aging is not a condition but rather a subject for exploration.