"True to Inner Daemon": A documentary that brings Northern Greece’s ritual ecstasy to Athens -

Tasos Goletsos’ debut feature documentary “Ektos Eaftou (True to Inner Daemon)” immerses audiences in the ecstatic rituals of Northern Greece, screening at the Greek Film Archive on 17–18 January, followed by a live discussion

The debut feature film by director Tasos Goletsos, the documentary Ektos Eaftou (True to Inner Daemon), immerses Athenian audiences-through an atmosphere of intense mysticism-into the ecstatic experience of ritual practices in Northern Greece. Two screenings, on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 January, at 17:00, at the Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki tis Ellados), will bring audiences closer to the film’s creators, followed by a live discussion and exchange of views.

Somewhere between realism and magic, ordinary people long for a miracle. Instinctively, they plunge into acts of atonement and seek a moment of freedom so addictive they want to experience it again and again. In that moment of ecstasy, they stop thinking and simply live. An experience of Greek paganism, gasping for breath at the edge of the modern world.

Forged from the very materials and myths of these rites, Ektos Eaftou explores an archetypal process in which the passage from life to death becomes a foundational axis running through the meaning of ritual. This is a film not meant to be described, but to be experienced. Through a purely observational approach, Tasos Goletsos does not instruct the viewer; instead, he invites them to surrender to the rhythm of the ceremony and ultimately to take part in it. And even if the experience feels frightening, it is always cathartic.

The documentary has already received significant accolades: it won the 2nd Prize for Best Film and the Sound Award at the 19th Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival. It was also screened at the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, where it had its world premiere and was met with an especially warm response from audiences, as well as at the festival “With Open Eyes 2025” organized by the Hellenic Documentary Association.

The film’s co-producers include ERT, the Hellenic Film Centre, the Hellenic Centre for Audiovisual Media and Communication (E.K.K.O.ME.D.) – Creative Greece, Das Paradiso Films, Theatro Anapoda, and Mao Productions.