Unclaimed

In March 2020, the “Sotiria” Ηospital located in Athens, Greece was on the front line of the Covid-19 pandemic. A few years before that, the demolition of a wall due to a leak, revealed the traces of a previous pandemic. Dozens of suitcases were found stacked, containing the personal belongings of patients who were hospitalized at “Sotiria” more than 30 years ago, from 1945 to 1975, during a tuberculosis outbreak in Greece. Hundreds of them died there. No one ever searched for their remains or belongings.
The documentary follows the traces these unclaimed patients left behind; letters, photographs, documents, small objects etc. Through the letters they exchanged with their relatives, archival material, the search for living descendants in various regions of Greece and several encounters with doctors and nurses nowadays, the film reveals for the first time in eighty years an unknown, shocking story of pain and collective trauma, but also of love, hope and fortitude in post-war Greece.

In collaboration with the Municipality of Skopelos. With the support of the Region of Thessaly and the “Thessaly” ESPA Program 2021–2027.