The mute wife (Olia Lazaridou) of a shadow-theater player (Antonis Kafetzopoulos) is suffering from cancer. An old woman, guided by her visions, discovers a Byzantine religious icon buried in a field. Her nephew sells the find to a thief, who then murders the old woman, without knowing that she had told the village priest about the holy icon she found. Two priests arrive in the village together with the puppeteer and his ailing wife, and there the wife sees a vision of the icon and where it was located in the field, which leads to the discovery of the bones of a saint. The wife sleeps on the spot where the holy relics were discovered and, upon awaking the following morning, regains her speech.
Direction
Doxiadis frames miracles like unearthed secrets—never quite confirming.
Cinematography
Shadow theater bleeds into reality; light becomes suspect.
Acting
Lazaridou's silence speaks volumes; her voice returns like a wound.
Director
Apostolos Doxiadis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Apostolos Doxiadis later became an internationally bestselling mathematician and author of 'Logicomix'; this, his only feature, remains his most elusive equation.
The title 'Terirem' derives from a nonsense syllable in traditional Karaghiozis shadow puppetry—suggesting the entire narrative may be another performance, with Maria as both audience and puppet.
GR
