Sea of Glass Explores Generational Solidarity in Greek Noir

Greek filmmaker Alexis Alexiou is bringing his third feature film, Sea of Glass, to the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The movie recently had its world premiere in a non-competitive slot at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It will now receive a special screening in Thessaloniki before a limited theatrical release across Greece begins on November 12.

Alexiou is previously known for Wednesday 04:45, a stylish crime thriller set in Athens that drew clear inspiration from Michael Mann. His new project shifts the focus to the off-season in a rundown resort town on the island of Evia. The director describes the setting and tone as a country gothic noir, utilizing an atmospheric location to frame the narrative.

The story centers on Vangelio, a 65-year-old woman played by Evangelia Andreadaki. She is depicted as a prisoner in her own home, bound by the thankless routine of caring for her abusive and bedridden husband. Her days are marked by reading old guidebooks and dreaming of the sea. The plot accelerates after her husband dies suddenly, prompting Vangelio to make a reckless decision to take a holiday.

She books a room at a shabby resort on the outskirts of Chalkida, the capital of Evia. There, she meets Vicky, a tough young woman in her twenties played by newcomer Christiana Matelska Toka. Vicky runs the family business while also caring for her alcoholic father, played by Michalis Iatropoulos. When the father's bullying becomes violent one night, Vangelio steps in to protect the younger woman. This intervention leads to a stormy confrontation and an eventual flight for liberation.

The film was written by Alexiou and Afroditi Nikolaidou. It is produced by Tugo Tugo Prods in Greece, with co-production partners including Portokal from Bulgaria and Bark Like a Cat Films from Cyprus. Other collaborators include Felony Film, Marni Films, Jungle Films, and Cinnerent from Serbia. The cast also features Nikos Georgakis, Thanos Tokakis, and Dimitris Tzoumakis, while Simon Sarketzis served as cinematographer.

Alexiou stated that the project was inspired by classic films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Cape Fear, and Thelma & Louise. The concept originated from a simple treatment written by Nikolaidou in a single day. The core idea involved two women stuck in a rundown seaside resort who unexpectedly come together to confront their pasts.

The director noted that the story is fundamentally about family relationships. Both protagonists are trapped in dysfunctional parent-child dynamics from opposite sides of the generational divide. Vicky deals with the abuse of her father, while Vangelio reflects on her own regrets as a mother and the impact of her silent suffering on her grown sons.

Nikolaidou explained that the choice of location was deliberate. She grew up visiting a similar petit bourgeois seaside resort and described it as a place one might only reach by accident. She argued that these small towns have a secret side that makes them ideal backdrops for noir-infused dramas.

The writer highlighted the history of brutality in these invisible parts of Greece. Girls were often locked in seaside flats during the summer to protect them from men, or constrained to serving in local taverns for middle-class holidaymakers. She noted that these resorts have not changed much and that the film bears the memories and scars of this hibernating world.

The filming location itself retains these memories, having once been covered in swamp before developers reclaimed the marshlands in the 1970s and 1980s. Alexiou observed that nature is now slowly starting to reclaim the area. He drew a parallel between the landscape and his young heroine, noting that nature has its own will and will come back to fight, much like the defiant character in the film. The Thessaloniki Film Festival runs from November 5 to 15.