KALYMNOS, THE ISLAND OF SPONGE-FISHERS

“The annual balance sheet amounts to 25 million dollars, five deaths, and three paralyzed men.” The hardships, dangers and joys of a small Dodecanese island whose livelihood depends on sponge fishing. Every dive carries the risk of decompression sickness, every voyage is a battle against the sea, while on shore wives, parents and widows are left waiting. The ritual-like preparation of a diver before his descent. The daily lives of the women and the festive homecoming of the returning sponge divers. Their lives during the months they spend on the island, alongside the entire process of preparing and marketing the sponges. The great celebration held before the sponge divers depart once again for another six to seven months at sea. An award-winning documentary about the hardships of everyday life, human suffering, and the joy that inevitably accompanies it in the cycle of life.