Wilma Meniki

This is a documentary about the story of the Autonomous Women group of Thessaloniki which acted in the city from 1985 to 1995. We met 16 years after our last meeting and then two more meetings took place. 

We see women, members and friends of the group who collaborated in different ways.   The story unfolds through personal narratives, photos, and articles of that time. Women that now we are all in other roles, ages, positions, that followed different ways both in our personal and political lives. 

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Did we really change through those years? Did something change us? We were silent. How did our lives unfold outside the group? Is there any sign or trace in our current lives from that autonomous women’s group? let’s figure all this out together in this documentary of Katina’s journey!

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In 2011 I had some personal upheaval and went through dark times, so i felt an urging need to gather again with the women that we formed this autonomous women’s group (1985-1995), Katines, now all in our middle age. We scheduled a meeting in Thessaloniki in a meze place of a friend of ours. When we met we were very happy and excited. We hugged and were occupied with loads of different feelings and nostalgia. That was the sparkle that made this documentary happen. In order to avoid forgetting and enjoy the truth of memories. (analysis of the Greek word “Alithia” that means truth).

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What moved me to make this documentary was my need for visibility and justice. Working in education for 18 years, I am involved with gender issues, in school violence, gender and education and in general with non-violent communication.  What I realized is that this kind of interest is deeply tied to my participation in the women’s movement. Today we are talking about experiential learning, acceptance of diversity, dialogue, the participation of students, personal and not comparative evaluation and that the personal is political. All of these and many more were topics that we discussed and developed in Katina autonomous group.

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The realization that all these started actually being implemented in practice 30 years later, made me feel truly happy, satisfied but sad at the same time. So the main goal of this documentary is to rewrite the history of that decade through a female view bringing women forward as the main subjects. As active participants of life that are visible and not get forgotten and in the void.