Stories of a Lie

During a stay in her native Greece, Olia hears that her friend Sofia has cancer. Her doctors and family are keeping the illness hidden from her, and Olia isn’t allowed to give anything away either. She decides to investigate the rationale behind this practice.

What does concealing (or revealing) the truth do to a patient’s mental state? Is it better to know nothing, or only the bare minimum? Does it differ from patient to patient? Does it happen in Greece because Greek has no word for “infantilize,” or out of fear that merely uttering the “C-word” would open Pandora’s box—with unforeseeable consequences?

With a playful touch and her theatrical father at her side— who as a dentist has his own view on the matter, but mostly just revels in the camera’s attention—she visits the medical professionals in her immediate surroundings. She also reflects on her own childhood, the lies we tell each other for our own good and the stories that make life more bearable.