Telling the bees, 2025

The Aegean archipelago is one of the most species-rich regions of the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot regarding insects, including the main pollinator groups which are currently threatened with extinction mainly due to land-cover/land-use change, light pollution, and human-induced climate change. In a near future a young woman on an Aegean island receives a bee basket called smarologos. She restores it using local materials, adds a guardian figurine, and sets out to find the last island bee swarm. The basket becomes a symbol of resisting extractive practices of overtourism and asserting potential perma-futures. 'Telling the bees' is a ritual where bees are informed of important events in the household, believed to affect their well-being if neglected.