Python’s Gaze Slithers Into Athens' Cinema

On October 1, 2025, the open-air cinema Lais, part of the Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki tis Ellados) in Athens, will host the premiere of Searching for the Oracle – Python’s Gaze, a 23-minute short film by Norwegian artist and filmmaker Helle Siljeholm.

The film reimagines the mythological serpent Python, once the guardian of Gaea’s oracles at Delphi before being slain by Apollo. Here, Python “returns” to contemporary Greece, gliding through its landscapes. Drawing on recent research from Delphi’s geomythological archives, the work exists at the crossroads of choreography, visual art, and speculative fiction. It reflects on one of the foundational myths of Western civilization: while Apollo’s oracles were inscribed in stone for posterity, the oracles of Gaea remain unwritten and largely forgotten.

Set against the backdrop of today’s ecological and climate crisis, Searching for the Oracle – Python’s Gaze unfolds as a choreographic and cinematic reflection on an anthropocentric landscape, revealed, at times, as fragments and ruins. The film features an original score and sound design by acclaimed sound artist ILIOS.

This work extends from Siljeholm’s earlier research and performance of the same name, presented at pi (the former Pikionis Pavilion) in Delphi on April 25, 2024, curated by Poka-Yio and Kika Kyriakakou. The film premiere is curated by Poka-Yio, with Melina Ntavia as project manager. Following the screening, a reception will be hosted by the Norwegian Embassy in Athens.

The project is realized in collaboration with PCAI (Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative) and with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Athens. It forms part of Siljeholm’s PhD artistic research, which explores mountains and geological formations as “more-than-human” entities, approached through the lenses of geological time and space.

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