Home Movies as Visual Folklore: Reconstructing the “Tavros” Religious Fair in Lesvos through Digitized VHS Collections on YouTube

Abstract

This paper explores the use of home videos as a vernacular form of audiovisual documentation and focuses on the case of Spyros Koukossis, an electronics shop owner from the village of Agia Paraskevi on the island of Lesvos. By employing a VHS camera, Koukossis recorded local traditions and festivities during the annual “Tavros” religious fair in honor of Agios Charalampos. Captured between 1984 and 2009, these recordings appear at first glance to resemble professionally produced material intended for broadcast or tourist consumption. However, they diverge significantly in intent and aesthetics, thus reflecting an amateur style motivated by the desire to document rather than entertain and embody a unique ethnographic perspective. Digitized and uploaded to YouTube by a local user almost a decade ago, the footage serves as a valuable case study for analyzing how older audiovisual technologies have been used to render and reinterpret traditional cultural practices. The paper adopts a qualitative lens to examine the technologies involved, the ethnographic content, and the evolving nature of Koukossis’s documentation over time and assess its contribution to the reshaping of collective memory.