The Black Nun's Legacy: A New Film Revisits Greece's Most Chilling True Story
Some stories don't stay buried. They sit in the back of your mind like a cold draft, and every so often, you feel them again. This is one of those.
Sound of Silence, a gothic horror film now shooting in Greece, takes on the real-life case of Abbess Mariam Soulakioti - the "Black Nun" many in Greece still whisper about. Variety first reported the production.
The film is the second feature from director Joyce A. Nashawati, following her stark, sun-scorched debut, Blind Sun, which played at Toronto and Sitges. Millie Brady (movies and tv series) (I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning) and Elsa Lekakou (movies and tv series) (Killerwood) lead the cast. It's mostly in English, with some Greek - a choice that hints at an international release while keeping the story rooted where it happened.
Playtime is producing, and co-CEO Nicolas Brigaud-Robert didn't mince words about the script's chill factor: "As you turn the pages, you think to yourself, 'I can't believe this actually happened!'" Honestly, that's the feeling a lot of Greeks still have when they hear Soulakioti's name.
Who was the "Black Nun"?
Mariam Soulakioti - born Martha - served as Abbess of the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Klisoura, near Kalavryta in the Peloponnese. Locals called her the "Black Nun," not for her clothing, but for the darkness (movies and tv series) tied to her name.
Between the 1930s and early 1950s, she was accused of exploiting her role - and a reputation for prophetic or healing gifts - to control followers and commit a string of deadly acts. Her case gripped Greece, ending in a trial that left the country stunned and divided. Even now, the details feel raw: faith, trust, money, power - and how easily all of it can be twisted.
Why this story, and why now?
Because it asks hard questions we still struggle with. How do people with authority turn belief into leverage? How far does loyalty go before it becomes danger? And how do you tell a story like this without turning victims into props?
That's the tightrope here. The film says it's "inspired by" real events - not a docudrama - so expect interpretation. But the setting alone carries weight: stark hillsides, quiet courtyards, the kind of silence you can feel in your chest. If Nashawati leans into that - the dread beneath the sunlight - it could hit hard.
What we know so far
- Title: Sound of Silence
- Director: Joyce A. Nashawati (Blind Sun)
- Cast: Millie Brady, Elsa Lekakou
- Language: Primarily English, with some Greek
- Setting: Greece; inspired by the case of Abbess Mariam "Black Nun" Soulakioti
- Status: Currently shooting on location
What this could mean for audiences
If you cover film or history, keep an eye on this. True-crime and horror rarely mix well without tipping into spectacle. But when they do, they can spark real conversations about power, belief, and accountability.
Maybe it's just timing, but stories about trust gone wrong seem to land differently right now. We'll be watching to see how Sound of Silence treats the people (movies and tv series) at the heart of the case - the ones who never got their ending back.
We'll share more as release details and first footage surface.
