Weekly Hour-long Series, ERT3 Production, 2020
"GREEK ACTS" embarks on a journey to explore, document, and present the timeless cultural expressions of people and places.
The journey, music, myth, dance, and the world—these are the destinations of the series.
This year’s exploration spans from Crete to Evros and from the Ionian to the Aegean, showcasing a vibrant array of ethnographic, anthropological, and musical expressions. Authentic creations of people and places come to life.
The lens of the series delves into and reveals the mosaic of Greece’s creative present and enduring cultural legacy. Through a careful selection of key figures, events, and locations, it crafts a dynamic anthology. With music, stories, and imagery, it connects the viewer to the pulse of tradition.
The human element takes center stage—life and voice in the first person, accompanied by sounds, visuals, customs, and behaviors. The rhythms' journey, the history of dance "written step by step," celebratory rituals, and every human endeavor are filmed in their natural and social environments during their authentic execution—avoiding staged recreations.
This approach defines and shapes the unique identity of the series, which presents the unfiltered connection between music, people, and places.

In the legendary entertainment venues of Athens.
In the nightlife of a different era in Athens.
Along the major coastal avenue, where the largest entertainment venues were concentrated, and for around seventy years, the popular night entertainment of Athenians evolved.
This is where the most important names in music and popular song took center stage. Countless names, great careers, and iconic marquees.
'Let's go to the bouzoukia.' This phrase became synonymous with referring to these spaces of popular night entertainment.
With five significant bouzouki virtuosos as our guides—Giannis Moraitis, Dimitris Vyzas, Sakis Tsivgoulis, Dimitris Chionas, and Giorgos Dramalis, who made their mark in the famous nightclubs of popular song—we journey through the historical development and shaping of the entertainment venues of Athens' nightlife, while also getting to know the figures of the Greek music scene who shaped the musical landscape and left their mark on music history with their songs and live performances for a vast audience.
The protagonists with their 'picks' (bouzouki playing) of that era—Giannis Moraitis, Dimitris Vyzas, Sakis Tsivgoulis, Dimitris Chionas, and Giorgos Dramalis—vividly guide us and transport us to this glorious period, as they experienced it alongside the great 'stars,' the famous singers who dominated the major entertainment venues.
It was here that the modern history of popular song was written.
At the same time, with their bouzoukis, they take us on a musical tour of an unparalleled period of recording creation, transporting us to scenes, performances, and customs from a time that now seems very distant, as popular entertainment and folk songs are now leaving their new mark on history in a different way in the modern musical reality.