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.

This is the story of an instrument that, starting from its "archetypal" form as the tambouras, evolved through its distinctive melodies to become widely known and, surpassing all others, conquered the world!
An investigative journey tracing the origins and creation of its first sounds, its structural transformations and renewals over the centuries, and the parallel historical aspects that accompanied its expressive prowess.
The fascinating voyage of the bouzouki traverses history—from the East to Syros, Piraeus, Athens, Thessaloniki, Volos, America, and back to Piraeus and Athens—always in a dynamic creative present.
The program's lens explores this brilliant path of artistic expression, focusing on the three-string bouzouki that excelled in the hands of its first virtuosos, reaching the peak of its unmatched glory with Markos Vamvakaris and the legendary "Tetras tou Peiraios."
A musical journey through lesser-known Greek traditions, from the historic tambouras of Makrygiannis and the fighters of the Greek War of Independence, to the post-war era and the urban social environment. During this period, the bouzouki found its place in the modest neighborhoods, becoming a part of the daily lives of the marginalized, the dock workers, the employed and unemployed laborers, and those on the fringes of society. It was through the hands of exceptional bouzouki players emerging from these social classes that the instrument transformed into a national symbol, now recognized worldwide.
Featured in the program are celebrated bouzouki masters: Manolis Karantinis, Panagiotis Stergiou, Giorgos Papavasileiou (Vlahos), Giorgos Koutoulakis, Giorgos Altis, Stavros Kourousis, Yiannis Kalkepsos, as well as musicologist Markos Dragoumis and renowned instrument makers Giorgos Kalkepsos, Karolos Tsakirian, and Panagiotis Varlas.