9TH THESSALONIKI DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL
Images of the 21st Century: (16-25 March 2007)
A tribute to one of the most popular Greek television shows is being held in the Greek Section of the 9th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Images of the 21st Century. "Musicians of the World", (Onos Production), is a series of music documentaries that introduced the Greek audience to the musical richness of the planet and to the "World Music" scene. The tribute will include a total of ten documentaries and will transport Thessaloniki's audience to the images and the rhythms of very different countries, from Iran to Israel and Morocco, to Serbia, Cabo Verde and Zanzibar.

Leonidas Antonopoulos, a journalist specializing in music, travels to various parts of the planet for his reportage. He visits festivals, meets musicians and groups, does portraits of artists, discovers the music of various cities and the unknown music of the countryside. He researches the roots of music, the living sounds of the past, as well as today's musical creativity that characterizes every different place's culture. The main distinction of the series is that each documentary listens to the music that is contained in the spirit of our age and passes it on to the audience.

Shot with a voyage-like feeling, since they exploit and combine the knowledge and experience of the production company (ONOS Productions) in travel documentaries with the specialized knowledge and journalistic experience of the presenter (Leonidas Antonopoulos), the documentaries of "Musicians of the World" record the unique experience of hearing each musical genre in the land that gave it birth, and bring us in contact with the creators themselves and the people who are keeping a culture alive. Through reportage they scratch the surface of sound and songs in order to bring History, as well as reality and many small human stories, to light.

Which Music? - Note by Leonidas Antonopoulos:

The purpose of the "Musicians of the World" documentary series is not only to entertain, but also to research. We have chosen the trend exhibited by contemporary musical reality as our field of study, which is inspired and based on musical genres and artists outside the mainstream of the pop music industry. If, in its initial form, "world music" represented an alternative culture which wanted to express its opposition to the increasing commercialism of the international pop scene, today it is what creates tomorrow's pop scene. It is a sound that incorporates traditional elements and combines them with contemporary musical trends, from rock to hip hop, producing a new musical perception which is constantly increasing its influence on the whole music industry from Cuba to India and from Greece to the USA. This "new" sound is the soundtrack of the new millennium. Through our documentaries we are witnessing the . destruction of "world music". The more it penetrates other musical trends, the more it loses its identity, but at the same time changes music. "World music" was the only real musical revolution after the explosion of punk. It was the answer of the west's post '60s generation to the defeat of rock: it suggested a new way to listen to music, beyond borders, eras and commercial labels. That is, to take what is happening on the rest of the planet seriously, and not to satisfy our desire for the "exotic" ; the new reality that has shaped western societies, the great wave of immigration of the '90s. Because, happily, our world continues to be full of surprises.

THE FILMS:

EGYPT- CAIRO
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 52'

GIPSY MUSIC INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IN HOLLAND
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 55'

ZANZIBAR
Director - Photographer - Cinematographer: Hronis Pehlivanidis Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 57'

IRAN (PT. 1 -TEHERAN)
Director - Photographer: Hronis Pehlivanidis Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 45'

IRAN (PT. 2 -FROM TEHERAN TO KERMANSAH)
Director - Photographer: Hronis Pehlivanidis Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 46'

ISRAEL
Director: Angeliki Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos,
Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 53'

MOROCCO
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 55'

OMAR FAROUK TEKBILEK - A PORTRAIT
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 47'

CABO VERDE
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 51'

BRASS BAND SUMMIT AT GUCHA, SERBIA
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 43'

CRETE (PT. 1 -THE LIVING TRADITION)
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 54'

CRETE (PT. 2 ANOGEIA VILLAGE)
Director: Christos Barbas Script - Texts - Presentation: Leonidas Antonopoulos, Producer: ERT S.A. & Onos Production, 43'