We’ve all heard of Nikos Xylouris. He is, after all, one of Greece’s most famous musicians who is credited with popularizing Cretan music and reviving Greek folk music back in the 1970s. But what about his family?
Most people – for the exception of some loyal Xylouris fans in his hometown village of Anogiea in Rethymno, Crete – know very little about Xylouris’ brother Antonis (he goes by the name of Psarantonis) and his son Georgios (also known as Psaragiorgis) and his Greek Australian children – all of them musicians.
A new film aims at resurrecting the achievements of Nikos Xylouris and to raise awareness of the other members of the Xylouris musical clan.
Award-winning Athens filmmaker Angeliki Aristomenopoulou (photo, with Psaragiorgis) has been following the Xylouris family in Crete and Australia for the past two years, documenting how three generations of Xylouris musicians are not only upholding, but promoting the vibrant tradition of Cretan music in Australia and around the world.
The film, A Family Affair, is being produced by Rea Apostolides and Yuri Averof from Anemon Productions. It will be a 70-minute feature documentary that follows the Xylouris family – the brother, his son and his grandchildren – as they travel from Melbourne to Crete and then back again on a rather grueling concert tour.