Notes from the Lyra

Kasiani Koutris has just left Australia for Greece and Turkey to produce a documentary about Pontian culture. She'll be away for six to eight weeks where she will collect footage for a film about the Pontian lyra, and the musicians who play this unusual instrument. The Pontain Greeks have lived for thousands of years in north east Turkey around the Black Sea, and it is Koutris' fascination with the region, the people and the music that continues to draw her back there. This will be her second documentary about Pontian culture, and by the sound of it, will not be the last.

"I grew up on an olive tree nursery in Adelaide. And as I grew up I noticed that my mother spoke Pontian Greek," Koutris says. "We grew up speaking Greek, but when the old ladies wanted to talk just among themselves, they'd break into ancient Pontian Greek dialect. I couldn't speak it at that early age but I understood it enough to know what they were talking about."

She didn't think much more about it for some time, but it was always there, turning over in the back of her mind, and eventually it began rising to the surface of its own accord.

"When I was about thirty two, I started wanting to know who the Pontian people are and it was fascinating to me. The more I researched, the more I was drawn in by the richness of the culture and the history, and where we are at now and also what are we doing to help the culture survive."

Her first film, We Still Call Pontos Home, was intended to be a short documentary about the region, but the quality and quantity of the footage she had got out of hand, and became a feature length documentary. It was obviously a good decision though, because it was accepted for competition by the South Australian Screen Awards, and went on to be nominated for best feature. It's since been shown at other festivals.

This new film, 3 Strings, 1 Life uses the Pontian lyra as a way into the lives of the music, the musicians and the culture in general, one which is under threat of dilution from mainstream pop music in particular, and Turkish culture in general.

"It's about the musicians; the historical and cultural, and even the social aspects of the instrument and the musicians. We're looking at the masters, people who have excelled in playing, who enjoy playing with audiences. I guess when there's musicians involved, it can be bit more high-energy and a bit more fun and a bit more intriguing."

Koutris' first experience of the music was as a child hearing Pontic music around the house, but her enjoyment of it is just one aspect of a greater passion for the culture in general.

"I really enjoy the Black Sea music and I really enjoy music from that region. There's nothing I like more when I'm cleaning the house or cleaning the car. I've grown really attached to it so it's the love of that music from that region. But I guess it was just part of that whole passion for Pontic culture."

While Koutris expects to take about two months to shoot the film, the time line for it's final completion is much less clear. Rather than take the long road of applying for grants to make it, it's a labour of love and she is keen to get on with it.