Festival Hellenika will host the Adelaide launch of Whose Is This Song? Nationalism, Greece and Shared Culture, an edited volume by Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis, on May 3 at the Lockleys Community Centre.
The launch will bring together Elefterias-Kostakidis, her singing partner Felicia Harris, journalist and academic Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, and author Billy Cotsis, with a program including discussion, film excerpts and live music.
The book includes contributions from a range of scholars and writers, including Dr Vatsikopoulos, Cotsis, Dr Alfred Vincent, Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Professor Nicholas Doumanis, Dr Michael Karadjis, Professor Marian Țuțui, Jorge Sotirios, George Michelakakis and Kosta Vertsayia. Elefterias-Kostakidis, who edited the volume with support from Dr Vincent, also contributes chapters.
The publication draws on themes raised in Adela Peeva’s documentary Whose Is This Song?, which examines the shared use and competing claims surrounding a well-known Balkan melody across different countries and communities.
In Greece, the tune is known as Από ξένο τόπο (“From a Foreign Place”), while variations appear across the region in different cultural and religious contexts. The documentary is available on archive.org.
Festival Hellenika committee member Irene Kavooris will MC the event and coordinate catering with a Balkan-themed food offering included for attendees.
A panel discussion will feature Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, Elefterias-Kostakidis and Billy Cotsis, focusing on themes raised in the book, including cultural transmission, identity and nationalism in the Balkans.
The program will also include film excerpts and a live performance by Elefterias-Kostakidis and Felicia Harris, featuring songs in Greek and Bosnian. The duo will also appear at a separate event on May 1 for the launch of Cotsis’ documentary Greeks in South America, where they will perform in Greek and Spanish.
For more information on these and other Festival Hellenika events, visit our Greek Guide events page. https://neoskosmos.com/en/greek-guide
