Why The Mountains Are Black - 2026

How many songs do the mountains hold within them?
How does music mark what happens between life and death?

COSMOTE TV, in co-production with Onassis Culture, presents the new documentary series “Why The Mountains Are Black” and draws us into a journey of exploration, revealing the ways sound, movement and tradition resonate across generations. The series consists of 6 episodes and 6 different themes that revolve around a shared core: an ethnographic immersion into the ritual and the mystagogic dimension of Greece’s musical traditions.

The international success of the Onassis Stegi’s music festivals “Why Are the Mountains Black” in Konitsa, focused on the music of Epirus, the southern Balkans and Europe, was the starting point and inspiration for the creation of this new production. The documentary series of the same title now comes to carry this musical journey not only to those who attended the festivals, but across a wider geographical reach. Reprising his leading role in the festivals, Christopher King becomes the guide on this journey of discovery, while once again underlining his deep conviction that culture and history can only be understood through the lens of music.

Through this long running festival and the work of the Grammy-award-winning ethnomusicologist King, Onassis Culture has brought to light unseen corners and aspects of the mountains of Epirus and the southern Balkans. Today, by co-producing the documentary series, it closes the circle of these musical explorations in these regions and affirms the Foundation’s vision and action in continually supporting and highlighting aspects of our cultural heritage and culture.

In the documentary we see the American collector, researcher and devoted supporter of the music of the southern Balkans, King, on a road trip through Greece’s musical culture from the perspective of cinematic fiction. Each episode includes searches and conversations with people in each place, devoted to something deeply rooted within us: tradition in all its expressions, as music, dance, costume, lament or even fighting. Starting from Konitsa and reaching as far as Karpathos, Serres and Crete, our protagonist at the end of each episode always returns to the place where it all began, Konitsa, with answers to the same question: “Why the mountains are black?”

The first public presentation of the new documentary series will take place as part of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, with a special screening of the 5th episode. In this episode, with the theme and title “Rituals”, Christopher King continues his road trip with a tour through Epirus, seeking the roots of folk music and its cultural continuity in the 21st century. All episodes of the series, co-produced by Onassis Culture, will be coming soon exclusively on COSMOTE HISTORY and COSMOTE TV's On Demand service.

CREDITS

Concept and presentation: Christopher King
Produced by: COSMOTE TV
Co-produced by: Onassis Culture
Executed by: White Room
Producer/Creative director: Michalis Aristomenopoulos
Director: Fivos Kontogiannis
Director of photography: Dimitris Lambridis
Editor: Nikos Vavouris GFE
Script/Research/Editor-in-chief: Katerina Kafetzi
Production coordinator: Ioanna Louloudi
Executive producer: Loukas Valentis

COSMOTE
Executive producer: Faye Tsitsipi
Production supervisor: Giota Kalafati

Onassis Culture
Executive producers: Afroditi Panagiotakou, Dimitris Theodoropoulos
Producer: Vassilis Panagiotakopoulos

The work was created with the support of the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center S.A – Creative Greece.