- Roza Eskenazi sang the way she lived, with passion, fire and love. This is the story of three young musicians who embark on an exciting musical journey, to tell the story of Greece's best-loved rebetiko singer.
- Roza Eskenazi sang the way she lived, with passion, fire and love. This is the story of three young musicians from Greece, Turkey, and Israel, who embark on an exciting musical journey, to tell the story of Greece's best-known and best-loved rebetiko singer for the first time on film. Its a journey that will take them from Istanbul to Thessaloniki and to Athens, following the musical trail she left behind. Most of all, its a journey into a world that has largely vanished, but whose sounds continue to echo throughout the Mediterranean Basin.
She was the most famous singer of the 30s in Greece and Turkey, the Diva of Rebetiko. With her posters displayed in every gramophone store, her Bohemian looks would drive even the toughest men crazy. (From the short story Roza, by Dinos Christianopoulos)
My Sweet Canary is an exuberant musical and cinematic journey across Greece, and Turkey in search of Roza Eskenazi, an artist whose music shaped the soundtrack of the region for almost a century. Three artists still devoted to her legacy will retrace her steps and perform her songs, as they delve into why Rozas music is still so relevant to them today.
Tomer Katz is an Israeli oud and bouzouki player. Martha D Lewis is a British-born Greek-Cypriot singer and composer. Mehtap Demir is a Turkish singer and musician. Together they will guide us through Roza's life story, which spanned most of the twentieth century. Her saga will be reflected in their own musical journey throughout the thriving rebetiko music scenes in Turkey and Greece. In each country they will meet with local musicians and give new relevance to Roza's songs, which can still be heard in the clubs and on the dance floors of Athens, Istanbul, Thessaloniki, and around the world. After all, this is music that transcends time, just as it transcends boundaries.
Along the way, we will uncover the story of a Sephardic Jew who was born in Istanbul, but went on to conquer Thessaloniki and Athens by the late 1920s. She was the first true star of rebetiko, and certainly the first and most frequently recorded. She leaves us a legacy of over 500 tracks, in Greek, Turkish, Armenian and Ladino. Her tragic story will be told by friends and family, by the musicians who accompanied her, and for the first time on camera, the biographer who wrote the only portrait of this artist, as a young woman and as a star.
Rebetiko, or Greek Blues as it is sometimes called, is a musical genre that lies at the crossroads of East and West, an apt reflection of the region in which it was born. It first emerged in the hash dens and prisons of Greece in the early years of the twentieth century, and went on to give voice to the common folk, caught up in the whirlwind of social and political changes that marked the era.
By telling the story of Roza Eskenazi, we will introduce the audience to a world that may have vanished but will not be silenced. By joining the three musicians in their quest for Rozas legacy, we will share in a bond that can only be possible through the medium of Rozas timeless music.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![My Sweet Canary (2011)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzQ4Njg1MTItNThmOS00MTFmLWEwNDAtYjUwZWZjOTNmMjA5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjA1ODU0OTk@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR3,0,90,133_.jpg)