Charming beaches with crystal clear waters that meet with green hills and houses scattered among the trees. Alleys leading to stone houses, cinematic footage of the island at sunset. These are just some of the images of Paxos who “star” in the Greek series “Maestro” Christophoros Papakaliatis.

The small picturesque island of the Ionian Islands is the backdrop for the story of Orestes, a music teacher who arrives there in the midst of a pandemic with the goal of starting a festival from scratch. However, he will soon become involved in a love story that will begin to reveal the dark side of this society.

Maestro, part of which was filmed not only in Corfu but also in Athens, touches on some important issues that may not be represented to a large extent in Russian fiction. For example: homosexuality, domestic violence and violence against women. “It shows a different side of society that often goes unnoticed, which is why many homes in the country now have the opportunity to experience what life is like in mostly small places. Paxos is designed to be a beautiful, well-polished island, but even that has its pathologies,” says K. Nicholas Biblean actor who appeared in the series in a short role.

First Greek series on Netflix

And that was one of the main reasons that “Maestro”, originally broadcast on the Mega channel, was a huge success from the very first episode. The script is undoubtedly one of the “strong cards”, but in addition to the development of the plot, the audience also highly appreciated the performances, especially Maria Cavogianni and Haris Alexiou, photos, music. The ingredients of a recipe that opened the door to a wider audience as it became the first TV series to add to its library in December 2022. Netflix in Greece and Cyprus.

From March 17, 2023, Papakaliatis’ new TV project is available for viewing by subscribers of the streaming platform in many countries around the world. In just a few days, “Maestro in Blue” – such is the international title – has also caught the fancy of foreign viewers, since, according to Netflix, it was found in the list of 10 non-English series which have been viewed more than March 13–19, 2023. “It didn’t surprise me at all that the series performed well abroad because, knowing Christoforos a long time ago, his talent and abilities, I knew exactly what to expect,” says travel agent Paxian. Dimitris Aronis.

“Hugs” of the locals

Christoforos Papakaliatis has a soft spot for Paxos, this is his favorite place, as he spent many summers there as a child. And the locals reciprocated his love for the island, participating in the filming in any way. “Their participation was something very touching,” she emphasizes. Joanna Chronopoulou, president of the Paxi Cultural Association and director of a school on the island. And he explains: “They wanted to give it their all, because Christophoros he is our man. By filming here, he wanted to highlight both the beauty and quality of life of the residents, regardless of the plot of the series, which is largely in the science fiction genre.”

Like Ms. Chronopoulou, Mr. Aronis also followed the preparations for this TV venture very closely. He works as a travel agent for a company that takes care of the accommodation of the entire film crew and actors. “They were supposed to stay here at the end of the summer of 2021 for about two months,” he says, adding that during this time, “the residents helped make shooting as convenient as possible for the film crew, because here our resources are limited.”

Those who participated in the project have only good memories. “As an experience, it was very educational,” Ms. Bible says as the actor Spyros Rusiadis notes that “as someone from Paxi, I was very lucky that such a production took place on our island. Filming was enjoyable.”

Paxos as a tourist destination

The placement of Paxos on the domestic and global television map is an important step for the development of tourism on the island. “This is a huge advertisement that I believe will attract visitors to get to know not only the place, but also the old buildings that exist and appear in the row,” says Paxos Municipality Tourism Promotion Chairman, Pantelis Kuvas. “However, the fact that he will have one nationwide tourism arrival from people who have seen Maestro, that’s for sure.”

And while it’s too early to tell about the tourism impact the series is having on Paxos, some are showing some early signs that they may prefer the island as their summer holiday destination this year. “Our regular customers bombarded us with positive feedback about Maestro,” says Mr. Aronis.

As Ms Chronopoulou confirmed, filming the second cycle of the series they will begin immediately after Holy Week and will last for a month. They will continue into October “because right now, as I hear from local contacts who own Airbnb, there is no way to accommodate 60 crew members and actors coming and going.” Of course, no matter how long it takes, “the local community is always ready to help anyone who comes with love and hospitality.”