Funny, sombre, sunny, gloomy, provocative, hopeful, humane, the Cypriot shorts programme has it all, as Cypriot filmmakers explore a culturally rich and diverse cinematic landscape, just at the crossroads between East and West, waiting to be discovered.
A Girls
Director: Antony Petrou | Cyprus | 2021 | 10 Minutes | UK Premiere
A seven-year-old girl wakes up one morning and discovers that her family has disappeared. She goes about her day as best she can, initially enjoying this newfound freedom. However, as the day starts to give way to nightfall, we begin to see the child’s vulnerabilities come to the fore.
Cast: Aviana Bella, Daphne Alexander, Aenea Kubrick, Thomas Kadman, Mario Michael, Christianna Michae
Writers: Antony Petrou, Aviana Bella | Producers: Antony Petrou, Anjelika Kapanidi-Petrou, Oliver Collins | Director of Photography: Oliver Collins, Antony Petrou | Editor: Antony Petrou | Music: Christos Andreou, Aviana Bella
A Summer Place
Director: Alexandra Matheou | Cyprus / France / Greece | 2021 | 21 Minutes
Summer is a permanent state of mind in Limassol, a once small seaside town in Cyprus that has transformed into the oligarch paradise of the Mediterranean. Within this asphyxiating environment, Tina, a depressed food stylist, is ready to give up on everything, until an extraordinary encounter changes her life.
Cast: Mary Mina, Aurora Martion, Natalija Janičkina
Writer: Alexandra Matheou | Producer: Savvas Stavrou | Director of Photography: Yorgos Rahmatoulin | Editor: Livia Neroutsopoulou | Music: Nick Athens
Amalgamation
Director: Nicolas Iordanou, Sylvia Nicolaides | Cyprus | 2020 | 19 Minutes | UK Premiere
Amalgamation is a soulful portrait of a female choir from Cyprus revisiting traditional songs in a contemporary way, bridging past and present, with a strong voice and a deep sense of community and friendship. The Choir’s intimate exploration of Mediterranean traditional music is emotionally and intellectually engaging.
Cast: Amalgamation Choir, Vasiliki Anastasiou, Giorgos Kalogirou
Writer: Nicolas Iordanou, Sylvia Nicolaides | Producer: Nicolas Iordanou, Sylvia Nicolaides | Director of Photography: Nicolas Iordanou | Editor: Sylvia Nicolaides, Nicolas Iordanou | Music: Vasiliki Anastasiou, Giorgos Kalogirou, Amalgamation Choir
I Don’t Like The Wind, I Like The Sun
Director: Tonia Mishiali | Cyprus | 2020 | 24 Minutes | UK Premiere
I Don’t Like The Wind, I Like The Sun is composed of ordinary and unobtrusive moments of the lives of eleven people with learning disabilities. The film explores how the achievements of independence, social inclusion and employment, fuel their sense of happiness and brighten their lives.
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Cast: Paraskevi Pelekanou, Andreas Mavroudis, Magda Hambi, Koulla Moysi, Anna Anastasiadou, Nikolas Christoforou, Charalambos Pelekanou, Christos Aristidou, Michalis Aristidou, Eleni Pelekanou, Yiannakis Hadjittofi
Writer: Tonia Mishiali | Producer: Tonia Mishiali | Director of Photography: Stephan Metzner | Editor: Tonia Mishiali
I Don’t Want To Forget Anything
Director: Vaggelio Soumeli | Cyprus | 2020 | 5 Minutes | UK Premiere
It’s deathly quiet. Marialena is desperate to find the poetry book she lost and bookstores are closed. She is obsessed with knowing where her sister Magda is. The two sisters are on the phone. Bells are ringing. They need to remember, in order to forgive and say goodbye.
Cast: Romanna Lobach, Marina Argyridou
Writer: Vaggelio Soumeli | Producer: Vaggelio Soumeli, Yorgos Rahmatoulin, Elias Ktistakis | Director of Photography: Yorgos Rahmatoulin | Editor: Thodoris Armaos | Music: Olga Ogomanic
In Limbo
Director: Semeli Vogazianou | Cyprus | 2021 | 10 Minutes | International Premiere
Three anonymous people reveal their emotional pain, loneliness and mental health struggles during the global pandemic of coronavirus. Their thoughts and feelings are expressed through monologues in three different languages – English, Italian and Greek-Cypriot. We are let into their internal worlds as they reflect on a painful 2020.
Cast: Red, Green, Blue
Writer: Red, Green, Blue | Producer: Semeli Vogazianou | Director of Photography: Semeli Vogazianou | Editor: Semeli Vogazianou
Losing Grace
Director: Athena Mandis | United Kingdom | 2021 | 14 Minutes
Louise, on the run with her teenage daughter Grace, finds refuge on the Isle of Man. But when Grace’s new friendship unwittingly exposes them, Louise comes face to face with her worst nightmare. A brooding thriller that skirts on the edges of morality and the law.
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Cast: Liz Frahadi, Tabatha Howard, Grant Burgin, Emma Svensson
Writer: Athena Mandis | Producer: Athena Mandis, Liz Farahadi | Director of Photography: Beatriz Delgado Mena | Editor: Erik Moore | Music: Donna McKevitt
The Hunt
Director: Sholeh Zahraei, Kamil Saldun | Cyprus | 2020 | 21 Minutes | UK Premiere
The sudden discovery of his son’s secret turns Ibrahim’s traditional world upside-down. Fraught with emotional conflict, he takes his son Ismail on a fateful trip. Tackling homophobia and patriarchy, the film is told from an intersectional and queer perspective, and inspired by the biblical story of The Binding of Isaac.
Cast: Ali Düşenkalkar, Erdoğan Kavaz, Elmaziye Derviş, Andreas Orphanides, Yaşar Aydin Karaca
Writer: Sholeh Zahraei, Kamil Saldun | Producer: Marios Petrondas, Sholeh Zahraei, Kamil Saldun | Director of Photography: Stephan Metzner | Editor: Mustafa Köroğlu, Kamil Saldun | Music: Inal Bilsel
