Film buffs will already know that the Cyprus Film Days International Festival is just a few days away, but they may not know what the 16th edition of it has planned for us in Nicosia, at the Zena Palace Cinema, and at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol from April 19 to 28.
This year the selection of films in the competition section entitled Glocal Images highlights the sensibilities of the local, and stresses the importance of film art as a means of expression and conversation between cultures. Ten films will be screened and compete in this section, created by talented international directors that represent Iran, Russia, Germany, Greece, France, Albania, Philippines, Turkey, Argentina, the UK, Bosnia, Slovenia and Croatia.
Three local films will compete in the Cypriot Films Competition. These are Sunrise in Kimmeria by Simon Farmakas, Clementine by Longinos Panagi and Chinatown – The Three Shelters by Aliki Danezi-Knutsen.
Sunrise in Kimmeria is set around the crash landing of a strange object in a potato field inside the sensitive, UN controlled buffer zone. A young farmer unwisely digs it out in exchange for a reduction on his father’s debt.
Clementine is a psychological drama which takes place on an unspecified Mediterranean island and focuses on a lonely boy who comes across two peculiar men in striped costumes. He soon realises that life has two faces, one is the ugly face of war and the other is a beautiful girl called Clementine.
The Three Shelters concentrates on Cleo, a Greek-Chinese girl, brought up with love in the hills of Cyprus. On her 18th birthday she finds out that her long deceased father was murdered by the Chinese mafia.
Further films will be screened in the out-of-competition section under the name Viewfinder – A Close-Up of Contemporary World Cinema. This section will show a total of six films by new and established filmmakers.
As always, the festival will also offer a rich parallel programme of events, including special screenings, masterclasses, lectures and workshops. All the workshops and masterclasses will take place at Zena Palace Cinema and at the Director’s Guild in Nicosia and are free of charge.
The parallel programme will begin with the seminar entitled Colour Managed Workflow with Dado Valentic on April 21 at the Director’s Guild of Cyprus at 11am until 1pm. In this English seminar, Valentic will take the audience through Colour Managed Workflow that has become a standard for all major film productions. Also, on April 21 and at the Director’s Guide of Cyprus, Alessia Sonaglioni will introduce us to the Bechdel Test, a simple tool to measure the presence of women on screen, the results and the limits it presents at 4pm until 5pm.
Moving on to April 22 and the Zena Palace, Demetris Yiatzouzakis will give a lecture in Greek under the name Mythos – Ethos or Character and Plot at 3.30pm until 5.30pm. The lecture will highlight the importance of observation and abstraction, the scriptwriting style and the film’s concept.
Two masterclasses will follow at the Zena Palace. The first will be on April 25 from 4pm until 5.30pm with director Abel Ferrara who will discuss aspects of his creative process. Following the seminar there will be a screening of the documentary Piazza Vittorio, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2017. The next masterclass will be on April 26 from 3.30pm until 5.30pm with filmmaker Steven Bernstein. Bernstein will discuss creative aspects of his work followed by a screening of Dominion (2016), Bernstein’s second feature film as a director starring John Malkovich and Rhys Ifans. Both masterclasses will be in English.
All films will be screened in their original language and will be subtitled both in Greek and in English. A day pass is €6 and a festival pass is €25. Students can get in for free as long as they show their student card.
A detailed programme of screenings and parallel events can be viewed at www.cyprusfilmdays.com.
16th Cyprus Film Days International Festival
Film festival. April 19-28. Rialto Theatre, Limassol and Zena Palace, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €6/25. Tel: 77-777745
