A sea unites

By Maria Gregoriou

The documentary We Share the Same Sea will be screened on Tuesday in Nicosia and on Wednesday in Limassol.

The documentary shows Cypriot and Israel writers talking about life, inspiration and creation. Through their words we realise that Cyprus and Israel are not just two neighboring countries that share the same sea, they are also two countries that share common characteristics.

Five Cypriot and five Israeli writers were invited to talk about what it is like to grow up in a country where dividing lines define the daily lives of people.

Therefore the documentary is not a political one, but rather a cultural one, since it leads us into finding out whether this situation affects in a creative way and even cultivates perhaps the sensitivities of the intellectuals, as a source of inspiration for the people of culture.

Journalist Eleni Xenou and film director Christophoros Roditis invited on screen ten Israeli and Cypriot writers to share both their thoughts and the questions they see as being raised by the reality of their lives, to talk about the important role played by literature, and art in general.

The Israeli writers are Etgar Keret, Meir Shalev, Zeruya Shalev, Alex Epstein, Nir Baram. The Cypriot writers are Panos Ioannides, Antis Roditis, Emilios Solomou, Maria Ioannou, Sofronis Sofroniou.

After the 30-minute screening, bestselling author Zeruya Shalev and poet and novelist Eyal Megged will lead a live dialogue with the audience. The documentary film was produced with the support of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture and the Embassy of Israel in Cyprus.

We Share the Same Sea
Screening of the documentary followed by talk by Zeruya Shalev and Eyal Megged. July 7. Old Pallouriotissa Market, Nicosia. 9pm. Free. Tel:  22-797869
July 8. Dane House Lemesos, Limassol.  Tel: 25-340618

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.