THERE’S certainly no shortage of local directors putting their talent into short films, but it’s rarer to find a short which features an international cast that also comes with a sizeable publicity push.
Inspired by a true story, The Fiddler will be screened before a select audience this Wednesday evening at the K Cineplex in Nicosia while the film – produced by Green Olive and supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture – is being sent off to a wide range of top film festivals abroad.
The Fiddler was directed and written by Stelana Kliris, who was inspired to make a film about a young man who dreams of becoming a fiddler after her grandfather let her in on a secret he had never spoken about to anyone before.
The film tells the story of a young man who’s passionate about music and is desperate to play the violin despite his poverty. His goal is to own an instrument of his own, but life gets in the way and he finds himself forced to choose between his life long dream for music and responsibility towards his family.
“My grandfather happened to mention this story a couple of years before he passed away and I thought it would make a great film,” says Stelana. “Inspired by my grandfather’s life, the film offers a summarised version of his experiences.”
Stelana has a diverse cultural background as a Greek Cypriot born and raised in South Africa. She then moved to live in London and Athens but is currently based in Limassol. With two documentaries under her belt so far, she has placed great importance on this film appealing to a wide international audience. Not only is the movie shot in English, the protagonists have also been selected from abroad.
The main character, Tasso, is played by British actor Will Strange who trained at the Oxford School of Drama and has toured internationally with theatre companies across the UK. “We actually did castings in Greece, Cyprus and London but we were looking for the very best actor and someone who could also play the violin.”
Set in the 1950s, the film was shot in and around Nicosia back in September 2009 in one intense week. “It was quite a huge challenge because not only did we have to pay attention to the era we were trying to depict, but we also wanted to get a fairytale essence across,” says the director. “It took a great deal of research when it came to cars and clothing. Of course we also had to make sure that nothing modern whatsoever appeared in the background as we were filming.”
While most scenes were shot in the old parts of town near derelict buildings untouched by time, rural shots were taken out in the fields of Latsia. But that’s not to undermine the film’s universal appeal. “Although shot in Cyprus with a local flavour, the theme of the film is a universal one,” says Stelana. “It’s about someone trying to make their dreams come true, and anyone can relate to that.”
