The tenth, anniversary edition of the festival will take place between the 20th and 29th of April 2012, in Limassol at the Rialto Theatre and in Nicosia, at the Zena Palace Cinema.
The festival is co-organised by the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Rialto Theatre.
The festival aims at promoting international and Cypriot cinema, supporting and promoting the work of independent filmmakers, showcasing new talent and becoming a meeting point for filmmakers from the three continents surrounding the island of Cyprus. ‘Cyprus Film Days International Film Festival’ is a successful event that brings the international independent cinema closer to the Cypriot audience, and fosters an atmosphere for creative dialogue as well as entertainment.
The selection of films and programming of screenings and parallel events, is undertaken by a three-member Artistic Committee, consisting of Adonis Florides (film director), Costas Constandinides (Film Scholar), and Constantinos Sarkas (Journalist).
www.cyprusfilmdays.com
Glocal Images – International Competition Section:
Extraordinary new films are competing in this year’s Glocal Images, the international competitive section of the festival. Panayiotis Fafoutis’s second feature film Paradise is set in Patra, Greece, amidst a colourful, chaotic carnival atmosphere, where four duets are staking their claim on their own private Paradise. Family relationships are at the centre of attention in this year’s competition and are depicted by the directors in a contemporary, exploring viewpoint. The Israeli film Restoration records a dysfunctional father- son relationship, and their attempt to communicate as they must save the family business. At the same time, the Finnish film The Good Son explores an Oedipus- like relationship between mother and son, balancing between psychological drama and black comedy. Young Ilmari is overprotective with his mother, and when she falls in love with writer Aimo, Ilmari becomes unexpectedly violent. The issue of dysfunctional family relationships is also developed in Belgian film My only son, where the protagonist must house his father whom he resents. To find himself confronted with "the ogre" as he calls him, in his own home, would be a trip back to the darkness of his childhood. The film Invisible (co-produced by Israel- Germany) deals with the crime of psychological and physical rape. Two women realize they have been victims of the same rapist and struggle to confront the past and integrate the long repressed trauma into their lives. The Russian period drama The Dry Valley, tells the story of Natalia, a young and naive girl who serves in the country house of the noble family of the Krushevs. The story unites the destinies of the landowners and their servants, and is considered as one of the most complete portraits of the Russian life in the late XIX century. In his debut feature film Fish n’ Chips, Cypriot director Elias Demetriou narrates the story of Andy, a hard working Cypriot immigrant in London who deep- fries his way into oblivion, and decides to leave London for his native Cyprus. But his dream turns into a nightmare, as he seems to have overlooked one small detail: Cyprus just isn’t London! German film Combat Girls, is a nightmarish depiction of Neo-Nazism from a uniquely female perspective. Romanian film Lover Boy, portrays a contemporary drama set in the decadent Romanian countryside. The protagonist, Luca, seduces girls then leaves them in the hands of his friends at the Black Sea port of Constanta, until he falls in love with one of his potential victims.
The international jury will grant the following awards to the films competing: Best Film Award (accompanied by €7.000 cash prize), Special Jury Award (accompanied by €2.000 cash prize) and Glocal Images Award (accompanied by of €1.000 cash prize).
