Day: March 20, 2024

A varied and daring line-up of films grappling with the major social and artistic concerns of our times makes up this year's edition of Cyprus Film Days International Festival 2024. According to a press release, the 22nd edition brings its expectant audience a film programme that creates a meaningful dialogue with spectators while elevating the viewing experience into an opportunity for social awareness and quality entertainment in a spirit of open-mindedness. Five of the best-crafted, most talked-about films that struck a chord with international audiences will be screened out-of-competition in the Viewfinder section - A close up of Contemporary World Cinema. Among them the last -by his own admission- film by the icon of political cinema, director Ken Loach, titled The Old Oak, about the last pub standing in a village of Northeastern England. Also the Tokyo-made, Cannes-winning, Oscar-nominated Perfect Days, the new film by Wim Wenders, inspired by the beauty and dignity of the everyday. Moreover, the G reen Border, the eye-opening new film by renowned director Agnieszka Holland that takes a plunge into the geopolitical aspects of the refugee crisis, winner of the Special Jury Prize in Venice. Also, Afire, Christian Petzold's elliptical, slow-burning tragicomedy that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale. Finally the film A shrewd black comedy by iconoclast Radu Jude that enthralled audiences at the Chicago and Locarno Film Festivals: Do not Expect too Much from the End of the World. Glocal Images International Competition Section ---------- A thoroughly chosen, diverse line-up of films that resonates with the cinematic tendencies of our times makes up the Glocal Images International Competition Section. These are: A Strange Path (Brazil), a deeply personal family drama by Guto Parente that premiered in competition at Tribeca Film Festival, - Sofia Exarchou's gloomily realistic film, Animal (Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria), which triumphed at Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Dr eaming and Dying (Singapore, Indonesia), Nelson Yeo's experimental fantasy drama that won the Pardo d'Oro for Best Feature Film at Locarno, Amjad Al Rasheed's Inshallah a Boy (Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) a fascinating drama of female emancipation, screened in the presence of the Jordanian director. Also, 78 Days (Serbia), Emilija Gasic's dynamic debut set against the backdrop of the 1999 NATO bombings of Serbia, which premiered at Rotterdam, to be screened in the presence of the director, The urgent, politically engaged drama by Palestinian British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, The Teacher (UK, Palestine, Qatar), first screened at Toronto, Slow (Lithuania, Spain, Sweden), a romantic, Sundance-winning film by Marija Kavtaradze that challenges intimacy stereotypes. Cypriot Films Competition Section ---------- Four distinct films by acclaimed Cypriot directors are featured in the Cypriot Films Competition Section which promises to be a highlight of this year's edition. These films are also competing in the Global Images International Competition Section. These are: Five Shilling Nylon, the last film by the late Christos Shopahas, set in 1940s Cyprus, The new film by acclaimed director Adonis Florides, Africa Star (Cyprus), a close-up of the lives of three Cypriot women from different generations, Detached House (Cyprus, Greece), Ioakim Mylonas' debut feature, a satirical dark comedy based on the same-titled book by Dimitris Mitsotakis, Kyros Papavassiliou's Embryo Larva Butterfly, a lyrical, existential film that confounds our sense of time (Cyprus, Greece). Taste of Indie ------ This year's CFD edition also features the section 'Taste of Indie', an ode to independent, micro-budget filmmaking, with two films Susan Seidelman's Smithereens (1982) that touches upon issues of female identity and self-reinvention, the first independent American film to compete at Cannes Film Festival. Jay and Mark Duplass's Baghead (2008), a comedy horror film that defined the American mumblecore genre. Also, Lina Soualem's Bye Bye Tiberias (2023 - France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar), a documentary tracing the story of four generations of Palestinian women, scheduled as a special screening at Zena Palace in Nicosia. This year's screening programme is also enriched with The Jury Presents section featuring three films drawn from the work of the Festival's International Jury members. Last, the Children and Youth section showcases five compelling films: The Apple Day (K) by Mahmoud Ghaffari (Iran), Adventures in the Land of Asha (K) by Sophie Farkas Bolla (Canada), Big Dreams (K) by Dan Pa´nek (Czech Republic), in the director's presence, Nezouh (12+) by Soudade Kaadan (UK, Syria, France, Qatar) and Searching (12+) by Anneesh Chaganty (USA, Russia). (All films for children and youth have been awarded the relevant classification (as anoted) pursuant to the Motion Picture Content Rating System Law of 2002.) The Festival's detailed programme is posted on cyprusfilmdays.com. General info about the festival ----------- All films asi de the Children and Youth Section are suitable for 18+. All films will be screened in their original language with English and Greek subtitles. Films of the National Competition Section will be screened with Turkish subtitles. As noted, CFD will take place under the auspices of: Limassol Municipality and Nicosia Municipality, in partnership with CIPA Film in Cyprus and supported by Institut Français de Chypre and German Embassy Nicosia Source: Cyprus News Agency

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Wednesday met with officials from the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the UN ahead of Thursday's meeting on Cyprus' Amalthia Project, in which representatives of 35 countries and other stakeholders are to participate. In his post on 'X', Kombos refers to the separate meetings he had earlier on Wednesday with US National Security Council Chief of Staff, Curtis Reid, the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy and UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, 'ahead of tomorrow's Senior Officials Meeting on the Cyprus Maritime Corridor'. The common goal, the Minister said, was 'to ensure that urgently needed humanitarian aid is delivered to the people of Gaza'. As regards Thursday's meeting, an official statement said that, the activation of the 'Amalthia' Project, led to the first maritime delivery of aid to Gaza through the ship Open Arms and the contribution of World Central Kitchen, while a second delivery was to follow 'in the immediate future'. Cyprus, it said, since the beginning of the current crisis in the Middle East 'worked intensively and methodically' to implement the initiative for the creation of a one-way maritime corridor, for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. 'An initiative which is based on geographical proximity, on the excellent level of relations with all parties directly involved, as well as on international humanitarian law', it adds. It notes that, in the context of defining the next steps, Cyprus is hosting a Senior Officials Meeting on Thursday, at the Zenon Coordination Center in Larnaca, in which the partners directly involved, as well as other interested parties, will participate. 'The aim of the meeting is to coordinate on matters concerning technical aspects of the Amalthia Plan to enhance its viability, such as the establishment of a joint fund and other logistical support aspects', it adds. In total, 35 countries, including Cyprus, will participate in th e meeting. The UN will also be represented through the Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance and Reconstruction in Gaza, as well as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and UNOPS. The meeting will also be attended by the EU through the Director General of DG ECHO, representatives of USAID, as well as by representatives of the World Central Kitchen and FOGBOW. Source: Cyprus News Agency

A yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued for Wednesday by Cyprus Department of Meteorology. It will be in valid from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm local time. According to the warning isolated thunderstorms are expected to affect the area and in storms precipitation rates are expected to exceed the range of 35 millimeters per hour, whereas the presence of hail is not very unlikely. Source: Cyprus News Agency

Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA), Irene Charalambides, was the keynote speaker in a discussion on ending sexual violence in conflict zones at the Women Political Leaders Summit that takes place in Athens. According to a press release by the House of Representatives, the Cypriot MP condemned the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and stated that it is reinforced by the fact that perpetrators know that the victims will hesitate to report the crime due to the fear of stigmatization and rejection. She recalled that women in Cyprus suffered sexual violence during the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974 and said that even today, as a result of multiple ongoing conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and the Middle East, women and girls are disproportionately affected by ongoing violence, bloodshed and displacement. Moreover, she expressed concern over the fact that displaced women and girls face increased risk of being expl oited by trafficking networks. Concluding, she pointed out that preventing and combating sexual violence requires targeted policies as well as political will, in order to build a system where women will be respected in war as well as in peace. Source: Cyprus News Agency

Travel traffic to and from Cyprus is expected to show a slight decrease this year compared to 2023 due to the ongoing war in Israel, President of the Association of Cyprus Travel and Tourism Agents (ACTTA) Charis Papacharalambous has said. Papacharalambous, who was speaking on Wednesday at a press conference on the occasion of the Association's 70th anniversary, said that from next month, travel traffic from Israel to Cyprus is expected to approach the levels of 2023, while trips from Cyprus to Israel will take more time to reach the levels of last year. Regarding trips abroad by Cypriots during the Easter holidays, Vice-President of the Association Christos Christou, said that bookings are running out, adding that the favorite destination of Cypriots for Easter is Greece and in particular the island of Corfu, while European destinations such as Paris show an upward trend. As regards bookings for the summer holidays, Christou said that holiday packages are already posted on the websites of the tour operato rs noting that bookings have started. The President of the Association said that TRAVEL EXPO CYPRUS 2024 which will be held in the third week of April will offer attractive packages. The year 2023, he said, was a record year for travels, and saw an increase of 5% compared to 2019. He attributed the increase to the fact that 2023 followed a two-year period of travel restrictions due to the pandemic and the imposed lock downs. Greece, he said, is the favourite destination of Cypriots with one third of trips going to Greece, followed by the United Kingdom with 10%-12%, while other European destinations are also gaining ground, mainly cities with direct flights. He said that there is a trend this year with travelers preferring to book with travel agents. He noted that there are several factors that can cause losses to the travelers, such as airline or airport strikes, flight delays and cancellations due to weather conditions, adding that travelers will not suffer damages if they purchase their trips from trave l agents. Papacharalambous noted that the tourism product of Cyprus must continuously be upgraded in a targeted manner, so as to be able to compete with neighbouring countries, such as Turkey, Greece, Egypt. He spoke about the rise in the cruise sector, while winter tourism and alternative tourism need to be further developed. Source: Cyprus News Agency