International Short Film Festival of Cyprus Announces 2018 National Competition Programme

An audience favourite, the ISFFC returns to the big screen of the Rialto Theatre this Fall, from the 13th to the 19th of October, celebrating the short film and featuring a distinct vision, giving voice to established and emerging filmmakers, from Cyprus and the world.

The 8th International Short Film Festival of Cyprus opens its doors to images of the world, and welcomes cinema fans to a week full of short film screenings, and a diverse programme of parallel events, including thematic screenings, parties and networking events at the Rialto Theatre, and at selected locations in the city of Limassol.

Cypriot production gets bigger and better every year!

More than 40 short films were submitted to the national competition programme this year, a number which is overwhelming compared to previous editions of the Festival. With 20 of these films having been selected for competition, and an outstanding number of foreign films on its programme, the Festival returns to the Rialto theatre, with unique moments from the world of cinema.

Young Cypriot directors, newcomers and film students, Cypriots who live abroad, and awarded filmmakers who make their comeback with a new short film, TRUST their works to the ISFFC, and make it proud for the Cypriot production and festival participation.

A pre-selection committee decided on the Cypriot films participating in the competition. The committee members were Nicolas Khabbaz, producer and Director of Audio Visual Arts at Notre Dame University - Lebanon (NDU), Adonis Florides, director and Dr Marios Psarras, director - film academic. The international competition programme was curated by Cypriot film directors Alexia Roider and Ioakim Mylonas.

The Festival will culminate its programme of events with the Awards ceremony, on October 19th. An international jury, the members of which will be announced soon, will present the winners with the following awards: 1st Prize for Best Short Film, Best Director Award, 2nd Prize for Best Short Film, 1st Prize for Best National Film, 2nd Prize for Best National Film, Best Documentary Award, Student Jury Award for Best Music Video.

The 20 short films that will be screened are:

Cypriot music video Sound of Vladivostok, directed by Marios Ioannou Elia, will compete in the Amaze Me programme, which will award the best creative music video.

The National Competition programme showcases the following 19 films, which are automatically included in the international competition.

(In alphabetical order):

30, Directed by: Constantinos Patsalides

Cyprus,1974. Maria is trying to find anything she can about her son who is in the battlefield. A shocking twist of fate determines the course of the rest of her life.

Aria, Directed by: Myrsini Aristidou

Athens, today. Seventeen-year-old Aria, who is working at Jimmy's local kebab place is waiting for a driving lesson with her father. When he finally arrives, it is not to go for a drive; on the contrary, he confides in her the care of a young Chinese immigrant who speaks neither Greek nor English.

Cyan Magenta Yellow, Directed by: Iisa Amalia Michael

Three colours. Three virtual others trying to coexist in a rhythmic mind. Three personalities are trapped into an inadvertent repetition. Although framed, they manage to invade other neighbouring fields. How does the brain control the chaotic behaviour of a distorted identity?

Grief (A place none of us know until we reach it), Directed by: Alexandra Matheou A mother and a daughter are on a journey to Sicily looking for a spot to scatter their beloved husband/father's ashes. As the day progresses, the mother's solid plan of what to do with the ashes, becomes a critical and compelling turning point in the troubled relationship between the two women, as they each try to process their loss.

I was lost. Now I'm not. Directed by: Constantinos Christou

There are times when I feel lost, unsure and unable to understand where I stand, where I belong, or where I should go. By embracing the unpredictable and by trusting my capacity to cope no matter what, I can step out of my comfort zone and become a more understanding and a more compassionate person.

Lunch, Directed by: Katiana Zachariou A woman explains the importance of lunch, as she prepares food for her husband.

Preposition, Directed by: Rahme Veziroglu

Northern part of Cyprus, where the gravity is low and the time flows in circles on a daily basis. A zone of contrasts where each experience lived is both unfamiliar for its transient nature and familiar at the same time for its repetitive pattern. While kept hostage at the station of the never-coming future, so-called passengers are hypnotised by the dynamic scene of the road. The confusing pace of the circular time blurs the relationship between the road and the station, turning it into an enigma. The enigma itself, then becomes the road. To be unable to act is opted for, against to be unable to know. And those that are known are either lost in the familiarity of the circular time, or float in low gravity.

Quidnunc, Directed by: HARRY Ayiotis

Mentally ill Melanie is determined to end her life whilst staying in a desolate hotel. A woman's cry for help from THE ROOM next door prompts Melanie to pause her suicide plan and investigate the disturbance. During her psychotic journey, she will come face-to-face with her biggest foe for one last showdown.

Rearrangement, Directed by: Emilios Avraam

When Leonidas pursues a home renovation contract from a wealthy homeowner, he quickly comes to find that his potential client is very insistent that everything be done according to her demands.

Soma & Lil, Directed by: Nicolas Iordanou, Sylvia Nicolaides

A music documentary on the art of improvisation. Soma & Lil, a cello improvisation duo based in Denmark, rethink and deconstruct the traditional written music for cello, and develop a more personal way of expression by creating singular compositions that are unique and always changing.

The cut, Directed by: Vaggelio Soumeli

Elli, a surgeon, is being pressured by Sofia to perform an illegal operation on her little daughter. Although Elli downright refuses to do something conflicting with her beliefs, as pressure increases, she faces a dilemma and tries to find a compromise to protect everyone involved.

The fairs, Directed by: Ioanna Neophytou

The Fairs is a 2-channel video documentary, presenting the story of two villages separated by the borderline between Albania and Greece. But the villages of Ayia Marina and Kossovitsa used to be a single village before the creation of the border, which separated them for about 60 years. The video illustrates the story of this separation through the summer fairs that have been unifying, since 1990, the inhabitants of both villages in a revelry.

The Monster, Directed by: Daina Papadaki

Night. Young Zoe is lying in bed but cannot fall asleep. Mom is around her. Zoe tells Mom that she does not want to go to school the next day, because her classmates keep making fun of her appearance. They call her the Monster.

The Sound, Directed by: Antony Petrou

In the countryside, life runs quietly for Beth and her family. But when her mother, one day, hears for the first time a mysterious sound coming from the woods, nothing will ever be the same again.

the way things go, Directed by: Sofia Anastasiou

A young woman struggling with depression builds a Rube Goldberg machine hoping to change her life. The audience becomes witness of the repetition of everyday mundane moments and interactions that attempt to reveal a dark and troubled mind.

To the Moon and Back, Directed by: Stelana Kliris A young man has to tell his girlfriend that he has been accepted on a one-way mission to Mars.

Transit, Directed by: Yana Chilova

Sami and his father, refugees from Syria, are forced to confront the coldness and emptiness of their existence in a refugee camp.

Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times, Directed by: Marcus Markou

Alistair and Samir meet five different times, but it is only when they meet as old men that they can finally put their prejudices aside and meet as friends. This film CHAMPIONS friendship and compassion over separation and distrust.

Χ, Directed by: Christina Georgiou, David Hands
Nicos, struggling with depression, finds a creative way to overcome it.

Free entrance to all screenings and events. The programme will be announced soon on the Festival website www.isffc.com.cy

Organisers

The Festival is organised by the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Rialto Theatre.

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