Ελληνικά / Turkce
Nicosia, 29 October 2007 – This weekend 6 young Cypriots were recognized for their contribution to advancing the social discourse on the island through film. The accolades came at the premiere screening of 13 short films, produced as part of the Young Filmmakers project, organised by UNDP’s peacebuilding initiative in Cyprus, Action for Cooperation and Trust.
Prizes were presented at the film festival to the top films as outlined below:
First prize – SHUSHU by Diomedes Koufteros
Second prize - Happy End by Safak Guzoglu, Filiz Bilen and Bugra Gulsoy
Third prize – Utopia by Giorgos Georgiou
Special Mention by the Jury – Home, Sweet Hope by Stella Karageorgi
A participation award was given by the Executive Producers to Filiz Bilen for her commitment during the project.
The films were watched by an audience of 400 people at Ledra Palace in an event which marked the culmination of nine months of hard work by young people from across the island, who were selected as finalists in the Young Film makers project. Launched in January 2007, the project invited young people to submit their ideas for films which they felt would reflect the concerns of Cypriot youth. A selection panel, made up of Cypriot educators and film critics chose the best ideas to be entered for the next phase of the project. Many of those selected had no previous film making experience, and in March 2007 the selected finalists started an orientation course on film production. Over the next five months these young Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots worked together to develop their scripts and turn them into a series of short films. The project gave an opportunity for artistic expression, encouraged collaboration and inter-communal understanding and explored the dynamics of contemporary Cypriot society from a youth perspective.
According to Jaco Cilliers, UNDP-ACT Programme Manager, “This is a truly Cypriot venture. Cypriots selected the best film ideas, Cypriots worked together to create these high quality, thought provoking productions and Cypriots selected the best films”.
The jury which decided the 3 winners comprised the accomplished Cypriot film makers, Dervis Zaim, Diomedes Nikitas, Elvan Levent and Aliki Danezi Knutsen.
The films shown cover a variety of themes which reflect the realities of the modern world and to which many people in Cyprus will be able to relate: Identity, returning home, friendship, death, chronic illness, conflict, disabilities, ethnic diversity and spirituality. Many of these films are courageous attempts by young Cypriots to carve out a youth voice on the pressing and important issues of the day.
For more information, including a full list of the finalists, please call Alexia Shipilli and Pembe Mentesh on 22 874 777 or 03926014778.
The finalists of the Shooting Reality Film Competition
Diomedes Koufteros receiving First Prize from UNDP-ACT ProgrammeManager
Jaco Cilliers and Executive Producers Spyros Plati and Yeliz Shukri