Nicosia, Cyprus. Cypriot-funded films and co-productions have won awards at international festivals in Europe and Asia, producers said on Tuesday.
Karlovy Vary awards
Director Tonia Misiali’s second feature film, The Lion at My Back, received the Ecumenical Jury Award at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.
Supported by the deputy ministry of culture, the film follows an unexpected bond between a teenage asylum seeker from Senegal and a 40-year-old Cypriot woman. It is a co-production between Cyprus, Luxembourg and Greece, starring Sochna Diallo, Elena Kallinikou, Prokopis Agathokleous and Herodotos Miltiadous.
Almost a Whole Man, another Cypriot co-production, won the Best Director award in the festival’s Proxima section. The film was directed by Greek-German filmmaker Efthimis Kosemund-Sanidis and produced with partners from Bulgaria, Germany, Cyprus, Romania and Greece, with support from the deputy ministry of culture.
Further international recognition
Myrsini Aristidou’s Hold Onto Me continued its festival run after winning the Audience Award at Sundance earlier this year. Young actress Maria Petrova received a performance award at the Shanghai International Film Festival for her role in the film.
Cypriot filmmaker Elias Dimitriou’s Mariselle won Best Feature Film, Best Production, Best Director and Best Cinematography at the South East Academy International Film Festival in the Philippines.
The film has also received awards at festivals in Manchester, Tokyo, Osaka and Cyprus. It is scheduled to screen at the Taunus Film Festival in Germany in August.