Nicosia, Cyprus. Israeli writer-director Nadav Lapid said his film “Yes” has two connections to Cyprus, including its status as a Cyprus co-production and its thematic focus on denial. Lapid spoke at Cyprus Film Days ahead of a screening in Nicosia, where the film also played in Limassol.
Cyprus co-production and filming locations
Lapid said “Yes,” made by an Israeli filmmaker and set mostly in Israel, is a co-production with Cyprus, with around 40 per cent of the film shot in Cyprus. He said Cyprus sometimes stood in for an unnamed Greek island and sometimes for Tel Aviv.
Festival screening and discussion
“Yes” screened at Cyprus Film Days in Nicosia and Limassol, and Lapid took part in a discussion with artistic director Argyro Nicolaou and answered questions from the audience before the Nicosia screening.
Writing and filming timeline
Lapid said he began writing the film in 2022 but reworked it after the events of October 7, 2023, incorporating the shock of that day and its aftermath. He said filming began exactly a year later, when he described Israeli society as consumed by what he called a “morbid vivacity,” adding that the pre-Gaza screenplay remained relevant.
Portrayal of society and politics
Lapid said the script describes Israeli society, and possibly more broadly, “one second before the 7th of October,” and portrayed a world he described as chaotic. He said it depicts a society “addicted to power and money,” where “vulgarity and hyper-nationalism” align, and which he said despises “tenderness” and “complexity.”
He said he was not focused on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing him and his government as consequences of what he called the collective psyche of a place. Lapid said he was more interested in everyday life in Tel Aviv and in what he called the country’s “melody,” including how people live and love and go to the beach while, he said, the truth of Gaza remains present but hidden.
What do you think the Cyprus co-production and filming locations add to the way “Yes” is received by audiences in Cyprus?
