With fifty-six films representing twenty-eight countries, the 12th International Short Film Festival of Cyprus welcomes in its two Competition sections new and cutting-edge voices from the local and global film scene.
Five established professionals, with an active presence in the contemporary film community, will decide on the films of the National and International Competition that will receive awards in the form of cash prizes and services.
The International Jury is headed by Yannis Sakaridis, film director and artistic director of Drama ISFF. Yannis Sakaridis’ career has spanned thirty years in film production. He is the director of Amerika Square, Greece's official selection for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominations 2018. He is the Artistic Director of Drama International Short Film Festival since 2020. Yannis lived in London for 18 years where he directed and edited documentaries for Channel 4, BBC and Cinema trailers for Warner Brothers. His debut feature film Wild Duck premiered at Toronto Film Festival in 2013. Amerika Square was released in the USA, China, Spain, UK, HBO and was screened and awarded at numerous festivals.
This year’s Jury also includes:
Mathieu Janssen, Artistic Coordinator at ‘Go Short’ International Short Film Festival
Mathieu Janssen, based in Nijmegen (the Netherlands), is artistic coordinator at Go Short - International Short Film Festival. After finishing his master’s degree in Sociology, he focused on journalism as a freelance writer and as a programmer of public debates on social issues at the local art institution. Born from his love for films, in 2013 he co-founded the screening collective ‘Deep End Film’ and, in 2018, Mathieu started working at Go Short. As a driving force in the programme department, he is responsible for the competitive sections, part of the selection committee and out-of-competition programmes. With ‘Go Short’, he co-initiated the collaborative international platform ‘This Is Short’. Mathieu is also a pre-selector at Vienna Shorts.
Rona Segal, filmmaker and journalist
Rona Segal is an Israeli filmmaker and journalist, exploring political and social issues. Her latest documentary, Mission: Hebron, investigates the soldiers' occupation routines in the West Bank. It premiered at IDFA 2020 and was an EFA Short Film Candidate of Tampere Film Festival in 2021. It also won Best Film Award at Short Shorts Japan and Jerusalem Film Festival, Human Values Award at Drama Film Festival, and was acquired by the NYT Op-Docs. Her previous documentary web series, Caught in the web, focused on orthodox communities and their emerging digital culture. It premiered at Fipadoc 2021 and was an Israeli Academy TV Award nominee. Rona's latest short fiction, Wednesdays, premiered at Palm Springs ShortFest 2022 and won Best Actor Award at Jerusalem Film Festival 2022. Rona has also written the feature film Six Acts, winner of the TVE award at San Sebastian Film Festival 2012, which was distributed worldwide by Playtime.
Erdogan Kavaz, actor, producer and director
Erdogan Kavaz is a freelance actor, producer and director from Nicosia, Cyprus. He graduated in 2013 from Anadolu University - State Conservatory, Theatre Department / Acting. Following his graduation, he started working for several theatres, such as Nicosia Municipality Theatre, Nicosia Art Theatre, Attis Theatre and some other temporary projects based on performance and art, such as Buffer Fringe Nicosia, Cyprus Theatre Organization (Guest Room Project), International Theatre İnstitute, Theater Olympics etc. Erdogan is teaching as a freelancer, as well as at the Naci Talat Foundation, where he has been leading an amateur theatre group ‘Theatre MAKİ’ since 2016. He also participated as a dramaturg and co-creator in Aerologies contemporary dance project (concept/choreography by Elena Christodoulidou) and Buffer Fringe Thinking Partners programme. Erdogan is actively taking part in audiovisual storytelling projects, video production, acting coaching, and teaches at a School of Performing Arts.
Alexandra Matheou, writer & director
Alexandra Matheou is a writer and director. She holds a Law LLB and LLM from King’s College London, as well as an MA in Film Studies from University College London (UCL). Her short films have screened internationally and her latest A Summer Place (2021), a Cyprus-France co-production with the support of the CNC, continues its festival run with selections and awards at major film festivals around the world including AFI Fest, Palm Springs, Tampere and Odense International Film Festival among others. Alexandra recently launched This is the Girl Films, an independent film production company based in Cyprus, as well as co-founded Film SOS, Greece’s first initiative aiming to accelerate sustainability in the Greek audiovisual sector. Alexandra is an alumna of Talents Sarajevo 2018 and a Fellow at Oxbelly Screenwriters and Directors Lab 2022, under the mentorship of directors Kelly Reichardt and Athena Rachel Tsangari. Her first feature film Shibboleth is currently in development with the support of Onassis Culture and the Cyprus Film Fund.
More information about the festival and its full programme will be announced in the coming weeks.
All screenings are suitable for 18+.
Information: Rialto Theatre 77 77 77 45
Facebook: @Int’l Short Film Festival of Cyprus
Instagram: isffc_filmfestival
Twitter: #RialtoTheatreCy /#isffc22
www.isffc.com.cy / www.rialto.com.cy
Ιn Collaboration with: Limassol Municipality
Award Sponsor: SteFilm
Μedia Sponsors: CyBC, Check in, City
Technical Partner: Event Pro
Hospitality Sponsor: Mediterranean Beach Hotel
Supported by: Cyprus University of Technology, University of Cyprus, Limassol Today, Efimerida Lemesos, Lemesos blog, Limassol Cine Club, Limassol Tourism Board, Vestnik, Mitos, Vivliotropio, Art Studio 55
