The 21st Cyprus International Film Festival – Golden Aphrodite Awards (CYIFF) will take place in Nicosia from 21 to 25 September, bringing together films and filmmakers from around the world in a programme focusing on roots, memory, identity, love and peace.
According to an announcement, the festival will feature fiction films, documentaries, animation, short films, music and dance films, experimental and VR productions, student films, comedies, mobile films and films by women filmmakers.
As part of CYIFF, the 6th Women in Film and Television Cyprus International Festival will also take place, highlighting the work and representation of women in cinema and television.
The programme also includes Nostimon Imar, a section dedicated to filmmakers of Greek origin from the diaspora, while Chinese cinema will also feature prominently in the programme. Among the films is Ziyuan Wang’s 'A Room of Her Own,' about a migrant cleaner in Beijing who finds a way to express herself through poetry.
CYIFF is also considering the creation of a China–Cyprus Cultural Film Forum to promote cultural dialogue between China, Cyprus, Greece and Europe.
Other films highlighted in the programme include Marko Djordjevic’s 'That’s It for Today,' Lucianna Kyriacou’s 'It’s Raining,' about a Greek Cypriot family in London carrying memories of the 1974 invasion and displacement, and 'The Distance We Drift,' which follows a migrant couple from Hong Kong in Britain.
The programme also includes 'Queen of Cyprus,' a documentary focusing on the strength and resilience of Cypriot women around the world and on themes of home, loss and rebuilding. Against the backdrop of Cyprus’ continuing division, the festival also explores the role of cinema in promoting dialogue and peace.
A photography exhibition entitled 'Things We Pass By' will also be held, while directors and representatives of several films will attend screenings and take part in discussions with audiences.
On 26 September, the Cyprus Women Environmental Peacemakers (CWEP) initiative, established by WIFT Cyprus in 2025, will hold a conference on Women, Peace and the Environment. Inspired by UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the initiative links women’s participation in peacebuilding with environmental sustainability.
According to the organisers, the festival aims not only to screen films but also to encourage dialogue through stories from different countries and cultures that explore shared human experiences.
(Source: CNA)
