[wsfii-discuss] Bitter Lemons Preview Screening, 29th November, 7pm, Goldsmiths University of London

Mon Nov 19 12:28:27 UTC 2012

You are invited to the preview screening of Bitter Lemons, directed and 
produced by Adnan Hadzi and Lennaart van Oldenborgh

Date: 29th of November 2012
Time: 19:00
Location: Goldsmiths, University of London, Screen NAB, LG01, Lewisham 
Way, London SE14 6NW

Register for a free ticket here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/event/4778762407?ref=ebtnebregn#

Bitter Lemons is an observational documentary examining life in two 
rural villages on either side of the UN-administered buffer zone in 
western Cyprus in the years between 2006 and 2009, after border 
crossings opened between the two sides. The film provides a unique local 
perspective on the largely forgotten conflict in Cyprus, from people who 
were displaced by this conflict in 1974, and have lived with its 
consequences ever since.

At the heart of Bitter Lemons is the unlikely friendship between two 
elderly farmers: Loizos (a Greek Cypriot) and Ali (a Turkish Cypriot). 
Ali saved Loizos’ life during the conflict in 1974; since then the two 
men have lived in exile from their homes on opposite sides of the buffer 
zone in the agricultural heartland west of the Cypriot capital Nicosia. 
However, Loizos cultivates the land Ali used to own in the south, and 
Ali cultivates the land Loizos used to own in the north: with only a 
minefield separating them for 30 years.

After in 2003 the first checkpoint across the Buffer Zone opened, Loizos 
and Ali re-established contact. In the following years, hope of a 
political solution in Cyprus meant that they dared to dream that they 
might finally be able to return to their pre-1974 homes. Even the 
minefields have gradually been cleared in a UN-sponsored program. But 
after all the bitter memories of conflict, 30 years of separation, and 
with a community around them that is as suspicious as ever of the enemy 
on the other side, it is not easy to re-establish trust and friendship. 
Political as well as personal reconciliation have proved to be elusive.

On 1 December co-director and co-producer Lennaart van Oldenborgh will 
present a paper relating to the film, at the Besides The Screen 
conference: http://bts.re.
For further information, please visit: http://www.bts.re/bts-2012-panel-4