“Hellmets” is a short anti-war film directed and produced in Cyprus during 2009. The film has won the prizes of best cinematography and costume design in Drama Film Festival 2009, best cinematography in Tanger Tunis Film Festival 2011 and it has been selected as the best movie in Brest Mediterranean Film Festival 2011.
“Adventure of the Soul” (ΠΕΡΙΠΕΤΕΙΑ ΨΥΧΗΣ) is a narrative short film that attempts to capture the essence of the famous myth of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and portray it on the cinema screen, by the means of the cinematic language.
A group of prisoners, chained within an underground cave, are bound to continuously watch the projection of the shadows of various objects held by conjurors that parade behind them. One of the puppeters, a female, decides to free one of the prisoners and to lead him for the first time to the surface of the Earth, so that he will experience the real world for the first time. A real world illuminated by the sun, contrary to the light of the fire that illuminates the cave. The scared prisoner is forced by the puppeteer to rise to the surface of the earth. His experience on this upper world is quite intense and scares him so much, that he wants to return to the cave. When he returns, he describes what he saw to the rest of the prisoners, though, they cannot conceive them, or rather, they do not believe him, since none of them had a taste of this experience before.
Then, the prisoner sits back to his spot and holds his broken chains. Will he put them back on and continue his fate, or will he return, as a free man, to the real world, the real knowledge, the genuine light?
Available for sale at www.psefionline.com for academic use only.
A short film written, directed and produced by Tonia Mishiali.
Country of production: Cyprus
Co-produced by Tonia Mishiali and the Ministry of Education&Culture of Cyprus (Cinema Advisory Committee).
Synopsis:
The loss of youth, social and professional activity intensifies the sense of loneliness and the ‘dead end’ in the common life of an elderly couple.
AWARDS:
“Silver Dionysos” Award (2nd prize for narrative film) at the Short Film Festival in Drama (36th edition)
“Best Director” Award at the Athens International Film Festival “Opening Nights” (National Competition) (19th edition)
“Michael Cacoyiannis Directing Award” at the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (3rd edition) (National Competition)
Special Mention for “Best Sound Design” at the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (3rd edition) (National Competition)
Cinematic Achievement Award at the Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival (7th edition)
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:
Locarno Film Festival (66th edition), Locarno, Switzerland (7-17 August 2013) – World Premiere
Short Film Festival in Drama (36th edition), Drama, Greece (16-21 Sept. 2013)
Encounters Short Film & Animation Festival (19th edition), Bristol, UK (Brief Encounters) (17-22 September 2013)
Athens International Film Festival “Opening Nights” (National Competition) (19th edition), Athens, Greece (19-29 Sept. 2013)
“Vilnius Film Shorts” International Short Film Festival (8th edition), Vilnius, Lithuania (10-13 Sept. 2013)
ISFFC International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (3rd edition), Limassol, Cyprus (12-18 October 2013) – (National & International Competitions)
Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival (7th edition), Thessaloniki, Greece (20-26 Oct. 2013)
CAM Festival of Short Films (3rd edition), Cairo, Egypt (21-26 Oct. 2013)
The Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival – Curta Cinema 2013 (23rd edition), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (31 Oct.-7 Nov. 2013)
Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF 2013) (11th edition), Seoul, Korea (7-12 November 2013)
Cork Film Festival (58th edition), Cork, Ireland (9-17 Nov. 2013)
International Short Film Festival Leuven (19th edition), Leuven, Belgium (30 Nov.-7 Dec. 2013)
International Short Film Festival Zubroffka (8th edition), Bialystok, Poland (4-8 Dec. 2013)
Berlin Independent Film Festival (BIFF) (5th edition), Berlin, Germany (8-18 Feb. 2014)
WOW Film Festival (World of Women’s Cinema) (19th edition), Sydney, Australia (4-14 March 2014)
Rome Independent Film Festival (RIFF) (13th edition), Rome, Italy (16-23 March 2014)
European Cinema Festival of Lille (30th edition), Lille, France (28 March-4 April 2014)
Palm Springs International ShortFest (20th edition), Palm Springs, California, US (17-23 June 2014)
Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (11th edition), Yerevan, Armenia (13-20 July 2014)
San Giò Verona Video Festival (20th edition), Verona, Italy (23-27 July 2014)
Divan Film Festival (5th edition), Romania (26 Aug. – 1 Sept. 2014)
Bolgatty International Film Festival 2014, Kochi, Kerala, India (11-15 Sept. 2014)
Adana Golden Boll Film Festival (21st edition), Adana, Turkey (16-20 Sept. 2014)
Love & Anarchy Helsinki International Film Festival (20th edition), Helsinki, Finland (18-28 Sept. 2014)
London Greek Film Festival (7th edition), London, UK (6-18 October 2014)
Mediterranean Film Festival of Tangiers (12th edition), Tangiers, Morocco (13-18 October 2014)
Signes de nuit, Berlin, Germany / Paris, France (5-15 Dec 2014)
Courts des Iles (3rd edition), Tahiti, French Polynesia (9-15 March 2015)
SEEfest (South East European Film Festival) (10th edition), Los Angeles, California (30 April-7May 2015)
San Fransisco Greek Film Festival (12th edition) San Fransisco, California (9-17 May 2015)
European Film Festival of China (1st edition), Beijing, China (Sept. 2015)
OUT OF COMPETITION:
Thessaloniki International Film Festival (54th edition), Thessalloniki, Greece (1-10 Nov. 2013)
“Six of the Best” (A selection of the best films of Cork Film Festival) (58th edition), Cork, Ireland (17 Nov. 2013)
“Cyprus Unplugged” Event at Palais des Beaux Arts Bozar, Brussels, Belgium (9 Dec. 2013)
“Short Film Day” Event, Nicosia, Cyprus (21 Dec. 2013)
EcransMed: Screenings from the Mediterranean Film Festival (3rd edition), Montreal & Quebec, Canada (10-21 May 2014)
“Summer short film screenings” at Virsodepsio, Athens, Greece (15 May 2014)
“Best of Greek Films” at Festival Tous Courts (32nd edition), Aix-en-Provence, France (1-6 Dec. 2014)
‘Cinema at the Castle’ Event in Larnaca, Cyprus (ISFFC) (4 July 2015)
Arts & Algorithms International Short Film Festival, Titusville, Florida (5-11 Oct. 2015)
In 1974 the code to begin the Turkish invasion was “Aishe goes on holidays”. The massive cold blood executions of Greek Cypriots by the Turkish troops is just one of the many war crimes which took place during this war…