The 13th Cyprus Film Days is opening next week in Nicosia. It consists of two main programmes: the Glocal Images - International Competition section and the out of competition Viewfinder section, which comprises films that have been screened and awarded at major festivals over the past year. For the first time this year, the Festival will be introducing a National Competition section, exclusively showcasing Cypriot productions. Special tributes, parallel screenings, master classes, workshops and musical events, complete this year’s program.

On the Glocal Images - International Competition section, the Cypriot audience will have the opportunity to watch some of world cinema’s new talents, including three Balkan co-productions that have travelled at prestigious festivals around the world:

Impressions of a Drowned Man by Kyros Papavassiliou, Cyprus/Slovenia/Greece, 2015

A Blast by Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands,  2014

Three Windows and a Hanging by Isa Qosja, Kosovo*, 2014

The National Competition programme, on the other hand, will be screening three new Cypriot feature films:

Family Member by Marinos Kartikkis, Cyprus, 2015

Conveyor Belt by Alexia Roider, Cyprus, 2015

The Magic Beans by Theo Panayides, Cyprus, 2015

The Out-of-Competition section The Other Cinema of the Fantastic, will include Norway by Yannis Veslemes, while One of Cyprus Film Days 2015 most promising sections will be Viewfinder - A Close Up of Contemporary International Cinema, a programme packed of powerfull new films, among them Panos H. Koutras΄ Xenia (Greece/France/Belgium, 2014). The section will be completed by hits like Damien Chazelle’s Oscar 2014 winner Wiplash, Xavier Dolan’s Cannes 2014 winner Mommy, Karlovy Vary 2014 winner Corn Island by George Ovashvili, Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan - another Cannes 2014 winner, and Carlos Vermut’s San Sebastian 2014 winner Magical Girl. Also, the local audience should not miss a mini-tribute to one of America’s key nindependent filmmakers of the ‘80s and ‘90s, Hal Hartley.

This year, Cyprus Film Days will  incorporate a special section with films for young audiences, the Cyprus Film Days for Children and Youth programme, with screenings of international awarded films for young audiences as well as short films produced by children in Cyprus and Greece.

The awards granted by the festival, will be the one for the Best Film, the Special Jury Award and the Best Director Award, while for the first time this year, a new award (for the Best National Film) will reward one of the films of the National Competition section. Additionally, the audience will vote for their favourite film (Audience Award).

Development and promotion of film education is another side of Cyprus Film Days. Therefore, it organises a number of workshops for film professionals and actors, delivered by world acclaimed industry experts. In collaboration with the Directors Guild of Cyprus, the festival will be hosting a series of workshops (Casting for Directors and Producers) with Emmy-nominated casting director Nancy Bishop C.S.A., who works internationally, casting actors from both Europe and North America. The seminar will cover the process of casting, highlighting how casting directors work together with production.

The 13th Cyprus Film Days Internatoinal Film Festival will be held from April 17 to 26.