41st Annual Nicosian Film Festival

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Join us for the 41st Nicosian Film Festival.



What is it?

The Nicosian Film Festival is an annual festival held in Nicosia in which films of all types are previewed and judged. Each panel of judges is invited by the previous panel and generally consists of those in the arts. The festival was originally funded by wealthy contributors but in 1997, the Nicosian Film Association was founded. It is a non-government organization whose focus is the promotion of film as an art form.

The Nicosian Film Festival is among the 'big 3' film festivals. Those who are invited to view films are generally in the arts industry, are in art education, or are members of art charities. Each of those invited are generally allowed to invite guests as of 2002.

What types of films?

Almost types are welcome. There are several classes:

*Feature Film (film of 80 minutes or more)
*Short Film (79-5 minutes)
*Documentary
*Youth (films made by children 15 or younger)

Films whose intention are to act primarily as pornography are not welcome.

How are films entered?

Each film must file a registration fee. There are no restrictions on how many films may be entered. However, a nation may only submit 2 feature length films, 1 documentary, and 1 youth or short film for judgement. These are known as Official Selections. Official Entries are all other films.

How do judgments work?

Each class of film have a panel of judges assigned to view and review (not for the media) the films. The panels select awards based on voting.


NOTE: Media critics are invited to review films the following week.

What awards are offered?

There are several awards.

*Golden Lens Award- Awarded to the finest feature film
*Nicosian Cross Award- Awarded to the director of the Golden Lens Award
*Silver Desktop Award- Awarded to the finest documentary
*Silver Camera Award- Awarded to the finest short film or youth film.
*The Golden Muse Prize- Awarded to the best actor
*The Golden Muse Prize- Awarded to the best actress
*The Golden Storyboard Prize- Awarded to the best screenplay
*The Audience Award- Awarded to the film which is believed to have best pleased the audience

Official Selections- Nicosia

Feature Filmes


The Madness

Director:George Vassallo
Run time: 137 minutes
Shooting locations: Franken, Wiese, Nicosia
Entered by: Nicosian Film Association
Language(s): German, Nicosian
Subtitles: English

Official Description:
Hans Grossman is a member of the national legislature in an un-named fictional country in Germania. Grossman, played by stage actor Christoph Muller, has had a very long, rather mundane and quiet career. After a misunderstanding and botched vote, Grossman is ostracized from other members of his party. Even his friends in other parties distance themselves. Unmarried, Grossman's only family is a sister and nephew living in Nicosia. Alone and depressed, The Madness follows Grossman into a slow mental erosion rather than a fast mental breakdown. The events are almost painful to watch with the most disturbing scenes strangely acting as the most gratifying.

Pious

Director: Vito Ourmi
Run time: 112 minutes
Shooting locations: Nicosia
Entered by: Nicosian Film Association
Language(s): Nicosian
Subtitles: English

Official Description:
Two priests struggle to settle their differences and follow their moral beliefs despite an ongoing feud from many years before. The priests, played by actors Bantel Atossi and Anthony Gerraro, remain masters at weaving the webs that reveal the cause of their dispute. The film focuses less on religious themes and more on human themes. The priests hide their flaws and true characters until the moment they cannot any longer. Both aim for their own satisfaction and their own desires.

Documentary


August

Director: Jose Coosini
Run time: 71 minutes
Shooting locations: Nicosia, Danmark, Franken, Wiese, Lorraine, Eiffelland, others.
Entered by: Nicosian Film Association
Language(s): Nicosian
Subtitles: None

Official Description:
An examination of the effects, opinions, and policies regarding the Solaren conflict. From Danmark to Cantignia, Nicosia to Bantyr, director Jose Coosini investigates the ripple effects of the Solaris Conflict. Coosini often uses impromptu interviews with people on the street and also manages to interview numerous politicians to find out exactly how the war is changing the world.


Short Film


Drugstore

Director: Several (see official entry guide)
Run time: 19 minutes
Shooting locations: Nicosia
Entered by: Nicosian Film Association
Language(s): Nicosian
Subtitles: None

Official Description:
Two depressed pharmacists discuss travel, love, and the things that make life bearable. The conversation is witty, quick, and feels extremely real. The two discuss why things are and why they should be that way. The films only strength is the dialogue and slow delivery.

 

[Potenza]

The following Potenzan films would like to be submitted by their sponsors:

Feature Films

Scrivere ("To Write")

Director: Jacopo Argento
Run Time: 120 minutes
Shooting Locations: Potenza
Entered By: San Salvo Film Board
Language(s): Tiburan
Subtitles: English

Official Description:
A satire of modern mass and social media, the story involves a journalist (Marcello Mastroianni) who begins a report on a government scandal only to find out that those within his own industry are just as inane or corrupt. He eventually gets caught between a humanitarian countess (Luisa Anselmi) and the media mogul (Guido Alberti), the latter whom believes it is his responsibility to maintain "proper order and education" among the populace.

L'Amore di Cinema ("The Love of Film")

Director: Daria Pisu
Run Time: 87 minutes
Shooting Locations: Potenza
Entered By: The Turinese Film Guild
Language(s): Tiburan
Subtitles: English

Official Description:
The first film for director Daria Pisu after her graduation from film school, L'Amore is a comedic take on the film world in general. The story centers around a sexually frustrated female art student who realizes that she can only obtain orgasm through the aspects of film making. In one scene she becomes more aroused as a self-centered film critic prattles on about the history of cinematography, while at the climax of the film she finds that she can only increase her pleasure at the number of edits in her film, resulting in a film with literally thousands of edits.

Documentary

Rimasero a Torino ("They Stood in Turin")

Director: Arturo Agostino
Run Time: 60 minutes
Shooting Locations: Potenza
Entered By: Film School of the University of Turin
Language(s): Tiburan
Subtitles: English

Official Description:
Film student Arturo Agostino went among those protesting the reinstatement of the historical duchies several months ago, and recorded the various opinions and concerns of those present. Filming was cut short due to the shooting of a Caribinieri and the subsequent police counterattack, but Arturo decided to go through with the production any way. The film is almost entirely interviews and footage of the protests, with little to no commentary from Arturo himself.

 

[Natal]

Official Selection - Altai:​

Feature Films
Riff
Director: Vera Kosmodemianskaya
Run time: 200 minutes
Shooting locations: Altai, Talemantine Empire, Eiffelland, Wiese.
Entered by: DarFilm Studios;
Language(s): Altaic, Tiburan, German, English, Uroduan.
Subtitles: English

Official description:
On his deathbed, Czar Edvard I (played by Kiril Makarov) makes one last wish, to adopt, his lover's son, Aleksandr Duro and thus making him his heir. In the Riff region, one last son of the Abari dynasty, was preparing his family's return to the throne, now that the old Czar died and the new one was seen only as the son of the gay Czar's lover. But contrary to all expectations, the newly crowned Czar Edvard II (played by Marius Emilianov) won the love of the people by mediating the conflict between the Tomaszewsky and the Dabrowsky families but also the respect and legitimacy of the foreign rules by marring the Aren Anastasia Nareath.
The film is a mix showing the Altaic society in mid 1800s, the love between two couples Edvard I & Goran Duro and Edvard II and his queen Anastasia. This was blended with politics when Edvard II goes in a tour of Altai's friendly allies to be recognized as a true Czar of Altai. Also in the background it is presented the guerrilla fight of Murad Abari's rebels against the crown.
The film exceeded all expectations as it is the first to show Edvard I not as a frustrated gay, but as a man that simply loved and wasn't understood. Also the film show some exceptional scenes in which Marius Emilianov (Edvard II), Oana Billewicz (Anastasia) and Hussein Rahman (Murad Abari) played their roles as they were truly transposed in their characters.

Documentary

Rugaciunea e aceeasi (The Pray is the same)
Director: Volodya Stankowicz
Run Time: 60 minutes
Shooting Locations: Altai
Entered By: Ministry of Culture film Association
Language(s): Altaic
Subtitles: English

Official Description:
The film presents the freedom of religion in different periods of Altaic history. From the zealous Haaliks to the atheist communists the film presents through interviews of historians and other people on the street on how free or not everyone was on practicing their religion.

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Any remaining entries must be made by friday!