The arts. Along with our local tourist industry, it’s a sector which took – and continues to take – a huge economic hit from Covid-19. Over the last few months, we’ve seen the closing of theatres and cinemas, and the indefinite postponement of exhibitions, concerts, and festivals and films.
The Cyprus government reacted with a slew of promises. In April, Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou met with the nation’s Theatre Organisation to look into ways to help actors; companies operating in the sector are set to have their loan instalments suspended; and a petition to authorities resulted in the pledge of a one-off payment of €900 to those in the sector.
While it’s taking longer than expected to see concrete results, one governmental funding project has been completed: a particularly topical undertaking by the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education.
“Following the initiatives announced by the minister of education for supporting culture in the wake of the crisis caused by the Pandemic,” ran the initial statement, “and with a view to supporting the creativity of artists, the Cultural Services announce that they will accept short films with a running time of 1 to 3 minutes’ length on the theme: ‘Life under conditions of lockdown and a global crisis’.”
Designed to fund 50 short films – each focusing specifically on an aspect of corona seen through the eyes of local film-makers – the project was announced in late April. A total of €50,000 was set aside for the project (a one-off subsidy of €1,000 for each of the 50 successful submissions), and applications were limited to Cypriot film directors and visual artists (either inside or outside Cyprus) and permanent citizens of Cyprus. The films could be produced in any medium and technique, regardless of style, genre or category, and the judging committee – a group of educational officers, curators, producers, directors and art historians – set about judging the submissions; criteria included originality of concept, addressing the human dimension under specific conditions through art, and the ability to produce a finished work under the special lockdown conditions.
“For us,” says Diomides Nikita, the Ministry’s Cinema Officer, “this undertaking was a direct means to help in a very fast way. When we launched the submission process, there were very few films. But then, as the end date approached, we saw application numbers explode, and we’re very happy to have been able to help.”
The result? 83 films were submitted; 50 were chosen. And this week, each of the successful submissions launched on a dedicated YouTube channel, available for public viewing. No more than three minutes in length, each is a poignant jewel. And many will resonate personally with the viewer…
Written, directed and produced by Emilios Avraam, The Shape of Things To Come features a mother, alone in a small flat with her toddler anxiously awaiting the return of her spouse. ‘Any news about the flights?’ she asks her husband on the phone. ‘What are we going to do if you don’t make it?’ Meanwhile, the daughter builds a blanket fort: ‘I’m hiding,’ she says. ‘Hiding from the virus.’
In Pause, we get staggeringly beautiful animation from Christos Avraam and Ioannis Kyriakides, which highlights the haunting loneliness of corona. A child walks silently through a hail of rainbow confetti; an olive tree hides a woman waiting patiently for change; a solitary rower sits passively in a slowly sinking boat.
With Elena Alonefti’s Suspended (a must-see!), a poem by Andre Fitikidou is brought to life with thought-provoking images of one woman’s past: ‘Many of my loved ones are gone,’ says the narrator. ‘My parents too. I hear their words in my dreams…’
And in Angela Mavropoulou’s Love and Quarantine we get a heart-breakingly hopeful tale of a young man and woman who decide – despite the measures – to take their text-based relationship to the next level, and arrange to ‘meet’ face-to-face for the very first time.
If you’ve just three minutes – or more – to spare this week, any of the shorts are well worth a look. You’ll see yourself, and your corona experience, in at least one of the films. And that’s the singular attraction of the arts. Although often relegated to the bottom of the funding list, there’s no other sector which – in times of crisis – can engender such beauty and hope.
To watch the film selection commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, visit the dedicated YouTube channel ‘50 Shorts VS Covid-19’
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