“With a solution, not all our problems will be solved. Without a solution, not everything will be grim and dark.”
“Peace is a basic human need, and we need to work for that.”
My basic knowledge of “the Cyprus problem” from my schooldays in the 1970s and 80s was that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots hated each other, and so the land had to be partitioned. The reality is much more subtle, and much more complex.
This film tells the story of the divided island, and the attempts which have been made internationally to resolve the issue, the problem, over the past fifty years, allowing an uneasy peace arising from years of family trauma and retaliation.
Both sides of the conflict are covered by those whose families were affected, from an elderly Turkish Cypriot woman still mourning her son after nearly fifty years, to a Greek Cypriot young woman who is questioning the official line given out by schools with her Turkish Cypriot friends.
This could have been a dry, but informative, documentary, but in emphasising the human element with such skill, it makes this a current issue rather than one consigned to history, while recognising that “both side were victims, both sides were perpetrators”.
We hear about mass graves, of families forced out of the towns they have inhabited for generations, of the mistakes made by foreign governments proposing equal reunification or of passing over the realities of an ugly conflict.
This is a film which is informative about both sides of the ‘Cyprus problem’,but one which stops short of offering any solution other than a peaceable truce.
Directed byTurkish Cypriot Cey Sesiguzel, and co-produced by Greek Cypriot Andreas Tokkallos, the filmmakers aim to bring an unbiased and share understanding of a complex issue, fostering a narrative towards a peaceful future solution to the ‘Cyprus problem’.
Amidst the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the world has largely forgotten the frozen divide that has left Nicosia as Europe’s last divided capital.
As a result of the conflict in 1974, the North remains largely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots in the South. After 50 years of failed negotiations, the issue remains today on whether the island will ever become reunited.
The Divided Island is showing in selected cinemas from 1 Nov 2024: more information here.