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Our Cyprus

Can an act of selfless courage overturn a lifetime of hatred? A Cypriot story based in North London.

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Our Cyprus

Our Cyprus

Our Cyprus

Our Cyprus

Our Cyprus

Can an act of selfless courage overturn a lifetime of hatred? A Cypriot story based in North London.

Can an act of selfless courage overturn a lifetime of hatred? A Cypriot story based in North London.

Can an act of selfless courage overturn a lifetime of hatred? A Cypriot story based in North London.

Can an act of selfless courage overturn a lifetime of hatred? A Cypriot story based in North London.

Alkin Emirali
Alkin Emirali
Alkin Emirali
Alkin Emirali
1 Campaign |
London, United Kingdom
$6,008 USD $6,008 USD 87 backers
61% of $9,739 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

 Welcome! καλωσόρισμα! Hoşgeldiniz!

    


           

 

Dear friends, 

You have found the IndieGoGo campaign for the short film Our Cyprus. This is where you can make a financial contribution at the click of a button to help bring our film to life. We are here to raise £7,750 in total, but you can get involved for as little as £5, that's less than the price of a cinema ticket! And we've devised some great rewards, mementos and experiences in return for your participation, but first things first.

Why should you get involved?

This is your chance to join me in making something very special happen.

·  We have a powerful untold story to tell;

·  A brilliant lead actor already attached to the film;

·  A hand-picked crew of incredibly talented filmmakers.

Our Cyprus - The Story.

A story set in modern-day North London; Our Cyprus explores what happens when two opposing views collide.

An old Turkish Cypriot man, MEHMET-ALI, remembers a beautifully mixed Cyprus before the island was torn in two, a time when in his village, Lurucina, Greek and Turkish Cypriots lived as friends, neighbours and compatriots. He meets a young UK born Greek Cypriot man, ANDREAS who has been brought up with the pain and loss in the aftermath of the Cypriot troubles. As far as he is concerned, Turkish Cypriots are enemies.

For reasons that will be very apparent in the film, Mehmet-Ali cannot walk away from Andreas, but what will it take? What will be the personal cost to Mehmet-Ali to try to prove to Andreas that they two could be friends and not enemies? Can a single act of selfless courage overcome a lifetime of hatred?

To answer this question would to be to reveal the ending… and that's something we just can't bring ourselves to do.

What's it about?                               

Our Cyprus is a short drama about friendship. It reveals a human perspective that cuts through the political terrain. Through the community-spirited Mehmet-Ali, the culture and kinship, which Greek and Turkish Cypriots once shared, is illuminated. He takes us back to a more innocent and beautifully ambiguous past when it was far harder to see where Greek Cypriots ended and Turkish Cypriots began.

Despite being about the Cypriot issue, this story could easily have played out between a Palestinian and an Israeli or a Protestant and Catholic in Northern Ireland. Sadly it explores an almost universal question...

How is it that neighbouring peoples throughout history have regarded their points of difference as infinitely more important than their great wealth of commonality, and taken up arms against one another? 

Why do I want to tell this story? 

The stories of a divided Cyprus remain largely untold.

My grandparents left Cyprus for the UK in the early 50's, before the troubles that tore the island in two. They were economic migrants who were looking for a better life than the one afforded them as rural peasants from the village of Lurucina.

I grew up hearing my grandparents speaking primarily Greek Cypriot despite being Turkish Cypriots. I heard about my paternal Grandfather and his drinking buddy the Greek Orthodox priest. I learnt that both my Grandfathers (Turkish Cypriots) were baptised in the church as well as being circumcised as Muslims.  My Grandmother told me how she was trained as a seamstress by a Greek Cypriot neighbour. I learnt that Greek and Turkish Cypriots would celebrate each other's religious holidays. 

It seemed to me that these people were not just neighbours, but such close friends that it was hard to see where one ended and the other began. In a more innocent time it seems, Cypriots were one people sharing a culture and a cuisine which was more to do with their island home and each other than either mainland Greece or Turkey.

Our Cyprus is my attempt to reconcile my family's experience of a beautifully mixed and ambiguous Cyprus with the troubles that tore an island and a people in two. 

Peter Polycarpou to play the lead in Our Cyprus!

If you've seen the recorded rehearsal video on the Our Cyprus FaceBook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/OurCyprusFilm), we don't need to say anymore. If like us, you were moved by what Peter did in the test-shoot/rehearsal, just wait until you see what he'll do in the film proper! It's no surprise that he's worked with some of the best on stage, in film and on television... he is one of the best.

http://peterpolycarpou.com

Beyond Our Cyprus.

Our Cyprus is a crucial stepping-stone in my journey towards directing Goats & Sheep, a feature film I've written that's inspired by real events that happened in my family's village of Lurucina in the 1920's. Making Our Cyprus will be invaluable in securing interest and investment in this much bigger project.

Why are we crowd-funding Our Cyprus?

At its heart, this film is about community and kinship, for that reason it is very important to me that Our Cyprus gives the community real involvement. By funding Our Cyprus in this way the film will be a film for the community by the community. You the community: Cypriots, the Cypriot diaspora and all those who love the beautiful island get to decide whether this film happens or not. This is your chance to contribute to an important cultural debate that's bigger than any one of us.

Like most short films, Our Cyprus is a non-profit enterprise to open up the possibility of making our feature film Goats & Sheep.  We aim to involve you as fully as we can in the journey of making Our Cyprus, and to share with you the experience behind the production process right through to its completion and travels to film festivals around the world. We will regularly update Facebook and Twitter, so you are always in touch with our news. 

What will we do with the money?

Our Cyprus - financial breakdown:

As you can see from the above we are using the majority of the money to make and deliver Our Cyprus

If we were fortunate enough to exceed our target of £7750, anything up to £10,000 would be used to further enhance our production values. As an example, we have a busy street scene to manage; more money would enable greater control of one of the harder environments to film in. If we exceeded £10,000 that additional money would go directly into the further development of the feature film Goats & Sheep.

Our Cyprus - Meet The Team.

Alkin Emirali - Writer/Director.                            

Currently Alkin is a screenwriter for Ardor, an independent production company for whom he is writing an epic historical feature film. He also wrote, directed and produced 'The Kindness of Strangers' an ambitious short film which will be completed in June 2015. His previous short film 'RUF 992M' secured distribution with Shorts International. In addition he has written three other feature film scripts including Goats & Sheep and directed numerous commercial projects for the likes of Sony PSP and BMW. In the past, he's been a recipient of funding from Creative England, UK FilmCouncil and Screen South.

https://vimeo.com/62596197

Rob Alexander - Producer.    

         

A graduate of the prestigious EAVE organization; Rob has been a producer for some two decades. He has worked for the BBC, Channel Four, RAI Italy, SVT Sweden, The Open University, Arts Council UK and received support from film funds including FVG Italy, MEDIA EU and Screen South UK. He recently completed the 2014 Grierson nominated ‘The Man Whose Mind Exploded’, broadcasting on FilmFour in 2015 and is currently producing 'Android in La La Land' about the Godfather of electronic music, Gary Numan. 

www.perfectmotion.tv

Ben Cole - Cinematographer.         

Ben's work has been awarded at festivals such as the 'British Independent Film Awards' to 'LA Scarefest' and he's also a previous 'Grammy' nominee, twice! A gifted visual story-teller, Ben combines cutting-edge techniques and innovation with great feeling and humanity.

www.bencolecinematographysite.com

David Wigram - Editor.     

David's work has been nominated for two BAFTAs, been selected for Cannes and won many awards besides. He's just as comfortable supervising big post-production teams as he is working as a stand-alone editor. He brings a profound understanding of the grammar and narrative of film combined with a great eye for performance.

http://www.davidwigram.co.uk

Kirstie Howell - Sound mixer & Sound designer.

        

Kirstie is an excellent location sound recordist and post-production sound editor and designer. Her credits include; location sound recording for the BBC, 'The Day I got my sight Back', and sound editing and design for the feature film 'Backtrack' (Substantial Films) and the feature film sales trailer for Martin Scorceses' 'Tomorrow'. 

http://www.elephantsounds.co.uk


                          


                                                                

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Choose your Perk

Thanks! ευχαριστώ! Teşekkür!

Currency Conversion $6 USD
£5 GBP
We'll make sure that people know you supported us. You'll receive a public thank you on the 'Our Cyprus - The Film' Facebook Group and on Twitter. If you're in the UK, Alkin, the writer/director looks forward to thanking you personally by phone. If you're outside the UK he'd like to send you a personal email of thanks.
6 claimed

Our Cyprus - the film.

Currency Conversion $9 USD
£7 GBP
Get your own pristine HD copy of Our Cyprus. A digital download to watch wherever and whenever. (note: the film will be provided after the first public premier)
3 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Our Cyprus - the poster.

Currency Conversion $13 USD
£10 GBP
Use it as your screen saver! Send copies to your friends! Or print it and frame it! You'll be emailed a high resolution digital poster of Our Cyprus, a thank you on the Facebook group and Twitter and a personal email of thanks from Alkin, the writer/director.
5 claimed

3 is the magic number...

Currency Conversion $25 USD
£20 GBP
As well as the previous 2 perks you'll receive a .pdf file of the screenplay emailed to you before the first day of filming... we're trusting you to keep the ending a secret!
8 claimed

Our Cyprus - The 'T'-Shirt

Currency Conversion $31 USD
£25 GBP
Exclusive to the Indiegogo campaign, you'll receive a 'T'-Shirt with a quote from the film... '...have you never heard aTurkish Cypriot speak Greek before?...' Reflecting the languages of the film, the quote will be written on the 'T' shirt in three languages; Cypriot Greek, Cypriot Turkish and English. (Note: Please let us know if you require S, M, L, XL or XXL)
3 out of 75 of claimed

Our Cyprus-Everything so far!

Currency Conversion $44 USD
£35 GBP
That's right friends, you get the exclusive 'T'-Shirt, a .pdf of the screenplay, a high-resolution digital version of the poster, a thank you on the Facebook group and on Twitter and either a personal thank you email if you're outside the UK or a thank you telephone call from Alkin, the writer/director if you're inside the UK. (Note: please let us know if you require S, M, L, XL or XXL)
1 out of 50 of claimed

The film! And everything else.

Currency Conversion $63 USD
£50 GBP
This perk includes everything in the previous bundle plus a full high-definition digital download of the film 'Our Cyprus'. The download will be provided after the film has finished the festival run. (Note: Please let us know if you require S, M, L, XL or XXL)
4 out of 40 of claimed

Exclusive preview screening.

Currency Conversion $94 USD
£75 GBP
Welcome! καλωσόρισμα! Hoşgeldiniz! You'll be invited to attend the first ever screening with all the cast, crew, family and friends in central London. Your name will be on the film's credits under 'with special thanks to...' After the film there'll be Cypriot snacks and drinks and plenty of time to meet and talk with the cast and crew. As a memento, you'll also receive the full high-definition digital download of the film. Please note: this perk does not include travel or accommodation costs.
8 out of 35 of claimed

Screening and signed stuff...

Currency Conversion $163 USD
£130 GBP
In addition to everything included in the 'exclusive preview screening' package you receive a high quality printed poster signed by the cast and crew and the script signed by the cast and crew. Please note: this perk does not include travel or accommodation costs.
0 out of 25 of claimed

Be in Our Cyprus!

Currency Conversion $188 USD
£150 GBP
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on a real film set? This is your chance to find out. As an extra in one of the scenes, you'll get to see part of Our Cyprus being made, actually be in the film and meet the cast and crew. As a memento of the day you'll receive a full high-definition digital download of the film once the film has completed the festival circuit. Please note: this package does not include travel or accommodation costs.
2 out of 15 of claimed

If you absolutely want it all!

Currency Conversion $314 USD
£250 GBP
What happens if you roll the previous three perks into one? You'll get a signed script and signed poster, a full high-definition digital download of the film (after the festival circuit has ended), you'll be in the film as an extra and credited as such and you'll get an invitation to attend the exclusive preview screening with cast and crew. Please note: this does not include travel or accommodation costs.
0 out of 10 of claimed

Want to be associated with us?

Currency Conversion $628 USD
£500 GBP
Welcome to the production team! You will be credited on the film and on IMDB as Associate Producer. You will be welcome on set for all or as many of the production days as you like, this will be a real insight into the production process for Our Cyprus. As a member of the team it goes without saying, you'll be invited to the exclusive preview of the film. As a memento you'll receive the signed poster & script, high-definition digital download of the film...oh, and the 'T'- shirt too...phew!
1 out of 5 of claimed

Our Cyprus comes to you!

Currency Conversion $942 USD
£750 GBP
A pop-up cinema! We bring everything required to project a private showing of Our Cyprus and 'The Making of' at your community centre, town hall, church, mosque, restaurant, pub, students union or living room! A Q& A will follow with the writer/director, producer and other members of the team. Meze type snacks and drinks will be provided. For groups from 10 to 30 people. Come on, club together with your friends! Available in a 150 mile radius of London unless additional costs can be met.
0 out of 3 of claimed

Want the big chair?

Currency Conversion $1,257 USD
£1,000 GBP
You're passionate about discovering untold stories. Or perhaps you want to create greater awareness about Cyprus? This is your opportunity to be recognised as a major contributor to a small film with great potential, not just at film festivals but as a catalyst to extend awareness about Cyprus. You'd be credited on the film (& IMDB) as the Executive Producer and you'd be entitled to all previous perks for you & 3 more, except the pop-up cinema. The 1st step in an on-going relationship?
0 out of 2 of claimed
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