UK Cyprus Film Festival 2026 – London Edition (Part I)
- Cyprus High Commission
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
In Memory of Director Irena Joannides
This spring, the UK Cyprus Film Festival 2026 launches the London edition of its programme at Cyprus House (13 St. James’s Square, SW1Y 4LB), as part of the official cultural celebrations of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
This first chapter of the festival brings together award-winning films by Cypriot women filmmakers whose work speaks with clarity, sensitivity and courage about memory, displacement, identity, inner life and social constraint. The programme is dedicated to the memory of director Irena Joannides, whose cinematic voice — poetic, restrained and deeply humane — continues to resonate within Cypriot cinema and beyond.
Across two carefully curated days, audiences are invited not only to watch these films, but to enter into conversation with their creators, through post-screening Q&As that open space for dialogue, reflection and shared experience.
🎟 Day tickets are available for each date. As seating is limited, we kindly ask audiences to book only if they are certain they can attend, allowing as many people as possible to take part.
Journeys, Return, and the Geography of Memory
14:30 – Roads and Oranges (100’) Directed by Aliki Danezi Knutsen
Rooted in landscape and lived experience, Roads and Oranges traces emotional and physical journeys across Cyprus, where place becomes inseparable from memory. Drawing on everyday encounters and intimate observation, the film reflects on movement, belonging and the subtle ties that connect people to land, history and one another.
Followed by a Q&A with Director Aliki Danezi Knutsen.
17:00 – The Last Homecoming (82’) Directed by Corina Avraamidou
A powerful meditation on return, The Last Homecoming explores what it means to go back — not only to a place, but to a past shaped by absence, loss and unresolved memory. Through a deeply personal lens, the film confronts the emotional weight of homecoming and the quiet transformations it brings.
Followed by a Q&A with Director Corina Avraamidou.
Women’s Lives, Unspoken Histories, Inner Revolutions
16:00 – Eleni’s Olives (19’) Directed by Yianna Americanou
Shot with lyrical simplicity, Eleni’s Olives is a tender portrait of everyday resilience. Through small gestures and domestic rhythms, the film reflects on generational memory, labour and the intimate bonds that sustain life across time. Its quiet observational style allows the personal to become universal.
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16:20 – Her Violet Garden (18’) Directed by Irena Joannides
A poetic short that distils Joannides’ distinctive cinematic voice, Her Violet Garden unfolds as an inner landscape — a meditation on fragility, solitude and emotional endurance. The film’s restrained imagery and delicate pacing speak to the director’s lasting contribution to Cypriot cinema and her ability to express complex inner states with rare subtlety.
16:45 – Unwitnessed Memories (60’) Directed by Athena Xenidou
Built from first-hand testimonies, Unwitnessed Memories gives voice to those who grew up in the long shadow of 1974. The documentary explores how war, displacement and silence shape personal identity across generations, offering a deeply human record of memory, survival and quiet strength.
Followed by a Q&A with Director Athena Xenidou.
Short break
18:15 – Pause (96’) Directed by Tonia Mishiali
An award-winning psychological drama, Pause centres on a woman confronting the confines of routine, marriage and expectation. With remarkable emotional precision, the film examines repression, desire and the cost of silence, charting an inner awakening that is both unsettling and deeply recognisable.
Followed by a Q&A with Director Tonia Mishiali.
Booking Information
Please note that capacity is limited. We kindly ask you to reserve tickets only if you are confident you can attend, ensuring access for as many audience members as possible.
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