Fifty years have passed since the 1974 partition of Cyprus, a harrowing event that looms large over generations of Greek and Turkish Cypriots living on the island. As British Cypriots who are descended from either side of the conflict, producer Andreas Tokkallos and director Cey Sesiguzel have joined forces for an ambitious documentary, a timely albeit frustratingly conventional look at the Cyprus problem and its ongoing impact.
Bringing together experts, historical witnesses and peace activists, the film grapples with the centuries-long context behind the region’s discord, from the 1570 Ottoman conquest to its time under British rule, and the fragile establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, as well as the subsequent coup d’état sponsored by the Greek military junta, and the Turkish invasion of 1974. To represent such complicated history is no easy task, and the film’s reliance on a format of standard talking-head interviews mixed with archival footage strips this wealth of information of its urgency. The formulaic editing also underscores the sense that viewers are being fed a long research article rather than a dynamic documentary.
The inclusion of a psychologist to explain the lasting effects of trauma also feels unnecessary. Already the pain of the partition can be felt in the trembling voices of those who have lost loved ones to wartime atrocities. In contrast to the repetitiveness of the film-making, these powerful testimonials constitute the film’s emotional beating heart, and together these stories from the past form a moving call for peace, and for a brighter future free from division.
• The Divided Island is in UK cinemas from 1 November.
