International Short Film Festival Cyprus Opening Ceremony, 2025
For its 15th edition, ISFFC transforms the opening ceremony into an act of reversal, an invitation to encounter cinema from its reverse side. The audience becomes a unified body, gazing through the cinema screen as if into a mirror; a gesture that reflects this year’s theme: the exploration of “the other side.”
”In a year marked by state censorship of artist books, severe funding cuts, rising living costs, the resurgence of nationalism, and the increasing collaboration of the Cypriot state with genocidal war machines, I was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture to conceive the opening ceremony for the International Short Film Festival, presented in the presence of the Minister.
The brief requested that the work remain non-confrontational, be delivered in standard Greek (excluding Cypriot dialect), and maintain a celebratory tone. My response to this framework was a performative intervention delivered by drag artist Aphroditios.”
Text, Concept, Direction: Dimitris Chimonas
Performer: Leandros Stamatiades – Aphroditios
Dramaturgy, Text Editing: Seta Astreou - Karides
Scenic & Lighting Design: Demetris Shammas
Music Direction: Thomas Daskalakis
Live Camera Operator: Angelos Charalambous
Festival Hub Scenography: Dimitris Chimonas & Demetris Shammas
Photo Documentation: Nicolas Karatzas
International Short Film Festival of Cyprus ISFFC 2025
Curated by Keti Papadema & Diomedis Koufteros
Co-produced by Rialto Theatre and the Deputy Ministry of Culture