The second edition of the co-production and networking platform Dot.on.the.map Industry Days ran digitally from 21-23 April, during the 19^th Cyprus Film Days International Film Festival, which was one of the few festivals organised with physical presence. The industry platform succeeded to connect more than 100 film professionals from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

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At the pitching session, the seven projects (see the news) were presented by their producers and directors, and the jury, comprising Karlovy Vary artistic director Karel Och, producer Rula Nasser (Imaginarium Films, Jordan) and Austrian sales agent Sasha Wieser (EastWest Filmdistribution), decided to grant the Best Project Award to French director Jonathan Millet for his debut fiction project, Lives of Hamid, for the “intriguing way it is dealing with the issues of migration and exile, and a thought-provoking take on the phenomena of memory, pain and justice, connecting the political and intimate levels with skills and courage.” The project is being produced by Pauline Seigland and Lionel Massol for the French outfit Films Grand Huit, and the award consists of colour correction and DCP mastering services worth €11,000 offered by Full Moon Productions and a cash prize of €500, offered to the director by the Directors’ Guild of Cyprus.

The story follows Hamid, who belongs to a group of Syrian citizens who left their country in order to track war criminals. They scour Europe looking for regime officials on the run. Despite the opinion of the group, Hamid follows on his own, in Strasbourg, the trail of Harfaz, his former torturer. His quest will reopen his deepest and most painful wounds and jeopardise his role as a spy in spite of himself.

The Agora Networking Award, offered by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and including accommodation and free market accreditation, went to producer Stelana Kliris, of Cyprus’ Meraki Films, for her project Gizem which she also writes and directs. The jury believes that the project “aims to bring to life a dramatic and intensely emotional story of love, search for happiness and for a life in dignity, set between Cyprus and South Africa.”

Cypriot filmmaker Danae Stylianou and head of the industry platform mentioned: “In its second digital edition, Dot on the Map Industry Days brought together more than 100 film professionals, from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, in a virtual environment. The live events and presentations along with our diverse selection of projects from across the Mediterranean enhanced the experience for all the participants, in our user-friendly digital platform. With this enriching experience in our hands, we are all now looking ahead and forward to our first physical event — hopefully in 2022.”

The Organisers are looking forward to the next, celebratory 20^th edition of Cyprus Film Days in 2022, hoping that it will take place in the physical presence of the audience and film professionals alike.