Cyprus Film Days International Festival is the official international film festival of Cyprus, an institution of the Deputy Ministry of Culture organized in collaboration with the Rialto Theatre and it proudly holds the EFFE Festival label. It consists of two main programmes: the International Competition section -Glocal Images- and the non-competitive section -Viewfinder-, which comprises films that have been screened and awarded at major festivals over the past year. The Festival also includes a National Competition Section, exclusively showcasing Cypriot productions. Special tributes, parallel screenings, master classes, workshops and musical events, complete the program of the official International Film Festival of Cyprus. All the films screened at the Festival are Cyprus premieres.
Cyprus Film Days also incorporates a special section with films for young audiences. The Cyprus Film Days for Children and Youth, which is co-organised in collaboration with the International Children’s Film Festival of Cyprus, includes screenings of international awarded films for young audiences as well as short films produced by children in Cyprus and Greece.
A two-member Artistic Committee is responsible for the selection of films within the programme, while a Jury made up of five internationally recognised professionals, awards films accordingly.
All films are presented in their original language with Greek and English subtitles. The Festival takes place at Rialto Theatre, in Limassol and Zena Palace Cinema, in Nicosia.
Awards & Prizes
The Jury awards the following prizes in the Glocal Images International Competition Section:
Best Film Award: this Award is accompanied by the amount of €6,000 (six thousand euro), which is paid in half (ex aequo) to the Producer (€3,000 euro) and the Director of the film (€3,000 euro).
Special Jury Award: this Award is accompanied by the amount of €3,000 (euro), which is paid in half (ex aequo) to the Producer (€1,500 euro) and the Director of the film (€1,500 euro).
Best Director Award: this award, which is paid to the Director of the film, is accompanied by the amount of €1,000 (euros).
Best Cinematography Award: this award, which is paid to the Director of Photography/Cinematographer of the film, is accompanied by the amount of €1000 (euros), offered by Caretta Films.
The Jury may also award up to three Honorary Distinctions, one of which to an actor or actress. These distinctions are not accompanied by a cash prize.
The Jury awards the following prizes in the Cypriot Films Competition Section:
Best Cypriot Film Award: the award is accompanied by the amount of €4,000 (euro), which is paid in half (ex aequo) to the Producer (€2,000 euro) and the Director of the film (€2,000 euro). In addition, the award also grants use of The Studio, offered by the CYENS Centre of Excellence.
Second Prize for Best Cypriot Film: the award is accompanied by services valued at €6,000, offered by MASTER AND SLAVE, corresponding to 50% of the cost of the final 5.1 surround sound mix for a feature-length film, with a total value of €12,000.
Best Director Award in the Cypriot Films Competition Section: this award is accompanied by post-production services (Post Production Cinema and Platform Mastering Services) valued at €7,000, offered by AUTHORWAVE.
Best Performance Award in the Cypriot Films Competition Section: this award goes to a Cypriot actor/actress, is accompanied by €2,000, and is offered by Limassol Municipality.
The Jury may also award up to three Honorary Distinctions (one of which for Cinematography). These distinctions are not accompanied by a monetary prize.