a film by marios piperides

a film by marios piperides

SYNOPSIS Yiannis, a fading musician, is planning to leave crisisridden Cyprus for a better life abroad. His plans are put on hold when his dog Jimi runs away and crosses the UN buffer zone that divides the Greek from the Turkish side of the island. Since animal exchange between the two sides is prohibited, Yiannis reluctantly joins forces with Hasan, a Turkish settler, and a cast of unexpected characters to smuggle his best friend back. Through the simple story of a man who loses his dog, SMUGGLING HENDRIX gives a vivid demonstration of how the fences we build, both real and imagined, between ourselves and others, can be broken down once we recognize the familiarity in the face of the unknown.

the republic of cyprus a divided island since 1974 Area occupied by Turkish troops since 1974. nicosia Nicosia as the last divided capital in the world. UN Buffer Zone Area administered by Greek Cypriots British military bases

COMMENTS OF THE DIRECTOR I grew up in a fairly conventional Greek-Cypriot environment just after the 1974 Turkish invasion. I was surrounded by stories about the Turks, the enemy that inflicted murderous and barbaric acts upon our community a perception that only strengthened during my compulsory army service during the mid-90s. For years, I could see the roof tops on the other side of Nicosia and the mountains further down; I could hear the mosque calling for prayer and see the Turkish soldiers on their posts. But while I was able to witness the other side from afar, or listen to the stories being told, it was never a part of my lived experience in the physical sense. My impression of the other side was merely received, through stories of family, teachers and the popular media. Years later, in 2003, the first check-point between the two sides was opened, allowing me to visit the part of my homeland that, for the first three decades of my life, I had only experienced through the narratives of others. I remember the first time I crossed it. Everything was different and strange, but familiar at the same time: the places, the buildings, the architecture, the smells, the people. An uncomfortable familiar strangeness. During the years that followed I had the opportunity to experience the other side at first hand, establish personal and professional ties with those who share our island, enrich my own narrative and, indeed, question some of the elements that I have been brought up on. The stories I encountered varied greatly, from the utterly tragic to the downright absurd, which triggered the desire in me to tell a story that captures both. Smuggling Hendrix is one of these stories. Based on a real life event, one man s devotion to his dog provides a light touch to offset the more serious issues. Its micro plot reflects the complex real-world social dynamics of today: the divided island of Cyprus, the complexities of the lost property issues; and the thorny issue of the Turkish settlers, who have remained faceless all these years and are only used as negotiation numbers by politicians on both sides.

DIRECTOR S BIOGRAPHY Marios Piperides was born in 1975 in Nicosia, Cyprus. After studying Broadcast Management and Film Production in the US, he returned to Cyprus in 2002. As the audiovisual sector is small in Cyprus, Piperides had the opportunity to gain experience in every aspect of filmmaking. In 2005 he founded his production company, amp Filmworks. As a writer/director he has made a documentary and two short films. The main theme in his work is the ongoing division of Cyprus and their need to overcome their own prejudices. Smuggling Hendrix is Piperides first feature. director s filmography: 2018: Smuggling Hendrix

main cast biography ADAM BOUSDOUKOS Adam Bousdoukos had his first major role as the chaotic Costa alongside Mehmet Kurtulus in Fatih s Akin s thrilling debut Short Sharp Shock (1998), which brought him fame overnight, earned him the Bronze Leopard in Locarno as well as the Adolf Grimme Prize. He appeared in a number of other films by the acclaimed director, most notably Head on (2004) and Soul Kitchen (2009), which was co-written by Bousdoukos and Akin and awarded with the Special Jury Prize at the 66th Venice Film Festival, and most recently In the Fade (2017). Other films include Aaron Lehmann s Highway to Hellas (2014), Alexis Alexiou s Wednesday 04:45 (2015) and Florian Ross A Jar Full of Life (2018).

main cast biography FATIH AL Fatih Al was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey. Over the past 15 years he has established himself as an accomplished and versatile actor, appearing in a wide range of theatre plays, films and tv series. He had a leading role in the 2011 season of Magnificent Century, one of the most popular Turkish tv series of all times. His filmography includes Our Grand Despair (2011) by the late Seyfi Teoman, which was nominated for the Berlinale Golden Bear, Daire (2014) by Atil İnanç, for which Al received the Best Actor award at the Ankara International Film Festival, The Visitor (2015) by Mehmet Eryilmaz, and Ümit Inal s Sofra Sirlari (2018).

main cast biography VICKY PAPADOPOULOU Vicky Papadopoulou was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She has steadily worked as an actor for theatre, cinema and television since 2003. She worked with the National Theatre of Greece, the Karolos Koon Art Theatre and the Piccolo Theatre in Italy, also collaborated with director Bob Wilson in the production of Odessey. Papadopoulou is known for the feature films Dying in Athens by Nikos Panayotopoulos (2006), Small Crime by Christos Georgiou (2008), Christmas Tango by Nikos Koutelidakis (2011), The Republic by Dimitris Tzetzas (2015) and Stratos (2014) by Yannis Economides, for which she received the award for Best Supporting Actress by the Greek Academy.

main cast biography OZGUR KARADENIZ Born in Artvin, Turkey, Özgür Karadeniz moved to Germany when he was just a toddler. After graduating he started his acting career at the Schauspielhaus Bochum and Schauspiel Frankfurt, where he was a permanent ensemble member. Since 2004 Karadeniz regularly plays in tv productions like the popular German crime series Tatort and the mini-series German History x: nsu, available on Netflix. His filmography include The Lies of the Victors (2013) by Christoph Hochhäusler, Hördur (2014) by Ekrem Ergün and most recently, the upcoming comedy Verpiss Dich, Schneewittchen. Karadeniz is currently filming the Netflix original series Dogs of Berlin.

main cast yiannis Adam Bousdoukos hasan Fatih Al kika Vicky Papadopoulou tuberk Özgür Karadeniz produced by main crew director Marios Piperides screenplay Marios Piperides producers Janine Teerling, Marios Piperides, Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Costas Lambropoulos co-producer Giorgos Kyriakos commisioning editors Burkhard Althoff, Doris Hepp director of photography Christian Huck production design Michalis Samiotis editor Stylianos Costantinou music Kostantis Papakostantinou costumes Maria Karapouliou make up Kyriaki Melidou with the support of republic of cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture world sales

technical details original title Φυγαδεύοντας τον Χέντριξ international title Smuggling Hendrix duration 93 min aspect ratio 2.35:1 format 2k sound Dolby Digital year 2018 original language Greek, English, Turkish countries of production Cyprus, Germany, Greece production companies amp Filmworks, Pallas Film, Viewmaster Films co-production companies zdf- Das kleine Fernsehspiel / Arte, ert with support of The Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Greek Film Center and Eurimages

world sales The Match Factory GmbH Domstrasse 60 50668 Cologne/Germany phone +49 221 539 709-0 info@matchfactory.de www.the-match-factory.com publicity at tribeca Steven Raphael required viewing 212 206-0118 sterapha@aol.com denise@requiredviewing.net