Readers mail….
From Katie Economidou….
Hello,.
May I share news of the gala screening at KTOS Şair Nedim Sk 1, Lefkosa, on the 8th of November at 7.00 pm of the film “Olivia”.
“If such a wounded family could see hope in the eyes of a child, then everyone can.” Olivia is a Latin word, meaning olive or olive tree, which symbolises peace.
The recent history of Cyprus is full of pain and bad memories. “Olivia” is the story of three generations of women in Cyprus who have suffered in conflict and post-conflict situations within the last 50 years. The first generation has been struggling to heal the losses of war, the pain of missing relatives, and the pain of losing their home and homeland.
The second generation has been struggling to overcome the claustrophobic feeling of being stuck in one-half of the island after the division of Cyprus and to get rid of the uncertainties and pains of the past that have been carried to the future.
The third generation, on the other hand, has been struggling with her eyesight since she was born. Although the official history is telling these three women from three different generations that they are enemies, they cooperate, support, and heal each other. In post-conflict areas, women who suffered a lot from wars and conflicts could be braver to take the initiative as peace-builders.
“Olivia” is a bridge between the past and the present. “Olivia” is the hope of healing the wounds of the past and the future generations of the Cypriot communities for a unified and peaceful future. Despite the darkness of the past, “Olivia” will nourish Cypriots’ hope to build a brighter future!
- Director: Mine Balman Production: aSi
- Production Sound: Ahmet Güvenler
- Post-production Support: Ali Bostancı and Evren Maner
- Greek Subtitles: Manos Vrachimis
- Language: English Subtitles: Greek / Turkish Duration: 34′ 2022
Thank you
Katie
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I have watched this at the Goethe Institute with my wife and a friend who invited us. It is an amazing story of love uniting of hearts across the divide. Divisions are man made but acceptance of all irrespective of the differences in class, creed, race or religion is the way to heal the pains of the past and move forward in the light of the knowledge that we are all children of One God. After the presentation we met little Olivia with her aunt in the garden. Olivia was delightful happy and smiling as she waited for her transport. I took some pictures. The next day I met Katie Economidou quite by chance as I was crossing back to the South from attending a Devotional Prayer meeting at the Baha’i Centre in Lefkosa North. A quote from the Baha’i Faith describes how we should be : “Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbour, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.”
— Bahá’u’lláh, The who also said –
“The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens” http://www.bahai.org