A group of around 20 Greek Cypriot journalists and intellectuals from the southern part of the island were invited to watch “Gölgeler ve Suretler” (Shadows and Faces), which examines some of the events of 1963 through the story of a father and daughter, at a special screening on the Green Line on Saturday.
During the screening, anxiously standing before the wires that designate the border in Lefkoşa, were director Zaim and his Turkish crew as well as a number of Turkish journalists. The film’s Lefkoşa gala the previous day was attended by Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Derviş Eroğlu, as well as many statesmen, politicians and Turkish Cypriot citizens. The film managed to transport the members of the audience to a period of time 48 years ago, making them weep for what was being told on the screen.
“Gölgeler ve Suretler” tells the story of how two peoples who used to live side by side can become so guided by paranoia that they wind up becoming distanced from one another, thus making the audience watching the film face their own pasts. One elderly woman, on exiting the film, noted that she had experienced some of the same events portrayed in the film, saying, “That’s how it happened in our village.” In fact, this was a sentence heard over and over from many Turkish Cypriots in the audience.
When the special Green Line showing ended, director Zaim was followed by a Turkish delegation as he excitedly entered the theater where the showing took place. The first sight that greeted Zaim and the delegation of journalists was not only incredible, but also very reassuring: This audience, made up mostly of Greek journalists and writers, had tears in their eyes, just as the Turkish Cypriots at the gala the night before. And so, as it turns out, “Gölgeler ve Suretler” managed to unite Turkish and Greek Cypriots in a single emotion.
In fact, what both Greeks and Turks were crying about as they watched this film was their past. This became clearer during a Q&A session following the screening. Zaim, after standing in front of the curtains to the sound of applause, began taking questions from the audience, each of which began with the words, “Congratulations and thank you.”
It appeared that the Greek journalists were most profoundly affected by the film’s realistic approach to the portrayal of the events of 48 years ago. “This is not a propaganda film, but rather, one that faces up to the past -- which is why the characters in the film are not sketched out in a black and white sense, but rather in varying shades of gray,” said Zaim. The most significant statement made by Zaim during the session was, “Without achieving compromise on our past, we cannot construct our futures.”
And this is, perhaps, the real point that describes not only the goal of “Gölgeler ve Suretler,” but also the seemingly unsolvable Cyprus issue.
Very well, but from whose perspective is the past to be re-examined? Zaim takes a sincere and realistic approach in his outlook on this matter. “This is a subjective film, not an objective one. But I did try to be as objective as possible. In any case, anyone who says, ‘I am objective,’ is lying. The important thing is to look back subjectively, but to try to find and tell the truth,” he explains.
Talking about the difficulties involved in the making of “Gölgeler ve Suretler,” the director underscored the courage of the Greek Cypriot actors among the cast. At this point, we should take time out to talk about Popi Avraam, who played one of the main characters in the film, Ana. Avraam apparently agreed to play the role of Ana before even reading the script. She realized, once reading the script, that it would not be an easy role. But like the rest of the cast, the film transported her to the past. “We were just children. When our Turkish neighbors began to abandon their homes, I remember thinking, ‘Who are these people? Who are the Turks? And who are we?’,” she said.
The question and answer session for “Gölgeler ve Suretler” came to an end with applause, just as it had begun, and with a wish professed by Zaim: “I hope this film does make a contribution to peace.”
