THE FILM

Reflectionary on Cyprus was shot and edited by Sebastian Plano and written by Simão Valente during three weeks, in August 2009. With music also by Sebastian Plano, it was prepared and produced making the most of the limited resources that made this first initiative of the World Theatre Project become possible.

Reflectionary deviates from the standard structure of a documentary. It does not aim to provide a detailed analysis of the Cyprus problem, something that we could not aspire to achieve in the short time span of its making. Instead, we offer our thoughts and impressions on the theme of social conflict and its impact on human language and relationships, taking Cyprus as our case-study.

But it is certainly also more than a case-study. The experience of being in the ground actively collaborating with Greek and Turkish Cypriots towards the staging of our play proved to be decisive in the way we experienced a reality to which we were newcomers. It is ultimately that experience that we want to retell.

In a blend of the techniques of cinema vérité with an intervening creative perspective, we hope to kindle in our global viewers a response to the topics we covered locally with our theatrical performance. We sought this balance while paying close attention to the different needs and sensibilities of our different audiences - Cypriots for the play, the international community for the documentary.

For more information please visit www.sebastianplano.com

The local / global duality, which informs the whole structure of our project, takes shape in the film by giving it an informative bent. We believe that raising awareness is the first step towards making an impact on the attitudes and discourses that breed conflict. Our film is a contribution to that effort.