Bu Rum gazeteciyi bu belgeselden dolayi kutlamak isterim CYPRIOT filmmaker and writer Antonis Angastiniotis says the media has effectively banned a film he made portraying the mass killing of Turkish Cypriots in the villages of Aloa, Maratha and Sandalari in 1974 (04.11.2004) ‘Frozen Out’: Greek Cypriot Battles To Have Documentary On ’74 Killings Aired By Simon Bahceli, CYPRUS MAIL CYPRIOT filmmaker and writer Antonis Angastiniotis says the media has effectively banned a film he made portraying the mass killing of Turkish Cypriots in the villages of Aloa, Maratha and Sandalari in 1974. “We claim European standards, European principles, European laws, but the TV channels didnt even ask to look at the film,” Angastiniotis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “Not even the Cyprus News Agency, which monitors all the news coming out of Turkey and the north, mentioned that all the media, the Turkish-language organs were reporting on my film,” he added. So far, Angastiniotis’ film has only been shown in the Turkish Cypriot north. But he says his target audience is not Turkish Cypriots but Greek Cypriots. “All Turkish Cypriots know what happened in these villages. Its the Greek Cypriots who dont.” Angastiniotis’ 30-minute film, titled The Voice of Blood, gives a detailed account of how dozens of Turkish Cypriot women and children of the three villages were killed and thrown into mass graves by Greek Cypriots from neighbouring villages in the period between the two Turkish invasions in 1974. It includes extensive footage and interviews with survivors of the attacks. The filmmaker believes that despite Cyprus’ European and democratic credentials, it still has problems coming to terms with its past. “Lets face it: truth is truth. As a state you have to be able to face your faults, your mistakes, your history,” Angastiniotis says. Worse still, he believes there is an unhealthy attitude in the country that prevents people from airing their views if they are out of line with government policy. “There is terror. Some people even believe there is a list of who said yes and who said ‘no’ in the referendum.” Angastiniotis is frustrated at the problems he has had getting his film aired. “The media is being controlled. There is no other way of putting it,” he said, adding Sigma had strong connections with the Presidential Palace, CyBC was a state channel, the Church influenced Mega and Antenna had likewise backed the no campaign. Angastiniotis describes his project as “something I had to do”. “If I didnt do this I couldnt sleep at night, and if they want to stop me making films on this subject, they will have to shoot me”. He adds, however, that he is not trying to paint the Turkish Cypriots as victim and the Greek Cypriots as perpetrators. “I never said the Turks did not commit war crimes. They did. But I am responsible for the Greek side. I hope a Turkish Cypriot has the guts to do what I have done and make a film about Turkish atrocities,” He explains. The film is the culmination of several years of collecting data from archives and from chatting with locals in coffeeshops. It was completed in August this year. He says he was inspired to make it when he realised there was a gap in the knowledge of his generation about the recent history of the island - especially regarding the events of 1963 and 64, which he believes are brushed over by Greek Cypriot interpretations of history. But the film focuses on three villages on the plain between Nicosia and Famagusta and what happened there when the men of the village were being held in prisoner-of-war camps in Limassol and the Turkish invasion was underway. “The Greek Cypriots of the neighbouring villages, along with army personnel attacked the village. They shot the children, the mothers and the old people left in villages For me it became a nightmare because all these years I had been convinced that everything we had done was right.” Speaking on behalf of CyBC television, Andros Pavlides told the Cyprus Mail he would like to see the film to assess whether it was suitable for broadcast, but that he had had too little time to do so. A spokesman for Sigma also said he had not seen the film because of time constraints. All other channels denied knowledge of the film or the filmmaker, despite Angastiniotis insistence that he written to them all telling them of it.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 12:19:12 +0000
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