Under the Stars

Since Cyprus was divided in 1974 into a Turkish and a Greek part, there has been a frontier running across the island and through the capital Nicosia, the Green Line. It is now guarded by UN soldiers. Villages were deserted, thousands of people had to move. In the period of violence that preceded partition, many people died. Christos Georgiou, who was born in England but grew up on Cyprus, made a road movie about the psychological wounds that the partition of Cyprus after a war now almost forgotten left on the population.Lukas and Phoebe are two young Greek Cypriots. Lukas, who witnessed the violence as a boy aged ten, still lives more in the past than in the present. But Phoebe has both feet firmly in the present. She takes advantage of the situation by smuggling goods across the Green Line. For a considerable sum of money, she agrees to smuggle Lukas to the Turkish part, so he can visit the village where he grew up. The two set off, squabbling and quarreling. Phoebe skillfully talks her way past border posts and soldiers. When they reach their destination, the deserted village magically comes to life. Among the spirits of their lost relatives, Lukas and Phoebe find a way to cope with the future.