Currently in post-production, timely drama, APART is the newest addition to the Reinvent Yellow Sales line-up. The film is directed by Stelana Kliris also behind the global Netflix chart topper “Find Me Falling” (2024).
APART is a deeply personal project for the South African-Cypriot director based on her parents experiences as refugees. This emotional story spans continents and cultures during the political upheaval of the 1970s and looks at war and division through the female gaze in a film that is both timely and timeless.
APART is written, directed and produced by Stelana Kliris for Meraki Films together with producers Susan Simnett (Everybody Digs Bill Evans) and Jamie Harvey for Over The Fence Films and Ioanna Bolomyti for Atalante Productions.
Director Stelana Kliris says: “This is a very personal film for me, but also a story that I believe will resonate in the world we live in today and we are so happy to have Reinvent Yellow on board to bring it to audiences, we know we’re in excellent hands.”
Producer Susan Simnett adds “We are thrilled to be partnering with Reinvent Yellow on sales for this ambitious co-production set in the fractured worlds of 1970s Cyprus and South Africa. As we lean in to stories that find the universal in the specific, the production stands out for its historical context while maintaining an intimate, emotional core”
Chief Sales Officer, Helene Aurø comments: “A fantastic love story that feels deeply relevant in today’s world, capturing the fragility of memory and the strength of human connection, all brought to life through incredibly skilled and sensitive direction”.
The film is led by actress Leem Lubany, known for the Academy Award-nominated “Omar” and the Emmy nominated “The Old Man”. Alongside her in the lead we find Luca Pasqualino, whose credits include “Rivals” and “Snowpiercer” and finally, Girley Jazama, known for “Measures of Men” and “Under The Hanging Tree”, Namibia’s first submission for the Oscars, earning her an African Movie Academy Award nomination.
Synopsis
1974. When Turkey invades Cyprus, young Eleni escapes through an arranged marriage to a fellow Greek-Cypriot in apartheid South Africa. She leaves one divided country for another. Though strangers at first, Eleni and Nico slowly fall for each other and start to build a life together. But when an unexpected friendship with a local Black woman reveals a secret from Eleni’s past, she must make a decision that could change her life forever.
APART is produced by Meraki Films, Over The Fence Films and Atalante Productions, in association with Jupiter Peak Productions and Copper Island and supported by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme, the Hellenic Film Audiovisual Center, Creative Europe and the SEE Cinema Network. Reinvent Yellow handles international sales.