Borders of the Heart: Stelana Kliris Explores Displacement, Apartheid, and Memory in the Deeply Personal Drama Apart
By Global Cinema Correspondent
As the global cinematic landscape continues to seek out authentic, hyper-localized stories with universal emotional resonance, filmmaker Stelana Kliris is poised to deliver one of the most poignant personal projects of her career. Her latest feature, Apart, is set to have its world premiere at the prestigious 30th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), where it has been selected to open the competitive Critics’ Picks section.
Co-produced and directed by Kliris—whose previous romantic comedy Find Me Falling made history as the first Cypriot film to secure a global premiere on Netflix—Apart shifts gears dramatically. It trades sun-soaked comedic levity for a heavy, character-driven exploration of historical trauma, geopolitical displacement, and the fragile construction of human identity.
Anchored by a stellar international cast featuring Leem Lubany (Omar, Rock the Kasbah), Luca Pasqualino (Rivals, The Musketeers), and Girley Jazama (Under the Hanging Tree, The White Line), Apart uses the parallel geopolitical fractures of 1970s Cyprus and Apartheid-era South Africa to examine how macro-level conflicts infiltrate the micro-level realities of human relationships.
Main Facts: A Journey Across Divided Homelands
At its core, Apart tells the story of Eleni, played by Leem Lubany. Set against the violent backdrop of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the narrative follows a young woman forced to flee her homeland. Seeking safety and a viable future, Eleni embarks on an arranged marriage that transports her thousands of miles away to Apartheid South Africa—effectively swapping one deeply divided, politically volatile country for another.
In South Africa, Eleni must navigate a strange, racially segregated society while building a life with her unfamiliar new husband, Nico, portrayed by Luca Pasqualino. What begins as an arrangement born of necessity slowly evolves into genuine affection and love. However, the fragile peace of their new life is jeopardized when an unexpected friendship forces Eleni to confront a closely guarded secret from her past, threatening to unravel everything she has built.
The film serves as a multi-layered meditation on borders—distinguishing between the physical barricades enforced by governments and military forces, and the emotional walls built within the human heart. Shot on location in Cyprus with narrative threads stretching across two continents, Apart utilizes a distinct aesthetic framework to contrast 1970s South African society with haunting flashbacks to pre-invasion Cyprus.
The film’s technical crew features acclaimed cinematographer Simon Sarketzis and editor Emilios Avraam. Apart is produced by Kliris alongside Susan Simnett, Jamie Harvey, and Ioanna Bolomyti, with international sales being handled by Reinvent Yellow Sales.
Chronology of a Passion Project: From Real-Life Refugee Roots to the Tallinn Red Carpet
To understand the emotional gravity of Apart, one must trace the decades-long personal journey that brought the project to the screen.
1974: The Catalyst of Displacement
The historical timeline of the film is rooted in the summer of 1974, when a Greek-backed military coup in Cyprus prompted a full-scale Turkish military invasion. The island was effectively partitioned along ethnic lines, resulting in mass displacement, missing persons, and generational trauma. Among those affected were the parents of writer-director Stelana Kliris, who fled the island and eventually settled in South Africa.
The Development Years: Observing Two Worlds
Growing up as a South African Cypriot, Kliris was uniquely positioned to observe two societies grappling with profound institutionalized and social divisions. While South Africa was mired in the brutal systemic segregation of Apartheid, Cyprus remained scarred by physical walls and the psychological weight of a split nation. These dual environments left an indelible mark on Kliris’s artistic sensibilities, planting the early seeds for what would eventually become the screenplay for Apart.
Production: Capturing Two Eras on Film
With principal photography taking place primarily in Cyprus—while meticulously recreating the atmospheric texture of 1970s South Africa—the production team faced the challenge of visually harmonizing two distinct eras and geographical regions. Through meticulous production design, costume choices, and Sarketzis’s evocative cinematography, the film bridges the gap between the sun-baked, Mediterranean nostalgia of Cyprus and the tense, insular interiors of Apartheid-era South Africa.
The Festival Circuit Breakthrough
The culmination of years of writing, fundraising, and production arrives at the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Securing the opening slot for the festival’s prestigious Critics’ Picks section marks a major milestone for the film, signaling to international distributors, critics, and audiences that Apart is a formidable contender on the global festival circuit.
Supporting Data and Production Details
Apart boasts a robust collaborative framework, bringing together talent from across the globe to tell a deeply specific yet universally relatable story.
Production and Creative Team
- Director / Producer: Stelana Kliris
- Producers: Susan Simnett, Jamie Harvey, Ioanna Bolomyti
- Cinematography: Simon Sarketzis
- Editing: Emilios Avraam
- Sales Agent: Reinvent Yellow Sales
Cast and Character Dynamics
- Leem Lubany as Eleni: Known for her breakout role in Hany Abu-Assad’s Academy Award-nominated Omar, Lubany brings emotional depth and vulnerability to a protagonist caught between the ruins of her past and the stark realities of her adopted home.
- Luca Pasqualino as Nico: Recognized for his television work in Rivals and The Musketeers, Pasqualino delivers a grounded performance as the husband in an arranged marriage who becomes an unexpected anchor for Eleni.
- Girley Jazama as a pivotal supporting figure: Bringing her acclaimed presence from Under the Hanging Tree and The White Line, Jazama enriches the film’s exploration of intersectional human connection within a fractured society.
Festival Reception and Curatorial Praise
The selection committee at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has championed the film’s rare blend of epic historical context and intimate human storytelling. Festival organizers noted in their official preview:
"With this very personal and ambitious film, Stelana Kliris has delivered a deeply moving cinematic ode to humanity, a film that will stay with you long after the final frame."
Official Responses and Filmmaker’s Statement
In exclusive commentary provided for the rollout of the film’s trailer, writer-director Stelana Kliris opened up about the autobiographical roots of the project and her desire to challenge conventional cinematic tropes surrounding immigration and conflict.
"It has always fascinated me that people like my parents, who emigrated from Cyprus to South Africa, left one divided place for another," Kliris shares. "I wanted to translate this into a film that challenges the idea of ‘us’ and ‘them.’ And, whilst the central narrative is fictional, the individual events around it are from real events."
Kliris emphasizes that despite the grand, macro-political forces at play in the narrative, Apart remains fundamentally a character-driven piece focused on the resilience of the human spirit.
"This is an intimate, character-driven film with a specific set of aesthetics that represents not just the two locations, but two distinct periods—1970s South Africa interwoven with flashbacks to the Cypriot past," she explains. "While war and Apartheid serve as the backdrop, our story of love, friendship, and identity provides for a more human, intimate experience."
Broader Implications: Redefining Refugee Narratives in Modern Cinema
As Apart prepares for its world premiere, the film arrives at a critical cultural juncture. In an era marked by global mass migrations, political polarization, and the hardening of national borders, stories that examine the psychology of displacement carry immense contemporary relevance.
1. Challenging the Monolith of Refugee Stories
Too often, cinema reduces refugees and immigrants to statistical entities or passive victims of geopolitical turmoil. By framing Eleni’s journey through the complex lens of an arranged marriage, personal agency, and hidden guilt, Apart subverts traditional narrative expectations. Eleni is not merely surviving history; she is actively negotiating her identity, her desires, and her capacity to love within oppressive structures.
2. The Intersection of Dual Histories
By drawing a parallel between the 1974 partition of Cyprus and the institutionalized segregation of Apartheid South Africa, Kliris highlights a rarely explored transnational solidarity. Both settings examine how societies manage "the other" through segregation, walls, and enforced separation. The film suggests that human connection operates as a subversive act capable of transcending state-sanctioned divisions.
3. A Milestone for Cypriot Cinema
Following the historic global success of Find Me Falling on Netflix, Kliris is helping to put contemporary Cypriot cinema on the international map. Apart proves that local filmmakers can leverage regional histories to craft prestige international dramas that resonate far beyond the Mediterranean.
As audiences prepare to experience the film’s exclusive trailer premiere, Apart stands ready to test our understanding of home, belonging, and the invisible ties that bind people together across oceans and decades.
