The island nation is wooing international film makers as a sunny and cheaper alternative to Los Angeles
Cottbus begins its 29th edition by Smuggling Hendrix
This year’s edition of FilmFestival Cottbus, starting on 5 November and accompanied by the industry event Connecting Cottbus, will immediately provide some laughs thanks to a dog that complicates its owner’s plans to leave Cyprus when it escapes to the Turkish side of the island. “Smuggling Hendrix [+], set in Cyprus, is a mirror image of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall: while we have been celebrating the fall of the Iron Curtain, the island in the Eastern Mediterranean has been divided by a heavily guarded border since 1974,” explained programme director Bernd Buder about Marios Piperides’ opening film. “Co-produced by Greece, Cyprus and Germany, it symbolises the expansion of the territory covered by FilmFestival Cottbus, which this year will also show feature-length works from Finland, Turkey and Greece.”
Variety: “Cyprus Joins the Battle for Foreign Filmmakers”
“Cyprus offers a cash rebate or tax credit of up to 35% on qualifying local spending for feature films, TV series, animation, documentaries and other projects that promote Cyprus and its culture, provided they meet certain financial criteria and pass a cultural test."