You are invited to the preview screening of Bitter Lemons, directed and produced by Adnan Hadzi and Lennaart van Oldenborgh Date: 29th of November 2012 Time: 19:00 Location: Goldsmiths, University of London, Screen NAB, LG01, Lewisham Way, London SE14 6NW Register for a free ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/4778762407?ref=ebtnebregn# Bitter Lemons is an observational documentary examining life in two rural villages on either side of the UN-administered buffer zone in western Cyprus in the years between 2006 and 2009, after border crossings opened between the two sides. The film provides a unique local perspective on the largely forgotten conflict in Cyprus, from people who were displaced by this conflict in 1974, and have lived with its consequences ever since. At the heart of Bitter Lemons is the unlikely friendship between two elderly farmers: Loizos (a Greek Cypriot) and Ali (a Turkish Cypriot). Ali saved Loizos’ life during the conflict in 1974; since then the two men have lived in exile from their homes on opposite sides of the buffer zone in the agricultural heartland west of the Cypriot capital Nicosia. However, Loizos cultivates the land Ali used to own in the south, and Ali cultivates the land Loizos used to own in the north: with only a minefield separating them for 30 years. After in 2003 the first checkpoint across the Buffer Zone opened, Loizos and Ali re-established contact. In the following years, hope of a political solution in Cyprus meant that they dared to dream that they might finally be able to return to their pre-1974 homes. Even the minefields have gradually been cleared in a UN-sponsored program. But after all the bitter memories of conflict, 30 years of separation, and with a community around them that is as suspicious as ever of the enemy on the other side, it is not easy to re-establish trust and friendship. Political as well as personal reconciliation have proved to be elusive. On 1 December co-director and co-producer Lennaart van Oldenborgh will present a paper relating to the film, at the Besides The Screen conference: http://bts.re. For further information, please visit: http://www.bts.re/bts-2012-panel-4