Welcome by the Director of the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Ms Aliki Stylianou, at the presentation the PIO Film Series “Myths of Cyprus”

First Lady, Mrs Filippa Karsera-Christodoulides,

Distinguished guests,

Dear friends, 

At the Press and Information Office we know that communication is not limited to the exchange of information. In order to truly connect with one another, we need to share experiences. That is, to tell stories. 

In order to achieve that, we turned to an inexhaustible source: the stories of our people, as they were spread from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation. 

You may have heard some of them before. Others may surprise you. All of them are rooted to the very soul of our people who lived and created in this country. Our Cyprus. 

I welcome you to today’s first screening of the first six episodes of the new film series of the Press and Information Office “Myths of Cyprus”. 

It is a project that brings us one step closer to our goal: to create a living archive of culture and history, to which every citizen or visitor of Cyprus will be able to refer to, learn about and truly love our Country, our unique Cyprus. 

I would like to extend my warmest and sincere thanks to the First Lady Filippa Karsera-Christodoulides for placing the event under her auspices and for honouring us with her presence as well as her continuous support of the PIO’s efforts in promoting Cyprus. 

I am grateful for tonight’s production to the dedicated and talented personnel of the Press and Information Office. I could not be more proud. 

I am also grateful to tonight’s contributors and collaborators for this production:

• Director Mark Cassinos and his crew, who highlighted the known and unknown of Cyprus.
• Iosif Hadjikyriakos and Ioanna Pantelis, whose thorough research has brought to light the unknown myths of Cyprus. 
• Animator Ioannis Filiastides and his team, who breathed life into the precious characters of the series. 

I hope you will enjoy it and I sincerely hope that it will be worth your while. 

And don’t forget: The myths of Cyprus are everywhere. They’re amongst us. So much so that if you manage to isolate the noise of everyday life and pay closer attention, you will realise that behind a closed door, in the shadow of a rock, in the foliage of a century-old tree or in a glass of sweet wine something follows you… Something both terrible as well as reassuring. Something that is yours and yours alone, from the depths of Cyprus, our unique Cyprus. 

Once again, I thank you all for your presence, I thank you my colleagues.

(GS)

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