Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of East London
Flag Mountain
This 8 minute video shows a view across the border in Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus, focussing on the vast flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus painted onto the side of the Kyrenia Mountains. The flag, which is outlined at night by hundreds of lights, functions as a highly visible and provocative nationalistic gesture towards the Greek Cypriot community on the other side of the border. It was originally created by refugees from the Southern village of Tokhni as a memorial to 84 fellow villagers who were murdered in 1974 by a right-wing militia allied to the Greek military dictatorship. Acknowledging the complexities of this history, Flag Mountain investigates filmic strategies for enhancing this nationalistic display, creating a spectacle that might be interpreted as either ridicule or celebration. By contrasting this spectacle with details of everyday life caught on film, the work seeks to undermine cultural stereotypes and to suggest that in spite of the historical trauma of the island’s division, lives and aspirations are in many ways similar on both sides of the border.
It has been shown extensively at international film festivals, including London (2010), Kassel Documentary Festival (2010), 'L'Alternativa', Barcelona (2010), International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (2010), Cork (2010), Melbourne (2010), ‘Transmediale’, Berlin (2011), ‘Videoex’, Zurich (2011), ‘IndieLisboa’, Lisbon (2011), ‘Message to Man’, St. Petersburg (2011), Marrakech Biennale (2012) and the London Film Festival (2010). For details see:
Tanya Leighton Gallery: http://www.tanyaleighton.com/index.php?pageId=291&l=e n
British Film Council: http://film.britishcouncil.org/flag-mountain
The film has received numerous awards including the ARTE Prize for a European Short Film at the 56th Oberhausen International Short Film Festival 2010; a Special Commendation from the ‘Best of British’ Jury at the 16th ‘Encounters’ International Film Festival, Bristol 2010, and the Best Film award at CineMayence, Mainz, 2010.
