Where will this great flag be found, the great swag to hide the great shame, the unspeakable pain, the great shame of killing innocent people, raping women, killing children? Anyway, every war is based on deception, lies and deep immorality.
Famagusta, from the 4th AD century, it is mentioned under the name Famagusta, which literally means the city buried in the sand. Indeed, Famagusta was a world famous tourist resort, between 1960 and 1974, because of its sandy beach. Ancient Famagusta was called Salamina, while later it was renamed Arsinoe and Constantia. Famagusta, following its occupation by the Turkish troops, has been described as a “ghost city”, as most of the city remains closed and deserted, with the occupying army not allowing the return of its legal residents, despite the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United States.
The Swedish journalist Jan-Olof Bengston, who visited the port of Famagusta, looking at the sealed city, gave the description “ghost town” and wrote: “The asphalted road was filled with cracks and bushes grew on the sidewalks. Today – September 1977 – the breakfast tables are there, the laundry spread out on the lines and the electric lamps on. Varosi is a ghost town”.
In the series “Famagusta” shown on MEGA everything starts in the Summer of 1974 in Famagusta. Operation Attila 2 is in full swing following the collapse of peace talks in Geneva. The young Christina runs in panic with her baby in her arms to save herself from the Turkish aerial bombardments. The shock wave of a bomb exploding very close to her knocks her to the ground and knocks her unconscious. When she comes to, her baby is missing and no one knows what happened.
On March 10, the first cycle of the “Famagusta” series ends, which consists of a total of 24 episodes. So in that episode the viewers will be left with unanswered questions regarding the final decision of the court and the final outcome of the events.
The pair of these young people tragically lose their three-month-old child on the day of the invasion, forcing them to abandon their home and all hope of ever finding their baby. At its core, the series revolves around the young couple’s heartbreaking loss of their infant during the invasion. This tragic event sets the stage for a story of broken dreams and fragmented lives. The couple endures the pain of separation from their child and the overwhelming weight of uncertainty regarding his fate.
Fifty years have passed, but the wound of the lost baby for the couple Christina and Andreas Sekeris has not closed. Although they have created a loving family with three children, there is always the shadow of the lost first born son.
But the miracle lives in the trauma. Amidst the horrors of war, an infant survives to grow up to be a 50-year-old man, living his own life in London, while his family in Cyprus ignores his existence. 50-year-old Michael, raised in London by Greek Cypriot parents, returns to the island to record the shocking testimonies of Cypriots who lived through the Turkish invasion, in a documentary.
A series of flashbacks reveal the actions of Archbishop Makarios, his visit to President Wilson, but also his escape on the crucial day of the Cyprus tragedy. The narrative unfolds in multiple time periods, spanning decades and including the life of the middle-aged man , now, their son who lives in London. Unbeknownst to his family in Cyprus, he survived the war as an infant and grew up in a different environment. His journey of self-discovery and longing to connect with his roots form the key narrative thread, offering insights into the complexities of identity and belonging. The return of the missing son to his homeland acts as a catalyst for both personal and collective healing. It symbolizes the possibility of closure and redemption in the face of the deep wounds caused by the Turkish invasion.
Set once morest historical events, Famagusta also explores the wider impact of war on individuals and communities. The interviews filmed by Michael are based on real events, which scarred the protagonists, but also those who have corresponding memories. The interviews bring to light the enduring trauma of missing, tortured, raped women and the displacement experienced by those caught up in the horrors of war, as well as the lingering scars it leaves on a society struggling with the followingmath of the brutal attack. Themes of love, loss and resilience run throughout the series, highlighting the human capacity for survival in the face of the brutality of the invasion.
Overall, “Famagusta” navigates the complexities of the war and the consequences of the Turkish landing in Cyprus. Through her events and characters, she tries, not always successfully, to explore the themes of loss, lost hope and the horrors of war. The narrative follows the interrelated lives of the characters affected by the invasion of Famagusta. The return of the missing son to his homeland, on the occasion of the documentary on behalf of an international platform, will prove fatal both for his own life and for the lives of all the heroes of the “Famagusta” series.
With filming in Cyprus, Athens and London, the series, signed by Andreas Georgiou, Vana Dimitriou and Koulis Nikolaou, unfolds the story of the militant journalist from England who travels to Cyprus for the needs of the documentary on the occasion of the 50 years since the anniversary of the Turkish invasion. What our hero is unaware of is that in the troubled July of 1974, still an infant, he was separated from his real mother and a family in Famagusta, who, however, never forgot him.
Starring: Yannis Bezos, Koralia Karantis, Christos Loulis, Andreas Georgiou, Emilia Ypsilanti, in the role of Grandfather George Zenios Neokles Neokleous, Vasiliki Troufakou, Stefanos Michael, Astero Kyprianou, Dafni Kiourktsoglou, Vangelis Kakouriotis, Christina Papadopoulou, Dimitris Antoniou, Grigoris Georgiou, Loukia Mousouliotis, Tzortzia Kouvaraki, Andreas Chrysanthou, Athos Antoniou
Yannis Bezos, who plays the role of Andrea Sekeris, revealed what fascinated him and what the challenges of his role are. “The fruit of the role is the suffering that exists. They are apparently a happy family. The big bet is that he is constantly suffering from what is missing, from what always destroys family peace. And this is his interest”.
The shocking testimony we heard in the premiere through Bembedeli’s mouth is true, and this is one of the most shocking and moving elements of the series, as it is based on shocking testimonies of those who lived through the invasion. And in the continuation of the episodes, we will also watch other real stories through the research carried out by Dimitris Tokaris.
Mega took the initiative by utilizing the interest of Andreas Georgios, Vanas Dimitrios and Koulis Nikolaos to create the series to bring to the memory of the old and to introduce the younger to the history of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This year marks 50 years since 1974, the terrible summer of that year in which Attila’s hordes, under the pretext of the Juntic coup d’état on the island, invaded it, looting, raping, killing and annihilating. While in the first phase the creators seem to have worked on the historical context and want to narrate the events as faithfully as possible, proof is the narratives they use through the documentary of Michael Kurtis (Christos Loulis), they escape and get lost in the melodrama, in the tactics of easy thrills and the codes of the time-honored soap opera.
The creators of the series seem to start with pure intentions and want to tell the story as faithfully as possible to honor the dead, the missing and the survivors who were violently uprooted from occupied Cyprus. The history of the creators themselves, however, with the daily serials with elements of melodrama and soap opera, has not let them complete the project. “Famagusta” seems to be in a constant internal conflict, between the hard and powerful subject that needs to be told and the usual melodrama, which for the sake of television must surpass the historicity and escape the convenience and banality.
The series ultimately uses the Turkish invasion of Cyprus to weave a modern story with love triangles, some unnecessary and random murders, rich and indifferent families, conscientious and unconscionable journalists, mothers who cry in every other scene for their son, even serious illnesses, time-honored stereotypes, clouded situations and incurable relationships.
Rulers always start a war, either because they want quick and inexpensive glory, or because they want to escape from the problems and difficult management of people’s daily lives. But the peoples must end the disease of wars, otherwise wars will melt humanity in their furnace.
#Famagusta #furnace #Memory
