News

Emilios Avraam on Smaragda: 'If you have someone as an inspiration and observe how they act in life, it becomes personal' Photo: Courtesy of Poff Emilio Avraam’s debut film Smaragda: I Got Thick Skin And I Can’t Jump immerses us in the life of a Cypriot fortysomething who is trying something new with her life. Samaragda (played with unvarnished steel by Niovi Charalambous) has just taken charge of her mother’s dog after her death and heard that the residual payments she used to get for hosting an old kids’ TV programme are coming to an end. After being told her social media standing is too weak to make her next project viable, she embarks on building that - in a strange combination of posts that mix sex appeal with environmental issues - at the same time as taking on a job as a children’s entertainer in the local resort.

If there’s one thing that cinema teaches us, it’s that life tends not to get any easier, and fortysomething Cypriot Smaragda (Niovi Charalambous) is a case in point. Grieving the loss of her mother - something which, like many of the background elements, is intimated rather than spoken aloud by writer/director Emilios Avraam - she also finds herself at a career crossroads while facing up to what ageing will mean for her physically.

When Smaragda gets news that residuals from an old children’s show that she once presented will cease to arrive, her pitch for a new programme centring on environmental themes receives a lukewarm reception, not least due to her lack of social media followers. This is, unsurprisingly, in contrast to a younger colleague who has a huge fanbase. Taking on a job as a children’s resort entertainer, Smaragda makes tentative steps into the realm of video content,...

Emilios Avraam’s debut feature, “Smaragda – I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump,” a coming-of-middle-age story set in Cyprus, is world premiering in competition tonight at this year’s Tallinn Dark Nights Film Festival.

The film’s titular protagonist suffers from environmental sensitivities, failed relationships and a stagnant career as a TV entertainer. Not content with her situation, Smaragda becomes a children’s entertainer at a tourist resort and embraces social media, receiving both fame and backlash for her online persona. Undeterred, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

Produced by Bark Like A Cat Films, “Smaragda” received backing from the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture and Creative Europe Media (Mini Slate). It was developed at First Films First and Torino Film Lab Extended Script Development Programs and pitched at Connecting Cottbus coproduction forum 2021, Dot on the Map Industry Days 2023 and presented at Kviff Works In Progress 2024.

Ahead...

Killer Films producer Christine Vachon, Mubi’s chief content officer Jason Ropell, and Fatih Abay, diversity and inclusion officer at the European Film Academy are among the international speakers heading to the industry programme of this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff), taking place until July 8 in the Czech Republic.

The recently restored Imperial Spa will house the entire industry programme. It’s wood-panelled interiors will host the Industry Days’ Eastern Promises for four days of project pitches, talks, events, and workshops as well as the Film Industry Office and Lounge. There is an afternoon forum dedicated to...