_: The "Golden Aphrodite" award ceremony of the 21st Cyprus International Film Festival and the 6th edition of Women in Film and TV took place on Saturday evening at the Melina Mercouri Cultural Center in Nicosia.
The Cyprus International Film Festival, labeled with EFFE quality stamp for significant artistic festivals with social participation and international outreach, welcomed creators and cinematic voices from around the world this year as well.
The organizers emphasize in a statement that the awards, along with the world premiere of the film La Croix (Crossroads), a co-production of Cyprus and France, "reflect the aim of the Cyprus International Film Festival to be a substantial meeting place for Cypriots, Greeks, and international filmmakers, encouraging international collaborations, highlighting new voices, and creating bridges between Cyprus and the international film map."
As stated, the top award of the event, "Golden Aphrodite" for Best Feature Film, was awarded to the film Kim Cheol by Chengfeng Jin (China, 2025). The film also won the awards for Best Artistic Direction and Best Editing.
Also, Kerry Ann Enright was honored with the Directing and Screenplay awards for the film Tiger, while Carlos Woo received the award for Best Debut Director for Whimper.
The Best Male and Female Performance awards were given to Andrija Kuzmanovic for Yugo Florida and Jorie Blake Rosen for Tiger, respectively.
Meanwhile, the festival showcased significant creations in short films, documentaries, animation, experimental works, and new creators, with distinctions among others for the films Nihilism, These Women, Angel and Meow, Lost Spaces, After The Lightning, A Day Through My Eyes, and Jane and Zhen.
Greek and Cypriot creators had a special place in the 21st edition of the festival, confirming the dynamic presence of Greek-speaking and Cypriot cinema within an international environment of creation and cinematic exchange.
A highlight of this year's event was the world premiere of the Franco-Cypriot production La Croix (Crossroads) by Hu Xueyang, an international co-production between France and Cyprus. The film was presented to the public for the first time as part of the 21st CYIFF and was honored with the CYIFF 2026 Special Festival Award.
The participation of Hu Xueyang at the Festival holds particular importance, as the distinguished Chinese director had previously participated in the jury of the CYIFF, thus connecting two different temporal moments in the history of the Festival and highlighting its enduring relationship with significant creators of international cinema.
The CYIFF 2026 Best Greek Short Film Award was awarded to Theodora Madarou for the film I Have a Story but I Am Not My Story. Augustina Papadopoulou was honored with the Best Music Dance Short Film Award for Nihilism, while Belinda Cherrington and Kalli Koulloufidou received the CYIFF 2026 VR Award for Lost Spaces.
The Special Award for Inclusion and Human Dignity was awarded to Cypriot creator Charalambos Kontopanas for the film A Day Through My Eyes, for its sensitive and powerful approach to the lives, experiences, and desires of people with disabilities, highlighting human dignity, resilience, and the right to full participation in society.
The presence of Dina Rosenmeier was also significant, as she was honored with the CYIFF 2026 Aphrodite Cinematic Award for the film After The Lightning, a Spanish-Cypriot production. This particular distinction is awarded to a female director with exceptional prospects for development in the film industry.
The Festival also honored Cypriot cinematic creation with an Honorary Mention to Cypriot Filmmakers for the film Abstraction of Simplicity by Kyriakos Kakoullis, Vasilis Georgiou, and Mamas Sourouppis, for exploring the architectural identity of Cyprus and its relationship with history and collective memory.
Meanwhile, Xeni Styl Motiti received an Honorary Mention for her performance in the film Hope, while the film Life Without You by Marios Kleanthous was honored with an Honorary Mention for its poetic approach to love, absence, and human connection.
The Tributes "1974" and "Nostimon Imar" had a special place in the festival, commemorating the events of 1974 in Cyprus and connecting cinema with the notions of return, memory, and cultural identity. The film It's Raining by Lucianna (Lu) Kyriacou (United Kingdom, 2026) received an Honorary Mention in the Tribute "1974", while the film Echo of Time by Marios Kleanthous (Cyprus, 2025) was honored within the same Tribute. The award for the "Nostimon Imar" Tribute was given to the film Queens of Cyprus by Panikos Michail Panayiotou (United Kingdom, 2024, 60'35').
These distinctions enhance the unique character of the CYIFF as an international cinematic institution that, alongside its international reach, maintains a substantial dialogue with history, memory, Cyprus, and Greek culture, the announcement concludes.