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Cyprus

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7:00 PM

Beyond Silence

Film screening and discussion|GoetheKino: Questions of Family

  • Goethe-Institut Nicosia, Nicosia

  • Original dialogue with English subtitles. Discussion in English
  • Admission free
  • Part of series: GoetheKino

A woman with curly hair enjoying a moment while playing a clarinet, © Claussen + Wöbke Filmproduktion

Two women dressed in black with hats, performing a hand gesture that suggests connection or expression. © Claussen + Wöbke Filmproduktion

The series GoetheKino: Questions of Family concludes with the screening of the award-winning film Beyond Silence, which will be followed by a discussion with Olga Kourelou, film academic, and Panayiota Themistocleous, Cypriot sign language interpreter and CODA (child of deaf adults).

Feature film, Teen movie // 109 minutes // 1996 // Directed by: Caroline Link

Lara's parents are deaf. This changes the relationship of power and obligation within the family, for the girl has to act as an intermediary with the outside world from a very early age. She must also "translate", be it a telephone call, the meeting between her parents and her teacher, or when negotiating a loan with the bank. After finishing school, Lara plans to leave the small Bavarian town to study music in Berlin. This creates major problems with her father, problems which are intensified by her mother's death.

EXPERTS

  • Olga Kourelou

    Olga Kourelou holds PhD in Film Studies from King’s College London. Having held teaching positions at King’s College London and Sussex University, she is now Research Fellow at the University of Nicosia and an independent film curator. She served as a member of the Cyprus Cinema Advisory Committee and has now been appointed to the Subcommittee for Script Evaluation.
    Olga’s research interests are in star studies, gender, race, and European cinema, with a particular focus on Greek-language film. She has contributed book chapters and articles to publications including New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film, Journal of Greek Media and Culture and Celebrity Studies Journal.  

  • Panayiota Themistokleous

    Panayiota Themistokleous is a graduate of the Department of History and Archeology of the University of Cyprus and holds a Master's Degree in Special (Inclusive) Education of the European University of Cyprus. The results of her Diploma Thesis entitled "Referential Communication of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children attending pre-primary and primary schools" were presented at the 22nd World Congress on the Education of the Deaf.
     
    She works as a Cypriot Sign Language Interpreter, providing services both in the Public (Primary Schools, School for the Deaf) and in the Private Sector (Conferences, Educational Seminars, etc.). Finally, she works in the presentation of News in Sign Language in a private television station.
     
    In addition, she participates in several European Programs (Erasmus) which aims to strengthen and promote the Cypriot Sign Language, but also in research related to it (e.g. teaching, evaluation, etc.).
     
    At the same time, she works as a Cypriot Sign Language Teaching Specialist at the Language Center of the University of Cyprus, teaching the courses of Cypriot Sign Language. She also teaches the course of Cypriot Sign Language in the Adult Programs of the University of Cyprus.
     
    She represents the University of Cyprus in the Scientific Comity for the Implementation of the Measures for the Recognition of the Cypriot Sign Language.
     
    She is one of the founding members of the Association of Cypriot Sign Language Interpreters and currently holds the position of Secretary on the Board of Directors. At the same time, she is the Secretary of the Friends of the Deaf Community and a member of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (EFSLI).