The Divided Island

Director: Cey Sesiguzel

To the UK, Cyprus is a lovely holiday island but Cey Sesiguzel’s new film The Divided Island paints a picture of dangerous and volatile conflict between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, partitioned as a result of independence from British control in 1960. This 95-minute documentary depicts both the long view of Cypriot history that has been much contested over thousands of years as well as the day-to-day reality for its contemporary communities still bitterly separated by the competing claims to the land and its history.

From the earliest moments of Sesiguzel’s film, the flexibility of historical interpretation is highlighted, with all sides claiming rightful ‘ownership’ of this strategically positioned island which proved a valuable naval and military base to protect trade routes and interests. But The Divided Island also wants to emphasise the sense of community that existed until Greek Cypriots actively began to campaign for Britain’s exit, with interviewed residents reminiscing about living side-by-side on the same streets and sharing in each other’s social lives. That sense of renewed nationalism is well conveyed.

This is straightforward and effective documentary filmmaking from Sesiguzel who uses talking heads from residents and academics, archival footage, photographs and narrative plates to tell a chronological story of disturbance, giving a sense of the interplay between politics, religion and social forces that resulted in military action. It may not do anything inventive with the format but letting this powerful story tell itself is an advantage. Some of that becomes quite emotive with shots of dead combatants and funerals balanced with testimony from veterans who contextualise these images explaining pressure and fears being felt on both sides.

Tension around pivotal moments is well managed, creating – for those with no knowledge of this history – gripping insight when the different elements of the story build to a climax, particularly during the discussions of the Civil War in 1963-64 that led to international outrage. Again, this is balanced by the personal stories that translate this broader strategic picture including a contributor who recalls giving birth in a deserted hospital and concerns about the safety of a particular building that resulted in the loss of her child or another who just avoids being raped by soldiers while searching for her missing father. These are striking, devastating moments that cut through the facts of the film, a pointed reminder of the cost of any war for civilians caught up in the posturing.

Sesiguzel’s film is extremely clear on the escalating steps that led to partition, not focusing too much on the political and military leaders, but the incremental development of division after British rule that gives no sense of a single tipping point but a long slide into conflict. But what The Divided Island is best at is explaining the long-lasting pain for individuals and families on both sides who lost loved ones in the fighting and still feel the effects of their loss today. Wherever in the world that a conflict is taking place in whichever period of time, in this Armistice month, it is a solemn reminder, of the pity of war.

The Divided Island is screening in UK cinemas from 1 November.