En film av Constantinos Patsalides, George Avraam

Screening October 1st 2025. Before the screening the awarded short film Milk Rose will screen.

The documentary When the Swallows Fall Silent explores the struggle of people to preserve their identity and neighborhood in the face of modernisation pressures. Set in an old town undergoing rapid change, the film unfolds a moving narrative around the historic Faneromeni School and the iconic “Matthaios” restaurant, where history and the precious traditions of the past clash with the forces of urban transformation. It is a battle against adversity in a neighbourhood that is no longer the same.

In 2008, for the purposes of an earlier documentary, the filmmakers recorded the daily lives of students at Faneromeni Primary School in the heart of Old Nicosia. After completing that work, an idea was born: to return every 15 years to the same neighborhood and characters.

The film by Constantinos Patsalides and George Avraam had its world premiere at the 2025 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, in the Platform+ category. It was also screened at this year’s Panorama of Contemporary Greek and Cypriot Cinema in Paris. It enjoyed a three-week theatrical run at KCINEPLEX Nicosia and was also screened in commercial zone at Danaos Cinema in Athens, at Arthouse Crouch End in London and at Le Grand Action Cinema in Paris.

 

A Walking Around the World production, co-financed by the Deputy Ministry of Culture of Cyprus.