27/02/2025 - The Greek-Cypriot filmmaker is in post-production on her latest feature, a historical drama set against the backdrop of 1974 Cyprus and apartheid-era South Africa starring Leem Lubany

South African-born Greek-Cypriot filmmaker Stelana Kliris, whose previous romantic comedy Find Me Falling gained international attention by topping Netflix’s charts, is currently in post-production with her latest feature, Apart from Her. The film features a diverse international cast, including Palestinian actress Leem Lubany in the lead role, and continues Kliris’s focus on stories exploring themes of identity and heritage.

Set in 1974, Apart from Her follows a young woman who escapes war-torn Cyprus through an arranged marriage, seeking refuge in apartheid-era South Africa. As she adjusts to her new life, an unexpected friendship with a local woman begins to flourish. This connection gradually brings hidden truths to light, forcing love and prejudice to collide.

Leem Lubany, known for the Oscar-nominated Omar and starring alongside Jeff Bridges in the Emmy-nominated The Old Man, plays the refugee torn between two cultures. Alongside her, British actor Luca Pasqualino (Rivals) portrays her arranged husband, and Namibian actress Girley Jazama (Measures of Men [+see also:
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The film is written and directed by Stelana Kliris, who also shared with Cineuropa how she drew on her own familial narratives: “Seeing my parents’ stories from my two home countries of South Africa and Cyprus come to life in this film has been a profound experience. While it is set against the turbulent backdrop of the Cyprus war and apartheid South Africa, it is ultimately an intimate story about compassion, and I hope that it will resonate with audiences.”

Filming took place entirely in Cyprus, with scenes captured in the village of Pera Oreinis and the capital Nicosia—which doubled as 1970s South Africa – in late 2024. Behind the camera is Greek cinematographer Simos Sarketzis (Behind the Haystacks [+see also:
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Apart from Her is a co-production between Cyprus, the UK, and Greece, with Stelana Kliris leading for her Nicosia-based production company Meraki Films, in co-production with Susan Simnett and Jamie Harvey for the UK’s Over The Fence Films, and Ioanna Bolomyti for Greece’s Atalante Productions, in partnership with executive producers Liz Whitney and Ken Whitney for Jupiter Peak Productions (USA) and Matt Murphie, David Mansfield, and John L. Pitts for Copper Island (Cyprus). The film is supported by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme, the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece, European Union – NextGenerationEU through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan «GREECE 2.0», Creative Europe – MEDIA, and the SEE Cinema Network.