Hidden in the Sand

In 1974, a coup backed by the Greek military junta instigated Turkey to invade the nation of Cyprus. Varosha, which was a thriving port city in Famagusta on the east coast of Cyprus, was occupied and all its Greek-Cypriot residents fled their homes. Since then, Varosha has been encircled by barbed wire and kept under surveillance by the Turkish military, which uses the territory as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Cyprus government. Its citizens are still forbidden to return. As both the maker and a participant, the filmmaker examines the fate of this city in captivity and her family’s connection to it.