Stelana Kliris, the South African-Cypriot writer, director and producer behind Find Me Falling, is basking in the resounding success of her first official feature film.
Find Me Falling is the first ever Cypriot feature to stream worldwide on Netflix, topping the Netflix Global 10 list in its very first week of streaming.
Here she tells us how it feels to have her hard work pay off, explains her Cypriot roots and talks about the next feature she will be filming in Cyprus, on a subject matter that is close to her heart.
I would like to start off by congratulating you on your film, Find Me Falling, reaching number 1 on the Netflix Global 10, in its very first week of streaming, having been viewed 14,400,000 times already, just five days after it was released (19 July)! How do you feel right now?
Overwhelmed, humbled and just very, very happy. People have been so enthusiastic and supportive and knowing they enjoyed our film makes my heart full.
Are you planning on producing any more movies in Cyprus? Would you recommend it to other producers?
Yes of course! As long as they have a strong local production team to run things on the ground for them. From my side, my next feature is a romantic drama called "Apart from Her" set between Cyprus and South Africa. It follows my parents' generation who left Cyprus during the war for South Africa and all that meant. It's a real passion project for me and we start shooting in Cyprus in November.
