Shortly after the premiere of “Find Me Falling,” the first Cypriot production to be streamed on Netflix from July 19 (and simultaneously in Cypriot cinemas), director Stelana Kliris recounts her own romantic story to Down Town, a story that could also become a movie.
– Two days after your film’s premiere on Netflix, what’s going through your mind?
The thought that “everything went well.” I am very happy, very proud, and delighted that all our hard work has finally yielded the best result. It’s a film that, at this moment, literally everyone in the world can watch, and has been translated into over 30 languages. Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for anything more.
– How did you manage to secure a deal with such a major platform?
After a long and extensive process. The truth is, we always wanted our film to be shown on a platform like Netflix, but I think the key to securing this collaboration was our lead actor, Harry Connick Jr, who is a big name in America. We knew that the way commercial films work is this: you either need a well-known actor in the cast, or the film has to be based on a well-known book or game. Keeping this in mind, with the support of the Deputy Ministry of Culture of Cyprus, the Advisory Committee on Cinema, Invest Cyprus, and an investor from America, we made our film with a lot of joy and love, managing to sell it during a very difficult time, like last year.
– Why was it difficult?
Because due to the strikes that were happening in Hollywood, sales companies were telling us that no one would buy the film or that we wouldn’t get a good price for it. Hearing all this at that time, I personally experienced a huge disappointment, thinking that all our efforts were for nothing. In the end, not only were these claims unfounded, but the deal was even better than we expected.
– Could you expand on that?
After a private screening last October to various distributors, including Netflix, the film was immediately purchased for global release, not just for specific countries or regions, as is often the case.
– Do you remember when you first started forming the idea for this film in your mind?
Of course. The idea was born in 2015 when I came across an article about an Australian who lived on a cliff that was a suicide spot. This man was a very kind figure who would approach those standing on the edge and ask if they needed help or even invite them into his home for tea.
I liked this story so much that I thought it would be even more interesting script-wise if this person was grumpy or someone who wanted to live isolated from the world. I thought that by “forcing” such a character to help those in need, he would discover his own humanity through their good deeds.
And so, gradually, the story of “Find Me Falling” was created. It’s about a rock star who, towards the end of his career, experiences a crisis of futility and decides to leave everything behind and move from America to an island he visited where he fell in love for the first time in his youth.
He goes there and buys a secluded house on a cliff, hoping not to have to deal with people. When he moves, he learns that the cliff is a suicide spot, so he is forced to help people and reconnect with humanity. Thus, by saving others, he saves himself.
– Did you always see Harry Connick Jr. in this role?
Yes, and I even sent him a personal letter, talking about the script and how we wanted him for the role because, besides being an actor, he is also a musician and singer. He was ideal for us and even wrote two of the songs featured in the film. Regarding the two female leads, American actress, Ali Fumiko Whitney pleasantly surprised us with her ability to speak and sing in Greek, while Agni Scott was our first choice for the role she plays.
– What was your relationship with Agni Scott before “Find Me Falling”?
I met Agni ten years ago in Patmos during the filming of the movie “Opa.” I was working as a journalist for a magazine and went there to write an article about the movie and interview its lead actor, Matthew Modine. There I met Agni, and we kept in touch afterwards. When I wrote my own movie and started thinking about who I wanted for the lead role, one day, while driving on Griva Digeni Avenue, I saw a huge billboard with Agni’s face for a bank advertisement. As soon as I saw it, I said, “Agni!” So we offered her the role in the film.
– Your films are characterised by a romantic element. Is this something that stems from your character and how you see the world?
I would say yes. It’s the way I want to see the world. Although I know the reality of the world we live in, which stresses me a lot, the way I choose to handle it is by being optimistic and always striving for the best. That’s why through my films, I want to offer something pleasant and convey my hopes in my work.
– In this case, what do you want to convey through “Find Me Falling”?
This line that was in a scene was cut, but I’ll say it: one theme we explore in the film is the legacy we leave behind. For many, it might be their work, their art, their children. For me, the most important thing you can leave behind is how you made others feel. No matter how great an artist you were, if you made others feel good, I think that’s what will remain in the end, whether you were a good person. That’s the message of the film.
– I heard you say that this film is “A love letter to Cyprus.” Why?
Because apart from the protagonists’ story, this film also treats Cyprus as a character with its own story. We see a foreigner arriving on this small island and falling in love again, not only with his old flame but also with the place and the people who live here. With “Find Me Falling,” which is primarily a fun film, I wanted to show the world the Cyprus I have in mind.
The one with the stories I grew up with as a child of immigrants in South Africa, but also the one that gave me the most beautiful memories every time I came here. One thing I love about Cyprus, returning from the big cities where I lived, is the feeling that I’m in a big village. In Cyprus, I feel that we still have our humanity. We more or less know each other and help one another. These are the elements of Cyprus that I wanted to incorporate into my film.
– You were born in South Africa, lived in London, in Athens. What was your relationship with Cyprus before deciding to return?
My relationship with Cyprus was always special because, for me, it was a small paradise where I would come two or three times a year for holidays and to see my family. Of course, the way I grew up in South Africa, with my whole family living there, had a strong Cypriot element. I was fortunate to live in both worlds: the one at school, where I attended as a South African, and the one within the Cypriot and Greek community with our dances and traditions.
I remember my parents working very hard and me spending a lot of time alone at home, watching movies on TV. I think that’s where my love for cinema came from. Growing up, through my trips to Cyprus, I realised that it is a place where the pace of life suits me. When I shot my first short film here, titled “The Fiddler,” and had the chance to meet my “cinematic family,” as I always call the production crew, the experience was so good that it made me understand that here I can also do what I want professionally. So, I returned.
– And you never left again. Is it true that at the premiere of your film “Committed,” which dealt with the fear of commitment, you met the love of your life?
Isn’t it amazing? The irony, of course, was that I was single at 33 when I made the film, which was about a bride running away from her wedding, and I ended up getting married after this film in a completely karmic way.
– How?
The reason I met Alex, my husband, was because of the lead role of his brother, Orestes Sophocleous, in the film. I say karmic because initially, we had booked another actor from abroad who cancelled at the last moment, and our set designer immediately suggested Orestes. During the week of the film’s premiere in Cyprus, Alex was here on holiday, and since I was living in Limassol and needed to come to Nicosia often for interviews about the film, Alex, Orestes, and I would travel back and forth to their house.
That’s how we got to know each other, and on the night of the premiere, we got together. We spent the whole summer together, and then he had to return to America, where he was living at the time. For a while, we had a long-distance relationship, we met again in New York in the Christmas of 2014, and two years later, we got married.
It’s funny when you think about my connection to New York. I first visited in 2004, ten years later I went with Alex for the premiere of “Committed,” and ten years after that, today, Alex, our daughter Layia, and I will travel for the screening of “Find Me Falling.” So, every ten years, I have a date in New York with the progression of my personal and professional life. It’s very strange.
– What’s next for you professionally?
The film “Apart from Her,” which is supported by the Deputy Ministry of Culture, is based on the 1970s era between Cyprus and South Africa. It’s a film about the stories of my parents, about the immigrants who left Cyprus during the war and went to South Africa. By itself, this fact is very interesting, considering they left one divided country and went to another divided country, where women moved through arranged marriages. They would arrive at the airport and find a stranger with their photo, get married, and start their life in a country where they might not even speak the language. So, this is the next story, and we hope to start filming in October.
Styling: Shona Muir
The film “Find Me Falling” is available on Netflix and in Cypriot cinemas.
