ON the verge of reasons - Cyprus

           

The Shadow Casters strikes again on Cyprus, where they are filming its web documentary serial called "On The Verge of Reason" in creative collaboration with local partners and others collaborators.

OVR represents artistic research and project on subject matter "what is bravery today"  involving numerous organizations from Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo and Cyprus countries which are now in very delicate and difficult time of their history and existence. We think that today the act of individual bravery (however small it can be), courage and persistence are of great value and it can be experience we can all share together. 

This session of filming is combining children and adult point of view on "what is bravery" in Limassol and Nicosia. 

The finale of the project is planed for November 2013 when the SC and their partners will present a newly designed web-documentary page on thematic conference.


Inspired by the novel of the same name by Miroslav Krleža (1938), one of the greatest Yugoslavian/ Croatian writers and intellectuals of the 20th century.OVR is exploring the issue of heroism as civil courage; heroism as a consequence of the existence of individual human and ethical values; heroism as a small deed with potentially huge outcome; heroism as an act of selflessness. Acts “on the verge of reason” are acts of human, ethical, social and/or political vertical that take place in disjointed times and are perceived as disjointed precisely because of their context. They are committed by “ordinary people”, those who live around us and whose extraordinariness might not be perceived even after their act “on the verge of reason” simply because it is not visible (or politically correct) enough for official history.

The history of all countries of the Western Balkans (Cyprus alike) is permeated with heroic myths based on superhuman acts usually committed in the name of nation, religion and/or ideology. OVR is focusing on those acts that apparently have no visible grandeur and are not addressing the superstructures but, on the contrary, stem from individual decisions to go against the grain of the moment, time or circumstances reacting according to one’s own deepest beliefs and out of the necessity to do something for the other, be it an individual or a community. 
But unlike the tragic destiny of the hero of Krleža’s novel, OVR is searching for stories that have either a positive or rather a more complex outcome. Hence OVR wants to challenge the cult of tragic heroism and juxtapose it to the idea and practice of human and civil courage, creating an archive of next-door heroes who could easily be anyone of us.

Authors: Boris Bakal, Borka Pavičević, Jeton Neziraj, Maria Kyriakou

Collaboratours: Arben Llapashtica, Alma Sartori, Ema Szabo, Ivan Županc, Srđan Kovačević, Sunita Kurti, Tanja Petovar etc.

Partners on project: Shadow Casters, Omada One/Off, CZKD (Belgrade) and Qendra Multimedia (Priština)

Support: European Cultural Foundation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and The City Office for Education, Culture and Sports in Zagreb