Elisseos Kyrillou
Interviewer(s):
Theo Xenophontos
Project:
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Toronto, ON
LANGUAGE:
English
DATE:
August 5, 2023

Interview Summary:

Elisseos Kyrillou was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1985. In 2015, he migrated to Canada for social reasons after having spent nine years living in Athens, Greece. In Canada, he co-founded Ten Tone Productions. In 2024, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Turkish invasion, Ten Ten Productions interviewed ten Cypriot Canadians for a special YouTube series entitled, Cyprus 50 Years Later.

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Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
August 5, 2023
Toronto, ON
Interviewee(s)
Elisseos Kyrillou
Interviewer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Languages
English
Reference ID
FAMREF017
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Education
Historical Events
Migration
Working Life
Tags
Australia
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.
Cyprus 1974
Cyprus Coup
EOKA
HHF
Junta
Language
Military Service
Post-1974 Migration
Soccer
UK
Decades Referenced
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Karmi (Kyrenia District); Kyrenia; UN Buffer Zone; Nicosia; Alona (Nicosia District); Troodos Mountains; Pitsilia; Paphos; Greece; Athens; Thessaloniki; Rhodes; Crete; Canada; Toronto; Cypriot Community Centre (Thorncliffe); York University; Turkey; Australia; the United Kingdom; Africa
Occupation(s)
He held various jobs in the Athens arts sector, while also working several service industry jobs while living there. In Canada, he co-founded Ten Tone Productions.
Parents Occupation(s)
Names Referenced
Danai Kokkinopoulou; George Patinios; George Scandalis; Georgios Grivas; Makarios III

[00:00:23] Life in Cyprus

[00:02:16] The education system in Cyprus

[00:06:49] Family history

[00:12:42] Reasons for leaving Cyprus

[00:14:04] LGBTQ+ issues in Cyprus and Greece

[00:18:30] Differences between Cyprus and Greece

[00:21:05] Differences between Cypriot and Greek language

[00:25:00] The arts sector in Athens

[00:29:11] Coming to Canada & familial migration patterns

[00:31:31] The intergenerational trauma of 1974

[00:33:23] Adjusting to Canada

[00:36:23] The connection between theatre and heritage

[00:37:52] Ten Tone Productions

[00:41:25] The link between politics and soccer in Cyprus

[00:44:33] Political differences between Cyprus and Greece

[00:47:06] How the junta is remembered by Cypriots

[00:55:09] The divide between Makarios & Grivas supporters

[00:57:05] Involvement with the HHF and Cypriot community

[01:00:28] Developing interest in photography and film

[01:02:14] Documenting the opening of the border in Cyprus

[01:03:52] Working on a film about his family and 1974

[01:08:39] Communication and the need for AV preservation

[01:10:35] Appreciating Cyprus more now that he’s in Canada

[01:14:27] Hopes for Cyprus and the Cypriot community here

[01:15:43] Framing of identity

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