EXCLUSIVE: Cypriot filmmaker Tonia Mishiali’s Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe Competition title The Lion At My Back has been picked up for sales by Finland-UK company The Yellow Affair.
A teenage Senegalese asylum seeker crosses paths with a 40-year-old Cypriot woman quietly trying to rebuild her life. Their shared struggle for survival leads to an unexpected bond. Together, they tear down stereotypes and redefine themselves in a tale of finding the true meaning of love and family and female solidarity. The Cyprus-shot film is in Greek and English language.
The lead production company is Mishiali’s Bark Like a Cat Films (Cyprus) in co-production with Katarzyna Ozga and Nicolas Steil of Iris Productions (Luxembourg) and Marinos Charalambous and Vladimir Subotic of Avaton Films (Greece). Antoine Simkine is an associate producer.
Cast includes Sokhna Diallo, Elena Kallinikou, Prokopis Agathocleous and Herodotos Miltiadous.
Mishiali has written the script with Dianne Jones and Simona Nobile.
The Lion At My Back was financed with the support of Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, Film Fund Luxembourg, Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center and Creative Europe Media through its MEDIA mini slate program. It took part in Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s co-production forum Agora Crossroads in November 2020, Connecting Cottbus Works in Progress (cocoWIP) and Thessaloniki’s Agora Works in Progress in November 2025.
Mishiali’s debut feature Pause was selected for Karlovy Vary’s East of the West Competition in 2018, ahead of winning the Fipresci prize at Thessaloniki.
“There comes a moment when a film stops being yours and starts belonging to the audience. I am honoured that this moment will happen at KVIFF, a festival that has been an important part of my life as a filmmaker,” said Mishiali.
“In attending Connecting Cottbus, the pitch for The Lion At My Back truly stood out as a strong film of hope, friendship and female solidarity,” said The Yellow Affair’s Alexandra Cruz. “I am happy to see that Karlovy Vary recognised both the team and this very present-timed story.”
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