Smuggling Hendrix

Yiannis, a fading musician, is planning to leave crisis-ridden Cyprus for a better life abroad. His plans are put on hold when his dog Jimi runs away and crosses the UN buffer zone that divides the "Greek" from the "Turkish" side of the island. Since animal exchange between the two "sides" is prohibited, Yiannis reluctantly joins forces with Hasan, a Turkish settler, and a cast of unexpected characters to smuggle his best friend back. Through the simple story of a man who loses his dog, SMUGGLING HENDRIX gives a vivid demonstration of how the fences we build, both real and imagined, between ourselves and others, can be broken down once we recognize the familiarity in the face of the unknown.

Marios Piperides was born in 1975 in Nicosia, Cyprus. After studying Broadcast Management and Film Production in the US, he returned to Cyprus in 2002. As the audiovisual sector is small in Cyprus, Piperides had the opportunity to gain experience in every aspect of filmmaking. Once he founded his production company, he wrote and directed a documentary and two short films. The main theme in his work is the ongoing division of Cyprus and their need to overcome their own prejudices. Smuggling Hendrix is Piperides' first feature.