The First Cypriot Astronaut

The First Cypriot Astronaut is a Cypriot-British-Greek co-production feature film written and directed by Stavros Pamballis, currently in pre-production ahead of a winter 2026 shoot. The project follows a physics professor who, after receiving a life-changing brain tumor diagnosis, assembles a colorful cast of characters to steal a Soviet space capsule and build a rocket in a garage near the UN buffer zone that divides Nicosia. Pamballis, whose debut feature Siege on Liperti Street won five awards at Thessaloniki in 2019, brings together producers Marinos Charalambous of Boycott Films (Cyprus), Bernhard Pucher of Iron Box Films (UK), with executive producers Ioanna Bolomyti of Atalante Productions (Greece) and Joyce Pierpoline. The confirmed cast includes Loris Loizides, Ioanna Papamichalopoulou, Daphne Alexander, and Tanya Lialina, with composer Patrick Jonsson scoring the film. Principal photography is scheduled to run from November 2 through December 23, 2026, entirely in Nicosia. The production has secured support from the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture and the European Union's Media Programme, with theatrical distribution in Greece and Cyprus set through Tanweer Alliances.