Salt House 2017, Bella Riza (13 mins)
Salt House offers an intimate portrait of Bella Riza’s father, Alper as he returns to his original home and native Cyprus. Having left during the Cyprus conflicts in 1968, the film records him revisiting the island in 2017. Riza’s film documents her father cooking dishes from his childhood and visiting key sites for his family and from his early life. As he reconnects to his past, he talks openly about memory, identity and migration.
The film moves across domestic spaces and open landscapes, bringing together Alper’s voice and the unique atmosphere of the island. A personal portrait emerges revealing the emotional side-effects from the conflict in Cyprus, alongside vivid memories of rich landscapes and Cypriot food.
Bella Riza is an artist and filmmaker based in London. She is interested in the representation of personal stories arising out of the changing landscape of Europe, and how our idea of home is continually re-defined. She has created films for the Science Museum, the Saatchi Gallery and Almeida Theatre among others. Her film Salt House 2017 was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries in 2018.
Salt House is programmed with the current exhibition Anna Boghiguian to connect with its reflection on the human condition, through the perspectives of global trade, mass migration, colonialism and war.