Smaragda: I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump is a Cypriot comedy-drama directed by Emilios Avraam. The first element of the title refers to the name of the main character, played by Niovi Charalombus, while the second is a quote from one of the heroine’s speeches when she compares herself to an elephant. This is just one of the many numerous animal-related themes raised by Smaragda in the film, which is focused entirely on her.
Like a documentary, the camera follows Smaragda, a 46-year-old Cypriot woman who in the past was a well-known TV presenter. In one of the first scenes, we observe the brutal verification of her role in the modern media and her complete shift out of the line of clicks and viewership due to her aging beauty and being outside the “influencer” circuit. The protagonist spends most of her time with her loved ones – family, friends and her beloved dog Bella, and the specter of a mid-life crisis, which has been relegated to the background until now, breaks through more and more strongly into her consciousness. Through both her deteriorating financial situation and (more importantly) her strenuous need for change, Smaragda seeks the right path for herself. Her strongly rebellious soul and admirable educational skills take over and direct her to work with the youngest children at one of the resorts.
Smaragda… is not a typical entertainment film, but it was not deprived of any humorous scenes. The main character is an artful combination of many extreme emotions, in which melancholy despair and spontaneous joy are the strongest. Asking extremely intriguing questions of her relatives as well as newly encountered people, she strikes at the universal principles of society. Her constructively justified form of quasi-antinatalism openly contradicts her very good rapport with the little ones. Nevertheless, the protagonist, with a great deal of help from the director, doesn’t let it be known that something isn’t right here; moreover, she shifts between her life choices, theses, and suggestions with a peerless yet subtle grace.
Emilios Avraam has created a strongly contrasted film, in which not only the acting and screenplay aspects have been refined, but also the most essential technical elements. The cinematography by Yorgos Rahmatoulin paints the island in all shades of gray, and the perfect shots of the heroine highlight her beautiful characteristics. The music, composed by George Solonos, is superb, and it’s not just the choice of songs used in the production, but especially the sound that emphasizes the many emotions with which the scenes in the Cypriot production are imbued. The authoriality of the project transcends beyond the unique script, and once you watch it you cannot stop seeking more of it.
The film presents a very mature and adapted to modern times feminist philosophy, of which Smaragda is a worthy representative. The heroine denies the established patterns and shares her views with the environment (the real and virtual ones) with full awareness.
The multilayered nature of the heroine works both ways, once showing us her diversified image, which is impossible not to love, and at other times her hidden and mystical personality, which does not allow almost anyone to see her. Director and screenwriter Emillios Araam allows us to search with Smaragda for her rescue from hopelessness, which is a much more difficult task than it might seem at first.
Smaragda: I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump, directed by Emilios Avraam, can be seen as part of the “Making Way” Main Competition for the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award.
Screening list:
- 29/04/2025 | 21:15 | Aula ASP | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych
- 01/05/2025 | 18:00 | Aula ASP | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych
A Q&A session with the filmmakers will take place during the film screening on May 1 at 6:00 PM at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Please note: the Q&A will be in English.
Marcin Telega