Spanish director David Castillo was prevented from filming a Cyprus issue documentary, claiming that 'authorities' in the occupied territories made life difficult for him during the process of being granted permission to produce 'Cyprus, Divided Island' and that further to the serious issues that he had faced, he was detained for hours, threatened and told to leave.
Castillo said that he was 'arrested' twice and following an interrogation, he was denied entry along with his crew in order to realise the project whose main goal was to bring together President Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar in a joint interview.
Speaking to 'Yeni Duzen', Castillo explained that he wanted to produce objective work, presenting the narrative of both sides. The Turkish-Cypriot side was initially positively inclided to a Christodoulides-Tatar interview, but the mood changed dramatically and his request was later categorically denied, without providing any details.
The Spanish director said that during efforts to secure filming licenses, both himself and his crew experienced huge obstacles by the pseudostate's 'authorities', as he was held for questioning, threatened with 'arrest' and following all this trouble, told that they had to leave the occupied territories.
Castillo repeatedly attempted to communicate with Tatar's office to clarify things and provide a clear explanation, but there was no response.
Planning for the documentary included on-scene shooting in the fenced off city of Famagusta, but following these developments it all fell through. 'I am really sad', the director told 'Yeni Duzen'.