Cyprus/Luxembourg/Greece
THE LION AT MY BACK
106 MIN
2026
Mariama, a teenage Senegalese asylum seeker, and Stella, a Cypriot recovering drug addict, are striving to rebuild their lives. When their paths first cross they use each other, but their shared struggle for survival, in a world that failed them both, sparks an unexpected mother-daughter bond. Together, they redefine the true meaning of love and family, in a heartwarming tale of sacrifice, female solidarity and empowerment.
Cast & Crew
Producer: Tonia Mishiali
Director: Tonia Mishiali
Script: Tonia Mishiali, co-writers: Dianne Jones, Simona Nobile
Director of Photography: Manu Tilinski
Production Design: Christy Polydorou
Music: Fredrika Stahl
Sound: Kevin Feildel, Loïc Collignon
Editing: Emilios Avraam
Cast: Sokhna Diallo, Elena Kallinikou
Production. Bark like a cat films
Cast & Crew
Producer: Tonia Mishiali
Director: Tonia Mishiali
Script: Tonia Mishiali, co-writers: Dianne Jones, Simona Nobile
Director of Photography: Manu Tilinski
Production Design: Christy Polydorou
Music: Fredrika Stahl
Sound: Kevin Feildel, Loïc Collignon
Editing: Emilios Avraam
Cast: Sokhna Diallo, Elena Kallinikou
Production. Bark like a cat films
Tonia Mishiali
Tonia Mishialiis a Cypriot writer/director and producer whose work focuses on social and women's issues. She is a member of the Hellenic and European Film Academies and the European Women's Audiovisual Network. She is Berlinale Talents and European Film promotion's Producers on the move Alumna. She served 8 years as co-artistic director of Cyprus Film Days IF and 5 years as vice president and board member of the Directors Guild of Cyprus. She has been on several film festival juries (Karlovy Vary, Thessaloniki, Off Camera, ISFFC), a creative advisor at Rawi Screenwriters Lab (formerly run-in collaboration with Sundance Institute) and a script reader for the Greek Film Centre. Mishiali's short films, Dead End (2013), To nanourisma tis petaloudas (2014), I Don't Like the Wind, I Like the Sun (2020) and Daphne (2022) have been officially selected in more than 100 international film festivals winning several awards Her directorial debut, Pafsi (2018), which she also produced, has been officially selected in more than 80 international film festivals, the latter at which it was selected for the European Film Promotion section "Europe! voices of women in film" as one of ten films by Europe's ten most outstanding women directors. Pafsi (2018) received 13 awards including the FIPRESCI Prize at the Thessaloniki IFF and Best Film by the Greek Film Critics Association at the Panorama of European Cinema. It has been nominated for "Best First-time Director" and "Best Actress" at the Hellenic Film Academy Iris Awards 2019, while its screenplay is listed in the core collection of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mishiali is now developing several short and feature film projects under her production label “Bark Like a Cat Films”, which she launched in 2020 with the aim to support her own directing projects as well as daring films by fellow filmmakers. All of the company's projects have been funded by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture and developed through and awarded at major markets and workshops.
Filmography
Blind Passions (short, 2010), Dead End (short, 2013), To nanourisma tis petaloudas (short, 2014), Pafsi (2018), I Can Hear My Footsteps (short, 2020), I Don't Like the Wind, I Like the Sun (short, 2020), Perhaps I Am Already Dead (short, 2021), Daphne (short, 2022), Lion at My Back (2026)․
Tonia Mishialiis a Cypriot writer/director and producer whose work focuses on social and women's issues. She is a member of the Hellenic and European Film Academies and the European Women's Audiovisual Network. She is Berlinale Talents and European Film promotion's Producers on the move Alumna. She served 8 years as co-artistic director of Cyprus Film Days IF and 5 years as vice president and board member of the Directors Guild of Cyprus. She has been on several film festival juries (Karlovy Vary, Thessaloniki, Off Camera, ISFFC), a creative advisor at Rawi Screenwriters Lab (formerly run-in collaboration with Sundance Institute) and a script reader for the Greek Film Centre. Mishiali's short films, Dead End (2013), To nanourisma tis petaloudas (2014), I Don't Like the Wind, I Like the Sun (2020) and Daphne (2022) have been officially selected in more than 100 international film festivals winning several awards Her directorial debut, Pafsi (2018), which she also produced, has been officially selected in more than 80 international film festivals, the latter at which it was selected for the European Film Promotion section "Europe! voices of women in film" as one of ten films by Europe's ten most outstanding women directors. Pafsi (2018) received 13 awards including the FIPRESCI Prize at the Thessaloniki IFF and Best Film by the Greek Film Critics Association at the Panorama of European Cinema. It has been nominated for "Best First-time Director" and "Best Actress" at the Hellenic Film Academy Iris Awards 2019, while its screenplay is listed in the core collection of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mishiali is now developing several short and feature film projects under her production label “Bark Like a Cat Films”, which she launched in 2020 with the aim to support her own directing projects as well as daring films by fellow filmmakers. All of the company's projects have been funded by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture and developed through and awarded at major markets and workshops.
Filmography
Blind Passions (short, 2010), Dead End (short, 2013), To nanourisma tis petaloudas (short, 2014), Pafsi (2018), I Can Hear My Footsteps (short, 2020), I Don't Like the Wind, I Like the Sun (short, 2020), Perhaps I Am Already Dead (short, 2021), Daphne (short, 2022), Lion at My Back (2026)․
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