‘The Lion at My Back’ premieres at Karlovy Vary with second-feature film about a teenage asylum seeker and an adult Cypriot woman

Cypriot filmmaker Tonia Mishiali’s second feature, ‘The Lion at My Back,’ is set to world premiere in the Crystal Globe competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The festival has also released an exclusive clip connected to the film, highlighting the movie’s focus on a teenage asylum seeker and a Cypriot woman in her 40s forming an unexpected bond, a relationship described as developing like family feelings.

Mishiali is credited as the film’s writer, director, and producer, and the production marks her return as a feature filmmaker after her earlier work. The Hollywood Reporter describes the project as exploring how connections can emerge in unlikely places, centered on interactions between characters dealing with displacement and everyday adult life.

The report frames the film’s core emotional movement around the contrast between a teenager facing the uncertainties of seeking asylum and the older Cypriot character, whose own life experience shapes how she responds to the younger person. The exclusive clip is part of the film’s early push at Karlovy Vary, with attention on the character dynamic rather than any one particular set-piece.

Karlovy Vary’s Crystal Globe competition is the festival’s main competitive program for feature films, and a world premiere there typically indicates a strong international profile for participating titles. By debuting in that competition, ‘The Lion at My Back’ will be presented before an international jury and industry audience looking for new work from established and emerging European filmmakers.

The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage emphasizes that the film’s story is built around what the publication characterizes as family-like bonds, rather than treating asylum status as a purely background condition. The report does not describe casting, specific nationalities beyond the Cypriot connection, or the precise circumstances of the asylum seeker’s arrival in the clip announcement, so those details are not included here.

As Karlovy Vary continues, the film’s next public steps will depend on festival programming and distribution decisions. The competitive placement also means the title’s reception will be weighed in the context of other feature debuts and established auteur works showing at the same venue during the festival run.

For audiences, the early availability of an exclusive clip offers a first look at tone and interpersonal chemistry, before any wider release timeline becomes clearer. For the film’s backers and Mishiali’s team, the Karlovy Vary premiere and visibility in the Crystal Globe competition function as a key institutional milestone that can influence later sales, festival invitations, and acquisition discussions.