Ioanna Karavela

CYDIA AWARDS 2026 💙💙💙 I won!!! What an incredible moment, and wanted to acknowledge the incredible contributions and writing of the other nominees n the literature category alongside me: Alex Christofi, Christy Lefteri and Eva Asprakis. The CYDIA Awards Gala on Saturday 9th May at @cyprus_diaspora_forum @parklanecyprus in Limassol, Cyprus, was an incredibly special event full of passion, resilience and ambition but also a deep rooted sense of love, belonging and identity. Honoured to have received this award and proud to have my heart and my roots in Cyprus. Thank you to everyone who voted for me! 💙💙💙 #soullachristodoulou #awardnomination #myroots #literatureaward #thesummerwillcome

CDF 2026 HIGHLIGHTS 🩵🇨🇾🩵 From the very first day if the @cyprus_diaspora_forum we connected, discussed, shared, learned, discovered, inspired and encouraged each other n the most incredible way. Being Cypriot is something felt. It is something which travels deep and moves freely with love, passion, strength, courage, resilience and pride. I met so many people who I would never had had the chance to spend time with had it not been for this event. And to top it all off: @athena_mandis and @ioannaik of @ep.ik_pictures pitched THE SUMMER WILL COME to an audience who were engaged, connected with heart to its story and themes and who were thrilled to know that our story of leaving our homeland to arrive in another country to start over is finally being made for the big screen. I won the CYDIA Award 2026 for Literature — a huge honour and proof that dreams do come true! To keep up to date with all our book-to-film news please follow @thesummerwillcome 🩵🇨🇾🩵

Delighted that Soulla won the Literature Prize at the Cyprus Diaspora Forum. Thank you Paul Lambis for all your support and creating such an amazing space for us all to connect. #cypriotdiaspora #independentfilmmaking

CYPRUS DIASPORA FORUM 🤍🩵🤍 “With a deep commitment to preserving the essence of my book’s story, I am thrilled the team is bringing The Summer Will Come to life on the big screen.” Soulla Christodoulou Being a part of and having the opportunity to pitch the film based on my book THE SUMMER WILL COME at the @cyprus_diaspora_forum at @amarahotelcy in Limassol has been an absolute dream! I am thrilled to be working alongside @ioannaik of @ep.ik_pictures and @athena_mandis Please follow @thesummerwillcome for more information on how you can support this film project which has now moved from development into financing. SO excited!!! 🤍🩵🤍 #soullachristodoulou #booktofilm #booksworthreading #cyprus #immigrantstories

We did it 🎬🏆 Son of the Soil takes home Best African Action Drama at the International Black & Diversity Film Festival 2026 in Canada. A powerful moment for the film, the team, and for African storytelling on a global stage. #SonOfTheSoil #IBDFF2026 #AfricanCinema #ActionXtreme #GlobalStorytelling

We are so thrilled that novelist Soulla Christodoulou is nominated for the prestigious Cyprus Diaspora Forum Award in the category of Literature. Her novel The Summer Will Come has inspired us to adapt it to a film - to tell our Cypriot Diaspora story on the big screen. /nominees-2026 You have till Sunday 19th to cast your vote.

THIS IS HAPPENING!!! 📖🎬📖 So excited to share that my book, THE SUMMER WILL COME, adapted to film by award-winning scriptwriter/director @athena_mandis and optioned by film producer @ioannaik and @ep.ik_pictures is being pitched to financiers at the @cyprus_diaspora_forum in May 2026 — yes just a couple of weeks away — and I am not only SO excited but honoured and so grateful! Not only are we attending to pitch but I have also been shortlisted for the CYDIA Award and invite you to vote for me in the literature section. I’ve put the link in my stories… thank you so so much! Feeling the love.💕🙏🏼🤗 Lots of love, Soulla x 📖🎬📖 #booktofilmadaptation #independentfilmmaking #booktomovie #soullachristodoulou #thesummerwillcome

STORIES THAT CONNECT US, FILMMAKING AND CYPRUS DIASPORA FORUM 2026 💙🇨🇾💙 Will you be there? We are pitching THE SUMMER WILL COME — a film project in development and optioned by @ioannaik @ep.ik_pictures and @athena_mandis is the scriptwriter/director REPOST FROM Athena Mandis’ LinkedIn: 🎬The Pitch: As Cyprus rises toward independence from the British in the 1950s, Evangelia flees with her children to London to rebuild her life—but as both she and her homeland claim their freedom, she is forced to confront the quiet, irreversible cost of displacement. Now more than ever, in a world where migrants are dehumanised, this story reminds us that leaving home is never just an act of movement, but a decision whose repercussions move with you. Migration doesn’t end with one generation, it lives on, shaping who we are, and who we are still becoming. This film invites us to ask: once we are uprooted, can we ever truly belong? Or are we forever searching for a place to call home? A timely project to tell the story of our migration story and how it was shaped by British Colonialism.🎬 As we move through to our next stage of piecing the finance and building our team, keep up-to-date by following our page @thesummerwillcome 💛🇨🇾 💙🇨🇾💙 #thesummerwillcomefilm #thesummerwillcome #independentfilmmaking #soullachristodoulou #storiesthatmatter

“Film Pitch: The Summer Will Come” | Cyprus Diaspora Forum 2026 | 7 May | 11:00 | Amara Hotel, Limassol, Cyprus A special film presentation of The Summer Will Come, exploring migration, identity, and the intergenerational impact of displacement, based on Soulla Christodoulou’s acclaimed novel, now in development as a feature film and slated for Greek translation. This special presentation will be delivered by Ioanna Karavela, Producer, EP:IK Pictures; Athena Mandis, Writer/Director of The Summer Will Come; and Soulla Christodoulou, author of The Summer Will Come. Moderated by Pavlos Neocleous Secure your place: /tickets #TheSummerWillCome #CyprusStories #MigrationStories #IdentityAndDisplacement #InternationalFilm #FeatureFilmDevelopment #SoullaChristodoulou #IoannaKaravela #AthenaMandis #CyprusCulture #DiasporaVoices #CyprusDiasporaForum #CDF2026 @soullasays @ioannaik @ep.ik_pictures @athena_mandis @cyprus_diaspora_forum

It meant so much to have The Summer Will Come selected for Whale Lab in Reykjavik. The experience was deeply inspiring and gently expanded the story in ways I’ll carry forward. Grateful to everyone who engaged so thoughtfully and pushed me further—those conversations around why we create and what’s at stake will stay with me. Follow us @thesummerwillcome Stories are how we witness ourselves and each other… a reminder of how deeply connected we truly are. And this story is so close to our hearts 🤍✨ @londongreekradio @toniabuxton @qmul_arts @cyprusmail_official @cyprus_diaspora_forum @paullambis #independentfilm #independentfilmmaker #story #cyprusdiaspora @ioannaik @soullasays @culturalchcuk #filmfinance

Follow Our Journey The Summer Will Come is born from real journeys—
And we’d love you to walk it with us. Please follow us here. @ep.ik_pictures @ioannaik @athena_mandis @toniabuxton @scottagni @londongreekradio @hellenic_tv @soullasays Image 2: The Corsica: Amazing Stories of Cypriot Migration by Constantinos Emmanuelle #thesummerwillcome #thesummerwillcomefilm #independentfilmmaking #cypriotdiaspora #booktomovieadaptations

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT We are honoured to welcome Producer, EP:IK Pictures, Ioanna Karavela, as a speaker at the Cyprus Diaspora Forum, taking place at the Amara Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, from 6–9 May. Reserve your place: /tickets Ioanna Karavela is a Greek-born film producer, educator and co-founder of EP:IK Pictures, a London-based boutique production company creating distinctive work for film and television. With more than 15 years of experience across award-winning short films, independent feature films, online content and factual programming, her work spans leading broadcasters such as Channel 4 and the BBC, as well as content for News UK and The Times. Her films have screened internationally at prestigious festivals including the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival and have secured global distribution. Her recent credits under EP:IK Pictures include Tommies, a queer period short drama supported by the BFI Network, and Only Yourself to Blame by Noomi Yates, a psychological stalker-horror short which premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival and was executive-produced by acclaimed director Rose Glass. Building on their collaboration, Ioanna attended the Frontières International Co-Production Market in July 2025 with Yates’s debut feature Liminal, developed from the success of their earlier work together. In addition to her producing career, Ioanna is a passionate film lecturer and a Berlinale Talents alumna. She also serves as Head of Production at Action Xtreme, the UK’s first major action-focused brand, led by award-winning filmmaker Chee Keong Cheung. She recently produced Son of the Soil, currently streaming on Netflix Africa, as well as the forthcoming action features The Experiment and Bad Day at the Office, both scheduled for release in late 2026. Over the past six months, EP:IK Pictures has been developing the screenplay of The Summer Will Come, based on the novel by Soulla Christodoulou and adapted by filmmaker Athena Mandis. @cyprus_diaspora_forum @ioannaik