Archbishop Makarios

An indictment of the protagonists in the Cypriot civil war.

Biographical documentary on the life of the Cypriot leader, through his personal narrative. The difficult and full of sacrifices course of a man, from the rural province to the presidential office.

A Greek journalist, Thomas Giannidis, learns that there will be an assassination attempt against Archbishop Makarios on July 15, 1974. After making several unsuccessful attempts to publish the information in the newspaper where he works, he decides to go to Cyprus. There he meets a Cypriot girl, Mary, whose brother serves in Makarios' presidential guard, and they put him in touch with Makarios himself. Makarios assures him that there have been many attempts in the past and is not impressed by his information. After an attempt to kill the journalist, the presidential guard decides to find evidence in the illegal organization's hideout. Then the coup takes place on the 15th and the Turkish invasion on July 20, 1974.

World in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.