The official trailer for 'UNSEEN: The Athletes of Northern Cyprus,' a documentary examining the sporting isolation faced by Turkish Cypriot athletes, has been released. The film will premiere in London on Sunday, November 1, 2026, with its full release scheduled for November 9, 2026.
The documentary highlights how Turkish Cypriot athletes and teams are excluded from official international competitions and how the organisation of international sporting events in Northern Cyprus is blocked. It follows the stories of athletes, coaches and young people living under this embargo, tracing both the history of the isolation and the various paths Turkish Cypriots have taken to reach the world stage.
Covering a broad range of sports including athletics, tennis, boxing, basketball, wheelchair basketball, volleyball, open-water swimming, motorsports and football, the film also explores the role of women in Turkish Cypriot sport and how young athletes are shut out of international pathways.
Among the 20 participants featured are Olympic athlete Buse Savaşkan, U18 European 800m champion Ada Kafa, two-time EuroLeague champion Erten Gazi, professional boxer Sugar Atahasan, TRNC Tennis Federation President Hasan Gazioğlu and TRNC National Olympic Committee President Orçun Kamalı.
The documentary is produced by the same team behind 'Offside: The Untold Story of Sports in the TRNC,' the first film to address Turkish Cypriot sporting isolation, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. The team's previous film, 'DISPLACED: A Turkish Cypriot Story,' has amassed nearly 50,000 views on YouTube and over one million views across social media. UNSEEN is supported by the Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus campaign.
