Cinema of Cyprus

Cinema of Cyprus
A cinema on Ledra Street in 2012

The cinema of Cyprus came into existence much later than the cinema of most other countries, with the late 1960s generally being accepted as its earliest history, and it has generally undergone extremely slow growth due to the island's small population, geographical location, a lack of interest, and more attention being given to local political tensions.

Overview

Michael Cacoyannis released his most famous film Zorba the Greek in 1964, making him the most renowned Cypriot director to date. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, George Filis directed and produced the films Gregoris Afxentiou, Etsi Prodothike I Kypros, and The Mega Document. In 1994, Cypriot film production received a boost with the establishment of the island's Cinema Advisory Committee.

By 2000, the annual amount set aside for filmmaking in the national budget was CYP£500,000 (approximately €850,000). Statistics showed that in 2011 the country hosted 30 cinema screens, produced three films (two fictional and one documentary), sold 870,000 tickets, and grossed €7.11 million at the box office. At the same time, its three biggest distributors were (in order) Four Stars Films, Odeon, and Feelgood. In 2018, Marios Piperides' film Smuggling Hendrix received acclaim at the Tribeca Film Festival. Later that year, Tonia Mishiali's film Pause also received positive reviews.

The 2020 Hollywood action film Jiu Jitsu starring Nicolas Cage was shot in Cyprus, but was a critical and commercial failure; it also became embroiled in a controversy when the filmmakers promised to sue the Cypriot government for breach of contract due to the non-payment of the €8 million rebate outlined in their contract, resulting in the production of at least three more Hollywood films being moved elsewhere, losing millions in expected revenue for the country's economy and taking away many potential jobs for local film crew. Despite this setback, the Hollywood romantic comedy film Find Me Falling has since been filmed on the island and is set to premiere on Netflix in July 2024.

Funding

Cypriot co-productions are eligible for funding from the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund, which has financed European film co-productions since 1989. To date, four feature films on which a Cypriot was listed as an executive producer have received funding from Eurimages: I Sphagi tou Kokora (1996), Hellados (unreleased), To Tama (1999), and O Dromos gia tin Ithaki (2000). There are government-backed initiatives for filmmakers to apply for funding from both the Invest in Cyprus scheme and Filming in Cyprus scheme. The island also hosts production companies such as Green Olive Films and Seahorse Films.

Notable people

• Michael Cacoyannis (1922–2011), Greek-Cypriot filmmaker
• Elias Demetriou, Greek-Cypriot filmmaker
• Yannis Economides (born 1967), Greek-Cypriot filmmaker
• Nicolas Economou (1953–1993), Greek-Cypriot composer
• Peter Polycarpou (born 1957), English-Cypriot actor
• Derviş Zaim (born 1964), Turkish-Cypriot filmmaker

See also

• Cinema of Greece
• Cinema of Turkey
• Culture of Cyprus
• Culture of Greece
• Culture of Turkey
• Cyprus International Film Festival
• List of cinema of the world
• List of Cypriot films
• List of Greek actors
• List of Turkish actors
• World cinema