Cinema of Cyprus

Summary

Cypriot cinema refers to the cinema of Cyprus, which was born much later than the cinema of most other countries.

Cinema of Cyprus
Movie XD 6D cinema in Nicosia
No. of screens30 (2011)[1]
 • Per capita2.9 per 100,000 (2011)[1]
Main distributorsFour Stars Films 40.7%
Odeon Cyprus 23.3%
Feelgood 18.9%[2]
Produced feature films (2011)[3]
Fictional2
Animated-
Documentary1
Number of admissions (2011)[5]
Total870,000
 • Per capita1 (2012)[4]
Gross box office (2011)[5]
Total€7.11 million

Overview edit

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, George Filis produced and directed 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 Cinema Advisory Committee. In 2000, the annual amount set aside for filmmaking in the national budget was CYP£500,000 (approximately €850,000). The most renowned Cypriot director to date is Michael Cacoyannis, best known for his film Zorba the Greek (1964). Marios Piperides directed Smuggling Hendrix (2018), which received acclaim at the Tribeca Film Festival.[6][7][8] Tonia Mishiali's directorial debut Pause (2018) also received positive reviews.[9]

The Hollywood action film Jiu Jitsu (2020) starring Nicolas Cage was shot in Cyprus, but was a critical and commercial failure; it also became embroiled in a controversy when the filmmakers claimed that they would take legal action against the Cypriot government due to the non-payment of almost €8 million they were owed per their contract, resulting in the production of at least three more of the filmmakers' future Hollywood films that had been planned to shoot in Cyprus being moved elsewhere, losing millions in expected revenue for the country's economy and taking away many potential jobs for local film crew.[10] Despite this, the Hollywood romantic comedy film The Islander starring Harry Connick Jr. has since been filmed in Cyprus and is scheduled for release in 2024.[11]

Funding edit

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 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).[12] In addition, the film production company Green Olive Films operates in Greece and Cyprus,[13] and there are government-backed initiatives for filmmakers to apply for funding from both the Invest in Cyprus scheme[14] and Filming in Cyprus scheme.[15]

Notable people edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Table 8: Cinema Infrastructure - Capacity". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Table 6: Share of Top 3 distributors (Excel)". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Table 1: Feature Film Production - Genre/Method of Shooting". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Country Profiles". Europa Cinemas. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Table 11: Exhibition - Admissions & Gross Box Office (GBO)". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Smuggling Hendrix (2018)
  7. ^ "Variety: Film Review: 'Smuggling Hendrix'
  8. ^ "Cineuropa: Smuggling Hendrix
  9. ^ Franklin, Anna. "FNE at KVIFF 2018: Film in Cyprus is Blossoming - FilmNewEurope.com". www.filmneweurope.com.
  10. ^ "Jiu Jitsu producers pulling out of Cyprus, second movie had been set to go | Cyprus Mail". 15 April 2021.
  11. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 28, 2022). "Harry Connick Jr., Mira Sorvino & Newcomer Ali Fumiko Whitney Board Rom-Com 'The Islander'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "Film Birth – History of Cinema – Cyprus Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine".
  13. ^ Featured Work
  14. ^ CYPRUS A NATURAL FILM STUDIO
  15. ^ Filming In Cyprus All-In-One Filming Destination