Spaces of cinema in rural Cyprus: Cinemagoing and the Turkish Cypriot audience in the Karpas region, 1960–1974

Abstract

This article examines the historical spaces of cinemagoing among the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus’ rural Karpas region during a period of significant political upheaval and economic isolation. Drawing on oral histories from sixty-six former cinemagoers and cinema operators, the study recovers previously undocumented aspects of rural film culture between 1960 and 1974, when the majority of Turkish Cypriots lived in militarised enclaves. The findings reveal how cinema culture not only survived but flourished in these adverse conditions. Local entrepreneurs established sophisticated distribution networks between urban centers and isolated villages, while adapting exhibition practices to local economic conditions through traditional bartering systems. The study examines how cinema architecture reflected both practical constraints and community security concerns, with cinema buildings serving multiple social functions beyond film exhibition. Of particular significance is the transformation of cinema spaces into vital community hubs, hosting weddings and other cultural events in the absence of other civic infrastructure. Rather than acting as a modernising force, cinema in Karpas operated within and adapted to traditional social and economic structures. This research contributes to broader debates about rural cinema culture by demonstrating how film exhibition could thrive even in conditions of extreme political and economic isolation, while suggesting that modernization was not a prerequisite for the emergence of a successful cinema culture.