Cinema of Cyprus

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The cinema of Cyprus began in the 1960s, growing slowly because the island has a small population and a tricky location at the crossroads of different regions. Things started to pick up in the late 2010s when Cyprus began branding itself as “Olivewood” to attract foreign studios and offered strong government support through the Invest Cyprus scheme.

One of the country’s most famous filmmakers is Michael Cacoyannis, who wrote, directed, edited, and produced Zorba the Greek in 1964. Another important figure is George Filis, who made several films about Cyprus’s history and conflicts; a couple of his works look at ordinary life and romance rather than politics.

Since 1989, Cypriot co-productions have been eligible for funding from Eurimages, a European support fund. In 1994 Cyprus set up the Cinema Advisory Committee, and by 2000 the national film budget was about €850,000. By 2011, Cyprus had 30 cinema screens, produced three films, sold about 870,000 tickets, and earned roughly €7.11 million at the box office. The main distributors at the time were Four Stars Films, Odeon, and Feelgood.

Cyprus has seen international praise for films like Smuggling Hendrix (2018) by Marios Piperides and Pause (2018) by Tonia Mishiali. Since around 2018, the Olivewood branding has helped attract more filming to the island. The 2020 Hollywood action film Jiu Jitsu, starring Nicolas Cage, filmed in Cyprus but did not do well at the box office and sparked a dispute over a promised €8 million rebate, affecting future projects.

After the 2023 election, president Nikos Christodoulides directed the government to restart Hollywood talks and expand arts support through Invest Cyprus. In 2024, Jupiter Peak Productions shot Find Me Falling in Cyprus, making it the first Hollywood film set and filmed entirely in Cyprus; it later premiered on Netflix. The 2025 drama All That’s Left of You, an Arabic-German co-production, was moved to Cyprus because of the Gaza war and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Cyprus is home to several film and TV companies, and it hosts festivals such as the Cyprus International Film Festival and the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, helping nurture local talent and attract more productions to the island.