While the last Commerce Minister lobbied for a giant Aphrodite theme park in the Med, our current minister is eyeing off Troodos for the Hollywood Hills
A PROPOSAL to build film studios in Cyprus have been put forward by Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister George Lillikas.
The proposal would enable foreign filmmakers to come to Cyprus and use the island’s scenery as backdrops for movies.
Lillikas yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that “a special technical committee made up of representatives from four different ministries is currently working on the plan, with further details to be released in the future”.
“I don’t see why other countries can have these facilities, but not Cyprus.”
When asked how much it will cost, the Minister said financing will come “from the private sector”.
According to yesterday’s Alithia newspaper, a meeting was held on September 15 at the Education Ministry to discuss the proposal. Present at the meeting was the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Olympia Stylianou, the director of the Cultural Services, Eleni Nikita and Elena Christodoulidou of the Film and Arts Department.
During the discussion, it was suggested that the Film Department be renamed ‘The Mediterranean Film Centre’ whose aim should be to use large tracts of land where the new studios can be built. There are also plans to bring American filmmakers to the island to discuss possible productions.
Speaking to the paper, Lillikas said that he believes “Cyprus will benefit greatly from fantastic promotion abroad,” adding that he would like to see an annual international film festival on the island.
A similar proposal has become a reality in Malta, where Hollywood blockbusters such as Troy and Cutthroat Island have been shot.
Local filmmaker Theodoros Panayides said the proposal “won’t really mean anything to the local film industry as it’s too small”.
“Perhaps the money would be better spent on developing the Cyprus film industry. It could be a good thing, but only if we’re going to be offering something on top of the locations. In Malta, for example, they have a huge studio water tank.”
Panayides also brought up the subject of film laboratories, noting that without these labs, where films are processed, the proposal may be more trouble than it’s worth, as we will have to ship the films out to be processed.
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