Abandoned cinema in old Paphos to get new lease of life

By Bejay Browne

PLANS to revive a defunct Paphos cinema in the centre of town are being drawn up by the local technical services to form part of the Cultural Capital 2017 winning bid.

In preparation for works which officials hope to get underway by the end of the year, the facility’s outside area was cleared of accumulated rubbish and weeds on Thursday.

Paphos municipality technical officer and architect, Christos Constantinides, confirmed that renovations to the building would be undertaken sympathetically, with no changes being made to the external character of the building.

“The interior of the old cinema will be reconstructed and a number of separate rooms will be able to house a variety of workshops, lectures and seminars.”

The plans are due to be completed within three months. The tender process will then be open to proposals.

Constantinides stressed the importance of the new project, which he says has been lacking in the historical town until now.

“We hope that work will be able to start fairly soon but it depends on the economic situation and the time frame for the release of funds to commence.”

According to Constantinides, the project will cost around 1.5m euros.

The property was initially used as the Attikon theatre. Some time in the year 2000 it was used as the Othello cinema. For the past five years or so, the building has remained closed.

The building has a reasonable sized outdoor area which adjoins the old electrical authority building, Palia Ilektriki. The new project will see these spaces connected and able to house cultural and other outdoor events.

In 2013, Paphos won the international competition to become the European Capital of Culture for 2017, a title it will share with Aarhus in Denmark.

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