Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
HoMER 2022 Conference, Rome, İtalya, 5 - 08 Temmuz 2022
In this presentation, we will discuss the cinematographic practices on the Turkish island of
Imbros between the years 1950 and 1974, before it underwent radical identity transformations
that would be reflected in its name, hence becoming Gökçeada. Imbros, whose population was
predominantly Greek until 1974, is the biggest island of Turkey. Indeed, it is one of the three
regions exempted from the exchange of populations foreseen by the Lausanne agreement in
1923. However, following the national security program implemented in 1964, which provided
for the “Turkification” of the island and its population, Imbros was confronted with massive
migratory movements: the Greeks were forced to leave the island, new villages were founded to
settle Turks coming from different parts of Anatolia. Thus, the population was transformed and,
with time, so was the identity of the island. Nowadays, the Greek minority lives together with
the Turkish population.
Due to its geostrategic position and identity characteristics, Imbros has always been at the
epicentre of a delicate balance between Turkey and Greece. With this, the historical and cultural
relations of the Imbrians with these two countries have brought a certain economic, social and
cultural dynamism. With its 7000 inhabitants in the '60s, its numerous taverns, cafés and stores,
its 3 movie theatres - one of which is permanent - or its travelling movie shows, the island has
been a centre of cultural attraction.
Cinema has played a major role in the construction of the identity of societies, in the
consolidation of its links with its diaspora as well as in the strengthening of its relations with the
world. Turkish and Greek cinemas lived their golden age in the 60s and 70s, and going to the
movies was an essential daily cultural practice for its populations. But what about the Imbrians
who are attached culturally to both of these two countries despite their physical isolation? What
did cinema mean for them? What did they watch and how? By whom and by what means were
the projections made? These are the questions we will try to answer by collecting testimonies
and cinema memories of the Imbrians.