Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Writing a Decentred and Entangled History of Cinema-Going. Epistemological and Methodological Issues, Paris, Fransa, 28 - 30 Kasım 2023
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 is confronted with migratory movements, spread out over time which
has transformed the identity of the island. Greeks are "encouraged" to leave the island to
build a new life, mainly in Greece but also in Australia or the United States. In the 1960s,
with a population of 7000 inhabitants, the island was a vibrant cultural space with numerous
taverns, cafes and shops, several cinema exhibition spaces and traveling film shows, all of
which disappeared with the eviction of its inhabitants.
In this presentation, I would like to discuss the moviegoing practices of the Imbrians after
their "forced" expatriation to different parts of the world after 1974. By doing this I will look
at the community-building roles of cinema in this community, exploring intra- and inter-
community cinematic interactions. Indeed, cinema plays a major role in the construction of
the identity of societies, in the consolidation of its links with its diaspora, and in the
strengthening of its relations with the world. What about the Imbrians who, despite their
physical distance, remained attached to their island, to their two nations (Greek and
Turkish), and their island identity? What role did cinema play in the preservation of their
community? Has it been a mediator in adapting to new lives? What did cinema mean to
them? What did they watch and how? By collecting the testimonies and memories of the
Imbrians living in the diaspora I will try to answer these questions.