‘Did you ever notice this dot in the Mediterranean?’ Colonial Cyprus in the post-war British documentary

Abstract

This article examines British documentary films about Cyprus during the British colonial era, primarily the post-war period. Produced against a background of political upheaval, these documentaries reflect a highly fluid relationship between colony and metropolis. An initial sequence of travelogues was followed by several documentaries which promoted the apparent success of British development projects on the island, positioning it as a showcase for the benefits of enlightened imperial power. The subsequent militarisation of Cyprus in the mid-1950s led to films which endorsed Cyprus as a strategic outpost of the British Empire but also acknowledged the emergence of local resistance to British rule. Tracing the production and reception of these films, this article considers the ways in which documentary representations of Cyprus shaped perceptions of the island and its relationship to Britain. More generally, the article addresses the diffusion of documentary practices in the British Empire and the perceived educational value of documentary films among both colonial and British domestic audiences.