The building of the legendary Rex Cinema, which is located in the heart of Larnaca, will be renovated.
This was announced the other day by Mayor Andreas Vyras.
According to him, after long discussions, the city hall has decided to modernize the facility. After the renovation, the Rex will house the Larnaca Film Office, an organization dedicated to promoting Cyprus as a filming location. A specialized department called the Film Office will support foreign projects filming on the island. It is possible that in the future some of the premises of the former movie theater will be converted into a film archive.
The Rex Cinema was opened in Larnaca in the 1950s on the site of the Salon Pink Cinema, which burned down in 1948. The theater reached the peak of its popularity in 1965. The Art Deco building was one of the most famous on the island. Movies were shown almost around the clock. But, with the advent of television, the excitement around the movie theater faded. The cinema tried to attract viewers with theatrical performances or stage shows, but it did not help. With the emergence of more modern movie theaters on the island, the "Rex" did not survive the competition. In 2018, the movie theater was officially closed.
It should be noted that the building is located on land that belonged to a Turkish-Cypriot family, so since 1975 it was under the management of the Office for the Supervision of Turkish-Cypriot Property.
In 2022, the theater was taken over by the Larnaca city authorities, who could not decide about its future for a long time.
Interestingly, the local mayor's office constantly received requests from investors to modernize the facility. Some proposed to make the building a place for cultural events like the theater "Rialto" in Limassol. Others - to turn "Rex" into an art gallery, and others - to give it to the Cyprus Institute of Sea and Shipping.
As a result, last year the Larnaca municipality was approached by the chairman of the Cinematographic Society Michalis Kalopedis, who advised to make in the building of the legendary cinema "Rex" cinema center. He said that this would help unite the film community in Larnaca and create new opportunities for filmmakers, honoring the cinematic heritage of Cyprus. Officials supported his idea, which should be realized as soon as possible.