Local Film Consumption on Opposite Sides of the Iron Curtain. A Case Study on Ghent and Brno in the Early 1950s

The Cold War’s geopolitical division of Europe, shaped by U.S. and Soviet influence, profoundly impacted cinema culture and audience preferences. This divide influenced film production, distribution, and ideological frameworks, fostering distinct cinematic tastes. This article adopts a comparative approach to examine how the Iron Curtain affected local film distribution and exhibition in Brno (Czechoslovakia) and Ghent (Belgium) from 1951 to 1953. Comparative research has gained traction in studying cinema history, film circulation, and audience reception. This study contributes to methodological debates by integrating digital visualization to analyse local cinema networks. While Brno and Ghent operated under contrasting political and economic systems – state-controlled socialism vs. market-driven capitalism – both cities prioritized popular films based on audience demand. However, their cinema networks diverged: Ghent’s competitive market fostered diverse film clusters, while Brno’s centralized system led to a tightly interconnected network with limited film availability and prolonged circulation. This contrast highlights how ideological constraints and local operational factors shaped film culture on both sides of the divide. By comparing these two cities, the study explores the possibilities and limitations of transnational cinema history research within the context of Cold War geopolitics.