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Homes for Games: A filmic interpretation of Sochi 2014 and resettlement in Imeretinskaya Bay

European Urban and Regional Studies

Published online on

Abstract

The film "Homes for Games" consists of documentary footage showing the profound transformation of Imeretinskaya Bay, the location of the Olympic Coastal Cluster in Sochi, situated on the Black Sea coast near the border between Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia. In the tradition of local history, the documentary footage collects the local residents’ stories about their experiences with the Olympic relocation. Through the people’s narrations that come from periodic interviews, the film explores the links between space, place and the creation of individual and collective identity. By commenting on video stills and specific film sequences, this article reflects the gradual replacement of fields and settlements as the master plan of the Games is being implemented. By giving voice to the residents, whose views go unnoticed in the official media, the film shows to what extent the Olympic Winter Games change the residents’ living and working situation.