Culture

Two authors in the US wrote a critique of the Israeli lobby in Washington DC. They triggered a storm of pro-test—and applause—from an audience wanting to know more.

Imad Moustapha

The first Syrian cinema “Jenaq Kalaa” was established by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman military governor of Syria, during World War I. It was named after a geographic pass in which the Ottoman Army had defeated the British. The first film screened in Syria was a silent documentary about the German Army (allied at the time to the Ottomans). A second cinema quickly followed before the end of the Great War in 1918, shortly before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. From here, cinemas began to snowball and reached a total of 120 by 1963. Today we have 120 cinemas in Syria. Twenty five of them are located in Damascus and Aleppo. According to “The General Organization for Cinemas,” there is currently one cinemagoer per eight days in Syria. The cinemas have a total of 15,000 seats and an annual in-come of 41 million SP. The older generation of Syrians still re-members the heyday of Syrian cinemas with a lot of regret and nostalgia. Reservations would be made several days in advance. Huge cinemas, hosting up to 1,000 seats, were created in Damascus. They had graceful decoration and a special section for families. In 1963, the General Organization for Cinemas was created, aimed at improving cinemas in Syria. Tragedy struck in 1969. The government passed a decree, #2543, banning the importation of foreign films. This ruined the popularity of cinemas, which were now filled with cheap East European films, as opposed to the grand Hollywood and French productions.