Azadi Cinema Complex Explained
| Azadi Cinema Complex |
| Location: |  Tehran, Iran |
| Coordinates: | 35.7281°N 51.4161°W |
| Map Type: | Iran |
| Status: | Complete |
| Opening: | 1969 (rebuild in 2008) |
| Building Type: | Cinema |
| Roof: | 60m (200feet) |
| Floor Count: | 10 |
| Floor Area: | 850m2 |
| References: | https://web.archive.org/web/20101226094252/http://www.cinema-azadi.com/Fa/Facilities.aspx?p=fs |
Azadi Cinema Complex is a cineplex building located at Beheshti Street in Tehran. It is used for movie premieres and various entertainment events.
History
The cinema was inaugurated on 23 April 1969 as Shahre Farang Cinema. It was renamed Azadi Cinema in 1980. It had two screens.
Located on the Azadi Square,[1] the building caught fire on numerous occasions in 1976, 1990, and on 18 April 1997,[2] which caused its closure. Zeydabadi-Nejad writes, "Of particular importance among cinema halls was Azadi, one of the most popular in Tehran."[3] It hosted the Imposed War Film Festival in 1983.[4]
Reconstruction
The cinema was destroyed by a fire in 1998. The site was left vacant for 8 years.[5]
A new cineplex was opened, in 2008. Azadi Cinema Complex now has five screens, one with 600 seats and others with 200 each.[6] The complex is one of the major cineplexes in Tehran, with the one at Mellat Park.[7]
The building now hosts a Cinematheque and was described in the Tehran Times as follows: "It is one of the landmarks of Tehran, marking the west entrance to the city, and is part of the Azadi Cultural and Artistic Complex, which also includes an underground museum."[8]
Notes and References
- Web site: Tehran in Iranian Post-Revolutionary Films . 2024-01-16 . Cinema Iranica . en-US.
- Book: Naficy, Hamid . A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 3: The Islamicate Period, 1978–1984 . 2011 . Duke University Press . 978-0-8223-4877-1 . en.
- Book: Zeydabadi-Nejad, Saeed . The Politics of Iranian Cinema: Film and Society in the Islamic Republic . 2009-12-04 . Routledge . 978-1-135-28309-4 . en.
- Book: Naficy, Hamid . A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010 . 2012-11-06 . Duke University Press . 978-0-8223-4878-8 . en.
- Book: Ginsberg . Terri . Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema . Lippard . Chris . 2020 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-5381-3905-9 . en.
- Azadi Cinema official website Web site: وب سایت سینما آزادی . 2 January 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101226092312/http://www.cinema-azadi.com/Fa/About.aspx?p=ab . 26 December 2010 . "Azadi Cinema" accessed 2 January 2011.
- Web site: Iran Tour Organization . Azadi Cinema Complex . 8 September 2011 . 7 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111007000006/http://www.irantour.org/Iran/Azadi_Cinema.html . dead .
- Web site: BalaEddy . Prerna . 2023-07-04 . Political Contestation around the "Football in Cinema" Project in Iran . 2024-01-16 . Project on Middle East Political Science . en-US.
- Web site: 2024-01-01 . Azadi Tower's cinematheque to open with "Oppenheimer" . 2024-01-16 . Tehran Times . en.
