Cinema Kawakeb

In a back alley in Amman, the capital of Jordan, stands a small cinema that has clearly seen better days. With its peeling walls, rickety chairs, and torn curtains, it looks as if it’s ripe for demolition. A shady loan and a dispute between the owners mean the final curtain appears to have fallen. Yet the last two employees are still hoping for a revival of the movie theater, which was last open before the pandemic.

Cinema Kawakeb is also a film about filmmaking itself, with director Mahmoud Al Massad playfully exploring the process of creating his documentary—a process that matters more than the final result. It brings a light note to a film steeped in faded glory and decay.

Al Massad parallels the cinema’s story with archival news footage covering the two world wars, the founding of the state of Israel, and conflict in the region. These geopolitical developments may seem far removed from the small world of the movie theater, but they eventually reach its street and its doorstep.