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An outdoor cinema with makeshift seats for petrol and water tanks is located where Sharjah’s Al Mahatta Museum now stands
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File photo of the UAE’s first cinema, with rows of tins on open-air seating.Photo credit: Al Mahatta Museum, Sharjah
On May 4, 1943, the first film was released in the United Arab Emirates, marking an important moment in the country’s history. The cinema was launched in what is now the Al Mahatta Museum in Sharjah. As the UAE celebrates the 80th anniversary of this momentous occasion, historian and researcher Ali Iqbal Chaudhry sheds light on the fascinating story behind the country’s first cinema.
During World War II, Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons were stationed in Sharjah to protect Allied ships operating in the Gulf and Sea of ​​Oman from German U-boats, as well as Japanese and Italian submarines. “The squadron used Bristol Blenheim aircraft which were notorious for mechanical problems and engine failures,” Chowdhry said. “To boost morale, we decided to open a cinema.”
The historian noted that he had recently seen a statement in a squadron file posted in Sharjah that read “The Station Cinema opened with great success”.
“This is the first recorded film screening in the UAE, and this year we celebrate its 80th anniversary,” Chaudhry said.
Historian Ali Iqbal Chowdhury.
Seats in the open-air cinema were used petrol and water jugs and quickly became popular with RAF personnel and local Emirati residents. The screen was projected on the wall that is now behind the Al Mahatta courtyard and can still be seen today.
Another entry in the record book dated 12 September of the same year stated that “the usual weekly performance by the Arab population was once again enthusiastically received”. “Everyone was welcomed and the fact that the screening went well with the Emirati population is a testament to the good relationship that exists between the Emirati hosts and their allies,” Chowdhury added.
While the theater mainly showed action and comedies from the early 1940s, the most recent releases were not shown, much to the dismay of those stationed there, especially one medical worker who complained to his elders about the incident. “He revealed his frustration about it in a letter, which I also found from the archives,” Choudhry said.
Still, Choudhry said, the cinema is a testament to the strong relationships that have been built. “It allowed the two to coexist, and that spirit of cultural cohesion has remained to this day.”
Several films screened in 1943 included the drama/comedy Winter’s Carnival (1939), another drama/comedy Tight Shoes (1941), the western/romance Dakota Badlands ( 1941) and the comedy The Man Who Lost Himself (1941).
The wall where the cinema was, as it is today.
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