It does not end with, “Abi Fawq Al-Shajarah”, (My Father is Above the Tree), “Al- Masir”, (The Destiny), “Haddoutah Masriyyah”, (An Egyptian Story), “Ajmal Ayyam Hayati”, (The Best Days of My Life), “Imbaratoriyet Mim”, (Empire M), “Al- Risalah”, (The Message), “Oredo Hallan”, (I Want A Solution), “Iskandariyah Leh”, (Alexandria, Why), nor with “Afwah Wa Araneb”, (Mouths and Rabbits), “ A’wdat Al-Ibn Al-Dal”, (The Return of the Prodigal Son), “ Shafiqa Wa Mitwali”, (Shafiqa and Metwali), “ Al-Avocado”, (The Avocado), “ Lahn Fi Hayaty”, (A Melody in My Life), and “Ayyam Al-Lulu”, (The Days of Pearl). Those are just some of the titles of movies which we, the generation of the Naksa, or the “Thunder Year” as I call it, rushed to watch in Palestinian cinemas during the 70s and 80s. Additionally, there were many more Egyptian and non-Egyptian ones that made us rush to stand in long lines for buying tickets so that we won’t miss its screenings.
Even in her old age, Um Khalil used to like cinema as well. She would sometimes accompany us, my mother, her two daughters and I to Jerusalem to watch a movie. Although she was devout and never missed a prayer, Um Khalil also believed that religion and living were inseparable if ethics remained the guide of human’s behavior.
In her view, life does not contradict with “faith” if the believer did not harm others. She would put on her head one of her brightly colored scarfs, get elegantly dressed, and always ready on time for our cinema outings. Yet, whenever Um Khalil saw Hussein Fahmi, (Egyptian actor) kissing Suad Hosni, (Egyptian actress) on the lips like in “Khali Balak Min Zuzu”, (Take Care of Zuzu), a movie which had been on the “golden” screen for months in the seventies, her cheeks would blush out of embarrassment. She would immediately close her eyes until the scene is over.
This hides behind a personal history as Um Khalil had not once seen the face of her late husband, Abu Khalil, before their wedding day. She was by then fourteen years old. Abu Khalil was in his early twenties. In less than two years, Um Khalil was holding her second baby between her arms while the first clung to her dress, crawling behind her on the floor in the kitchen.
For the Palestinians, cinema was an important cultural way of entertainment before and after the Nakba in 1948 and the Naksa in 1967. For many families, going to the cinema was a weekly tradition. They followed up the cultural news and the latest updates related to arts, theater, and movies’ schedules through the daily newspapers which dedicated a section to these topics.
In Jerusalem alone, there were three cinemas: “Al-Quds”, “Al-Hamra”, and “Al-Nuzha”. The interior design of these movie theaters was different from today. A movie theatre was divided into three sections, a ground floor hall, the “loj” (upper section), and the (box). The last two were on the second floor. The ground floor hall was the biggest in size and seating capacity. It was the most “popular” and “populist” to say, as most of the attendees were young “single” men and teenagers. Its tickets were the cheapest of the three.
The “loj” was smaller in size. The tickets here were a bit more expensive than the ones for the ground floor hall. Positioned above the hall, the “loj” was usually reserved for families and older people, or to say for those who are more “matured” compared to the ground floor audience.
In front of the “loge”, spanning the first two rows, were the “boxat” (plural of box in Arabized English), meaning a small compartment. The box was somehow a small balcony like the ones in opera halls. Each can accommodate four people, making them ideal for a family or a small group of friends. The ticket price for the “box” was slightly higher than those of both the ground floor and the “loj”.
Al-Hamra Cinema in Jerusalem in the 1950s
Cinemas screened movies in two sessions, in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session featured two films, running for almost four hours in total, with one or two breaks. Egyptian films attracted large audience, while younger viewers preferred Indian films where the hero always married his beloved after a complicated love story. This was, of course, before karate and kung fu movies started showing.
Al-Quds Cinema on Al-Zahra Street
Cinemas in Palestine operated until late 1980s when. It closed permanently after the outbreak of the first Palestinian Intifada at the end of 1987. The “National Unified Leadership” which issued at that time political revolutionary instructive statements called for the end of all entertainment-related activities and events involving celebrations, including weddings.
At that time, a decade had passed since Um Khalil’s passed away leaving behind memories; a smile that masked the sorrow of past hardships and tears that dropped from her eyes out of laughter whenever she watched Ismail Yassin’s in his famous comedy “Ismaeel Yassin Fi Al-Jesh” (Ismail Yassin in the Army). Joy and sadness intertwined in Um Khalil’s pure soul.
Published on May 6, 2021
