| Cinema of Bahrain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 44 (2009)[1] |
| • Per capita | 4.0 per 100,000 (2009)[1] |
| Number of admissions (2009)[2] | |
| Total | 2,184,612 |
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Thecinema ofBahrain is small as its lacks support from the government and the private sector. There are many short films produced by individual filmmakers, and about five feature films in Bahrain's history.
There are a number of theaters in Bahrain showing a mix of Indian, American and Arabic movies. Bahrain also has a cinema club established in 1980, and theBahraini Film Production Company, established in 2006 to support the Bahraini film industry.
The first attempt to create a movie theater in Bahrain was in 1922, on the initiative of Bahraini businessman Mahmood Al Saati. He imported aprojector and set up a makeshift cinema at acottage on the north coast ofManama.[3] The first official cinema was established by Abdulla Al Zayed and associates in Manama, in 1937.[3] The cinema had noair-conditioning or heating system so the cinema was moved to an open-roofed building during thewinter season with one of the walls being used as a screen.[3] In 1939, the founder ofSaudi Arabia, KingAbdul Aziz Al Saud, visited the cinema while on a diplomatic visit with the then-HakimHamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa.[3]
During the 1930s and 1940s, films were in black and white with the majority of them being predominantly Egyptian as well as some American films. Westerns and theTarzan films were reported to have been very popular in the country.[3] Initially, the introduction of cinemas drew criticism from elderly citizens who stated that it "would destroy traditional values".[4]
During thepan-Arab era of the 20th century,Egyptian films enjoyed immense popularity in the country.[3]
In the early 1940s, theBahrain Petroleum Company opened a cinema inAwali for its staff. The cinema moved to a different building in Awali in 1958, but finally closed in 1991.[5]
In the 1950s and 1960s, eight new cinemas opened in Bahrain, including the Pearl Cinema, Al Hamra Cinema, Al Nasr Cinema and Awal Cinema, all of which were established in Manama.[5] The first cinema to open inMuharraq was Al Jazira Cinema in 1955 and it is still in use today.[3][5]
The first modern-style cinema to open in Bahrain was the Delmon Cinema at the Gosi Complex in 1996, but it has since closed.[3][5] The trend for modern-style cinemas was continued by theBahrain Cinema Company, which opened cinema complexes atSeef Mall in 1998 and inSaar in 2000 respectively.[3][5] An independent cinema, Dana Cinema, was opened at the Dana Mall in Manama, in 2002.[5] A 20-screen cinema complex was constructed in theBahrain City Centre, the largest such cineplex in theMiddle East.[5][6] In July 2015, the country's firstIMAX theatre was opened in Seef Mall Muharraq underNovo Cinema.[7] Other cinema companies entered the Bahraini market in the 2010s, such as Mexican companyCinepolis in January 2019.[8]
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