KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan Film Director Sahraa Karimi, including local and international cultural activists, opposed the government’s decision of destroying an ancient and once famous Cinema Park in Kabul, calling it neither an art nor a service to the country.
On Sunday, the Kabul Municipality assigned workers to officially start demolishing the building and structure of once famous Cinema Park in Shahr-e-Naw of Kabul city, following a meeting lead by the First Vice President Amrullah Salah.
Afghan Film Director Sahraa Karimi called the action an “improper” attempt, while the municipality continued to implement the decision. “It is shameful,” Karimi said in a tweet.
She encourages people to join her voice against the government’s decision and “prevent a huge catastrophe that will cause irreparable damage to the culture, cinema and history of this city, posting hashtags reads don’t destroy Cinema Park.
Meanwhile, netizens and cultural activist flooded social media with the hashtag, saying such a decision is neither an art nor a service to the country.
“Cinema Park is a collective memory and a common cultural-historical heritage of a city,” said Roya Sadat, a Writer and Film Director, in a tweet.
“There isn’t any justifiable reason for the destruction of Park Cinema,” said Sediq Barmak, a filmmaker, as quoted by TOLOnews.
The cinema hall was active until last week and had eight employees.
“We displayed three to four movies a week and we installed their posters outside the hall,” said Taimur Shah Bahawi, the acting head of the Cinema Park. “People were visiting the hall but the number of visitors was less.”
Cinema Park was built in 1950s. It was a famous place during King Zahir Shah’s reign and later in 1980s.
