Azadi Cinema Complex is a cineplex building located at Beheshti Street in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. It is used for movie premieres and various entertainment events.

History

The cinema was inaugurated on 23 April 1969 as Shahre Farang Cinema. It was renamed Azadi Cinema in 1980. It had two screens. Located on the Azadi Square, the building caught fire on numerous occasions in 1976, 1990, and on 18 April 1997, which caused its closure. Zeydabadi-Nejad writes, "Of particular importance among cinema halls was Azadi, one of the most popular in Tehran." It hosted the Imposed War Film Festival in 1983.

Reconstruction

The cinema was destroyed by a fire in 1998. The site was left vacant for 8 years. A new cineplex was opened, in 2008. Azadi Cinema Complex now has five screens, one with 600 seats and others with 200 each. The complex is one of the major cineplexes in Tehran, with the one at Mellat Park. The building now hosts a

Cinematheque A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typically ...

and was described in the ''

Tehran Times The ''Tehran Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Iran, founded in 1979 as the self-styled "voice of the Islamic Revolution". While not state-owned, it is considered state-controlled and closely tied to the hardline factio ...

'' as follows: "It is one of the landmarks of Tehran, marking the west entrance to the city, and is part of the Azadi Cultural and Artistic Complex, which also includes an underground museum."

Gallery

image:Azadi Burnt.JPG, 1997 Azadi Cinema Complex 5.jpg Azadi Cinema Complex 4.jpg Azadi Cinema Complex 1.jpg Azadi Cinema Complex 2.jpg Azadi Cinema Complex 3.jpg

Notes

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in Tehran Cinemas in Iran Tourist attractions in Tehran 1976 disasters in Asia