Collector Keeps Kirkuk’s Cinema History Alive in a Small Old Bazaar Shop

In Kirkuk’s old bazaars, Delir el-Jaf is preserving the city’s cinematic memory through a small shop filled with rare film projectors and reels. The space stands as a reminder of an era when cinema drew large crowds and shaped the city’s cultural life. El-Jaf’s collection includes hundreds of Arab, foreign and Turkish films, along with three large projection machines from decades ago that are still in working condition. His passion for cinema began in childhood and deepened in 1979, when he visited Hayyam Cinema and became more fascinated by the projector’s beam of light than by the film itself. That curiosity gradually turned into collecting. He first acquired a 16 mm Olmo machine, then added a rare Russian-made 35 mm device used in large movie theaters. Kirkuk once had between 5 and 7 active cinemas, including Hayyam, Atlas, Salahaddin and Muallimin. During holidays and festive periods, ticket lines reportedly stretched for hours as audiences followed Arab, Turkish, Indian and foreign films. Although wars, economic sanctions and digitization have caused most cinemas in Iraq to disappear over time, el-Jaf continues to maintain his machines regularly and keep that artistic legacy alive.