More than four decades after the end of the Iran–Iraq War, Shirin Cinema in Abadan, one of the most historic and cultural landmarks in southern Iran, still bears the scars of the conflict on its worn-out structure. Once turned into a munitions and logistics depot during the war, the old cinema today stands in a state of severe neglect and damage: its roof, collapsed since the war and never repaired, cracked walls, and a ruined floor that no longer offers safety or functionality.
On-site observations and accounts from Abadan’s cultural activists indicate that seasonal rains and the region’s high humidity have accelerated the deterioration, allowing water to seep into the building and further damage both the interior and exterior. The cinema floor has no tiling; in some areas, it has completely caved in and has been temporarily leveled with sand and gravel to make limited use possible.
The cinema’s café, along with its indoor and outdoor halls, has also been abandoned and left unusable. Amid this ruin, a withered palm tree still stands in one corner of the courtyard — a tree that once symbolized the resilience of Abadan’s people during the war, but now, with its lifeless trunk, has become a sign of neglect and forgetfulness.
Since 2021, a group of local artists led by Zeinab Haghighat, a theater artist and graduate in dramatic literature, has launched a grassroots project to revive Shirin Cinema. Describing the current state of the building, Zeinab says: “None of the main sections are usable. We only prepared part of the courtyard with sand and gravel so that we could project films onto a plaster wall. There’s no roof, no proper flooring, no basic facilities. Even that dry palm tree, lifeless as it is, still stands, just like this cinema, which despite all its ruin still holds a hope of coming back to life.”
She stresses that no government or municipal body has taken any action to provide funding or carry out comprehensive restoration. All the efforts so far have relied solely on personal resources and the participation of cultural volunteers. The group’s creative idea of blending film screenings with theater performances, implemented for the first time in the country, has temporarily turned part of the abandoned space into a site of cultural memory. However, the continuation of this initiative remains uncertain due to the unsafe condition of the building.
Zeinab Haghighat continues: “This cinema has the potential to be transformed into a Museum of Southern Cinema, but without comprehensive restoration, it cannot be used safely or permanently.”
While Abadan remains a symbol of resistance and southern Iranian culture, Shirin Cinema, as part of the city’s collective memory, requires urgent attention, dedicated funding, and a structured restoration plan, before this landmark of shared history and identity is lost forever.
