Often known in recent years for sectarian and other violence, Tripoli seems an unlikely place for a cultural revival, but it has a long cinematic tradition. All Photos: AP Photo
Kassem Istanbouli, a 35-year-old actor and director, is seeking to restore some of that past glory by turning the city’s long-abandoned Empire Cinema into a national theatre.
The director’s project was inspired by his father, an electrician who used to repair movie houses in the south, and his grandfather, who was a sailor and storyteller.
Cinema Empire is the last of five historic cinemas still standing in Tripoli’s Tell Square.
Several days a week, Mr Istanbouli and his team, which includes a Syrian, a Palestinian, a Lebanese and a Bangladeshi, drive three hours from their homes in the country’s south to work on the space, built in the early 1940s.
Maha Amin, a special needs teacher, volunteer and actor, cleans a room that was once a ticket office before she attends a rehearsal at Empire Cinema.
Bangladeshi volunteer and actor Shuman Dali, 39, washes chairs before attending a rehearsal for a play at the cinema.
Tripoli has lost much of its architectural heritage, especially around Tell Square, due to neglect.
