Curtains down at Kabul cinema

Cars driving past as the demolishment of the historical Ariana cinema in Kabul took place on Dec 18, 2025. — AFP

A MOVIE theatre that bore witness to Afghanistan’s modern history – from the cosmopolitan vibrancy of the 1960s to the silencing and repression that followed not one but two Taliban takeovers – has been razed to make way for a shopping mall.

The Ariana Cinema in Kabul, the capital, had remained closed, save for occasional propaganda movies, since 2021, when the Taliban swept back to power. And yet it stood as a landmark in the city’s centre, a reminder of art, culture and pleasure for many Afghans.