When you spiral up the stairs you come upon an arrangement of household furniture, mostly Polish in style, under the pleasant light of lampshades and wall-mounted fixtures. They greet you warmly. Paintings and photographs hang on different walls. The window to the right opens to old brick buildings with slanting, tin rooftops. At a distance you can see back-lite posters of three films propped against the serving counter -- Soltan-e Sahebqeran, actually a TV series made in the 1970's on the court of {Nasir od-Din Shah}, Kamal ol-Molk, on the life of a legendary court painter, and Suteh-delan, the story of the coming of age of a mentality retarded young man from a disintegrating noble family, all of which are films by director {Ali Hatami}, set during the Qajar Era (mid 19th century). On top of the counter are jars of cookies, an old scale with pomegranates on one dish, and knickknack.

The smell of freshly ground coffee is in the air. From a small window on one corner you can peep through the film currently projecting on the screen down below. Close by is a bookshelf filled with film magazines and books.

This is JOMHURI Cinema. Before the 1979 Revolution it was called NIAGARA. The homey space that I have been describing is ENTR'ACT Café on the second floor of this movie theater. This is a newly opened space inside a huge movie theater that, according to one of the managers of the café, {Ali Mosaffa}, has so many doors that one can easily get lost inside. The structure was built by an India Engineer in the 60s, though it was only later that its famous owners, director Ali Hatami and film star {Fardin}, turned it into a choice theater. It originally had a single hall, but much like other old movie theaters in Tehran, it was remodeled to accommodate two -- the balcony of the original is separate theater now, whose door is next to Entr'act.

I talked to the managers of the café, the actress-actor couple {Leila Hatami} and Ali Mosaffa, as well as {Taha Moghani}, manager of Café 78, who has acted as consultant to Entr'act, about the objectives of their café and their future plans.

***

TA: When we walk down Jomhuri Ave we see many movie theaters that have been build years ago and their clients are regulars who have come to this part of town for ages. But it seems that these days the passion for films has died down because we don't see people lining up in front of the ticket office. Why did you decide to establish a café when attendance has dropped so much?

Ali Mosaffa: This movie theater has gone to the edge of bankruptcy several times and each time its managers have come up with some measures to keep it alive. In fact, most movie theaters are not doing that well, this one included. Many a times investors had approached the owners suggesting that the building should be turn into a lucrative shopping center. Leila, whose father co-owned the theater, wanted it to be a memento from her father. Last year, during the Fajr Film Festival, we came up with the idea of opening a coffee shop here, as a ploy to make the theater more sustainable.

TA: Although the Museum of Cinemaⁱ has a café, this is a relatively new event, and given the state that movie theaters as you describe it, I want to know what you are planing to do to make this one viable?

Leila Hatami: The idea that Ali proposed was that people should have a pleasant space where they can sit down after watching a film and talk about it over a cup of tea. I was personally happy when FELESTIN Cinema was remodeled, but there is nothing in that movie theater to make people hang around and talk. What today has become fashionable as “coffee shops” -- a name that I don't like much -- are not conducive to such activities. The not so attractive ice creams that are on offer in these “coffee shops” or the people who frequent them brought me to this conclusion. To me, there is a distance between the clientèle of coffee shops and the things that are on offer. The atmosphere of these coffee shops has nothing to do with people's everyday life. They look as if they are sitting in an artificial environment sipping on artificial concoctions. I was always looking for a comfortable and natural place were I could frequent. The ideal is to have a place with high turn over where people can have things proportionate to their budget.

TA: It seems, however, that at this point you don't have too many clients?

Hatami: This is true, but the reason is that Jomhuri Cinema is still considered a family theater. The clientèle usually come here with their children. But since this theater is not too far from the University of Tehran, and with plans that Ali has, we are hoping to attract young cinema goers too.

Mosaffa: By showing short and documentary films, we want to attract university students, making Entr'act into a “cultural” hang-out. I am not sure if the name “cultural” is right here, so let me be more precise: we want to build a space where those interested in short films, or any film that has permission to be screened but for one reason or another cannot, can visit. We will dedicate two showings during the week to such films, for a period of six months. In this way, filmmakers will also have a place to show their films. It is possible that the sales of such films will be more successful if they were screen for longer periods of time and even help with their economy.

TA: How certain is this plan of yours?

Mosaffa: We are doing our best. We failed at the outset, because we struck a deal with the Documentary and Experimental Film Centerⁱⁱ to show some of the films of their Cinema Verité festival last summer, but they didn't meet their commitments. It is still possible to get some of their documentary or short films for future screenings. Of course, we first have to see what days and hours are more appropriate for such showings, because Jomhuri Cinema has its own regular schedule of commercial films and we can't possibly switch to non-commercial films without loosing some of the clients who now visit the theater. The screening of special films is contingent upon their filmmakers. For that reason, we have talked to Sinema-ye Shab Institute and Ministry of Culture officials to help with their screening, not only in Jomhuri but in other theaters.

TA: On the topic of “audience,” who are your envisioned audiences? Your café will certainly make people happy in this part of town, because the young residents of Jomhuri area have nothing geared to their needs. There are few cultural centers with non-commercial activities in downtown Tehran. Aren't you afraid of consequences -- mixed clients, etc.?

Mosaffa: We must build our own audience base. We can take it for granted that an audience will be there. But, it is impossible to predict how things will turn out at this point. I am actually counting on short film-makers, whose numbers are not few.

TA: How did the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance receive you?

Mosaffa: The Ministry is supportive. If you go to any movie theater and ask for your short films to be shown there, managers may even wonder if there is something wrong with you.

TA: Will you be selling tickets for your short film showings?

Mosaffa: Yes, tickets will be sold for a collection of short films.

TA: Don't you think that with the inauguration of AZADI Cinemaⁱⁱⁱ some of your clients will be lost?

Mosaffa: This movie theater has its own client base. There are very few hang-outs in this part of town. Places like Naderi Café or Gol-e Rezaiyeh Restaurant. But anywhere something good happens for cinema is a welcomed development.

TA: Where does the idea for this friendly atmosphere with diverse furnitures come from?

Hatami: I had seen such atmosphere in the old towns of Italy. When you stepped into their cafés you felt like you had arrived at a friend's house, and they were natural places for weekend gatherings.

Mosaffa: And the idea was also to start this café with as little budget as possible.

TA: Much like a short film?

Mosaffa: Exactly.

TA: And because the managers are themselves filmmakers, this café has become a space of decoupage.

Hatami: Indeed, we have worked on this space. But we want this café to revive this theater and of course we got encouragement and support from Taha.

TA: Tell us a bit about your menu.

Hatami: Menu items are as simple and familiar as possible. Coffees are espresso, French [brewed] coffee, and Turkish coffee. With this last one, Taha suggested that we offer four kinds of coffee since many countries in the region brew their coffee in similar fashion. As such, we have Arabic, Armenian, Greek and Turkish coffees. Another words, we did away with other complicated names usually listed in coffee shop menus. Our blends of tea are diverse. We have the regular black on top of other kinds of tea that are not in fashion today in our country, though they were at some point in time, like chamomile, lemon verbena, Indian mix, and valerian tea. With a simple cake or cookie, this is our base menu. But we have other things, including a Friday brunch, elaborate and pleasant for a weekend customer. Taha also suggested beautiful names for these coffees.

TA: It seems that some of the names you have selected are after characters in Iranian films.

Taha Moghani: We first thought of names such as {Al Pacino}, which we had also seen used in the coffee shop of Cinema Museum in Bagh-e Ferdows, but then decided to use names that are simpler and more appropriate to our own clients. Of course, we are only beginning, and we may change things as we go along. There is an amity here between the managers that makes this possible.

Hatami: And, we are still not sure how our clients will receive Entr'act. We also thought of other items on the menu, like ash-e reshteh (a soup made of beans, whee, and noodles) and cutlets (made of ground beef and potatoes) but it is still to early for that.

Moghani: We have other ideas too, like offering products associated with the arts. Being a photographer myself, I like to see still photography exhibits. We can dedicate a space to exhibiting film photographs that are seldom seen by themselves, and in this way attract more clients.

Mosaffa: I must add that other than showing films supported by governmental entities, and which are accessible to us, we welcome unofficial and private ventures. We are hoping that we can show such films in the future, in a large hall that can house 300 people with good sound quality.

Moghani: We must take things step by step. Every couple of months we can introduce a new event, like expanding the library that we already have. These are all in the plans, but we first need to assess our clients, and we will do everything possible to make this a place for cultural activities.

Note

Since this interview in November 2007, Taha Moghani has gone back to his Café 78 headquarters and is no longer offering consultation to Entr'act Café. Meanwhile, new activities have been planned, like the new film club.