VZCZCXRO6096
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1178/01 2491016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051016Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1500
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4266
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2078
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1943
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 2514
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0882
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 2860
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001178 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SCUL SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN BEGINS TO REDISCOVER CINEMA... AND 
BUILDS MORE MARBLE BUILDINGS 
 
¶1.  (U)  Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY.  A former Soviet movie theater has reopened 
as the first dedicated, modern cinema in post-Independence 
Turkmenistan.  Because of the wide availability of cheap 
pirated DVDs, video rental remains the most popular form of 
movie watching.  Only a handful of people regularly attend 
the theater, but numbers are expected to rise now that summer 
has ended and word-of-mouth begins to spread.  The director 
of the theater dreams of working in one of the large marble 
movie theaters being built through a government initiative 
designed to support cinema.  However, he expressed deep 
concern over the financial viability and use-value of these 
new theaters, which will probably not even be able to procure 
movie reels.  While cinema slowly gains popularity, most of 
the state-led construction is just a vanity project rather 
than a true initiative to promote the arts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
A WHOLE NEW WORLD 
 
¶3. (SBU)  In June 2008, the former Soviet movie theater "Mir" 
in the central part of Ashgabat reopened as the "Parahat" 
complex ("Parahat" is the Turkmen translation of "Mir", or 
"world").  The complex specializes in banquet halls for 
wedding celebrations, but a small side chamber houses the 
first dedicated movie theater to open in Turkmenistan since 
independence in 1991. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Batyr, an ethnic Turkmen, is the operator and 
manager of the small theater, which seats a modest 50 people 
and features a modern surround sound system and big screen. 
The entrance fee is 20,000 manat (less than $1.50), with 
showings almost every day at 7pm and 9pm.  He acquires the 
latest movies from friends and contacts in Russia, who ship 
him the DVD's by airplane.  In contrast to the existing 
'movie theaters' in Ashgabat, which are really more like DVD 
cafs that play pirated discs, Batyr only buys licensed, 
professional Russian translations in high definition. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  So far, only a handful of people, most of them 
young couples, regularly go to the Parahat movie theater. 
After independence, cinemas around the country were shut 
down.  Today, movie rentals are hugely popular in 
Turkmenistan, especially in Ashgabat, but few express the 
desire to go to the cinema.  Batyr predicts more and more 
people will start attending in September, both because of 
word-of-mouth publicity and people coming back from summer 
vacation. 
 
PIRATES OF THE CASPIAN 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Pirated copies of the latest American movies are 
widely available almost immediately after their premiere in 
the West, while official translations take several months of 
work.  Because of this, Batyr does not simply announce a 
schedule of films that will be playing in his theater, as 
many Turkmen would have no interest in seeing these movies 
again.  Rather, moviegoers engage in a quasi-democratic 
voting process to choose the film of the evening.  Because 
the culture of going to the movies has largely been lost in 
Turkmenistan, Batyr sees his job as "rekindling a love of 
cinema in the public."  He also sees his small theater as a 
therapeutic escape for people to come relax after a hard day 
of work or study. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  He's also perhaps the most qualified person in the 
country for the job.  In 1993, he became director of his 
first theater, which held a mere 25 people. Since then, he 
has operated three different theaters.  His dream is to 
direct one of the massive cinemas being built as part of a 
nationwide initiative. 
 
4D WHITE MARBLE THEATERS WITH BLANK SCREENS 
 
ASHGABAT 00001178  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU)  Turkmenistan's Government is pouring money into 
several new theaters, with the flagship theater just 500 
meters away from Parahat.  Along with "4D" capability, it is 
expected to seat 400-500.  Batyr remains skeptical of its 
viability.  (NOTE: 4D is interactive technology - such as 
seats that shake, etc. - that is built into the theater.  END 
NOTE.)  "What are they going to show there?  A movie reel 
costs $100,000 -- who's going to pay that kind of money?  You 
can't play DVD's on a big screen designed for 500 people." 
He plans to pay a visit to the directors of the bigger 
theater and question them on how they plan to acquire movies. 
 
¶9. (SBU) COMMENT.  Going to the movies seems to be slowly 
reemerging as a pastime for Turkmen youth and has the 
potential to develop into a significant source of social 
networking and community building.  However, cheap and widely 
available pirated DVD's ensure that the majority of Turkmen 
will continue to watch movies at home.  And while the 
Government is certainly willing to build grandiose theaters 
to promote cinema, practical questions regarding what to show 
and how to make these theaters financially viable suggest 
that the construction is just a vanity project rather than a 
true initiative to promote the arts.  END COMMENT. 
CURRAN