Dubai: In the early 1960s, long before multiplexes lit up the skylines of Gulf cities, cinema in the UAE was little more than an idea. Film prints were scarce, audiences were untested, and the concept of a structured exhibition industry barely existed. It was in this uncharted landscape that Ahmad Golchin emerged as a pioneering force—one whose vision would permanently reshape the cultural and commercial fabric of the region’s film industry.

In 1964, Golchin founded Phars Film in Dubai, at a time when film activity in the Gulf was still nascent. The challenges were formidable. There were no established distribution channels, limited infrastructure, and little interest from international producers and distributors who doubted the region’s potential. Yet Golchin saw what others could not: a city on the brink of transformation and an audience waiting to be discovered.

Rather than waiting for conditions to improve, Golchin created them.

In the earliest days, screenings were organized in the most unconventional settings—including open desert spaces—bringing cinema directly to communities that had never experienced it before. These early efforts were not merely entertainment; they were cultural introductions, planting the seeds of a cinema-going tradition in the UAE.

Golchin’s ambitions extended far beyond distribution. Recognizing that cinema could not thrive without physical spaces, he became a driving force behind the development of the exhibition industry. Cinemas soon began appearing across Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Ajman, gradually forming what would become one of the most robust cinema circuits in the region. This vision ultimately evolved into Star Cinemas, anchoring Phars Film’s exhibition arm and setting professional standards for theatrical presentation.

But Golchin’s most enduring legacy lies in how he redefined distribution and exhibition in the Gulf. Phars Film became instrumental in creating a viable market for international cinema, particularly Indian films, which found a powerful and sustained presence in the region through Golchin’s strategic foresight. By building trust with producers and distributors abroad, he opened the Middle East to Hollywood, Bollywood, and diverse foreign-language content at scale.

Today, Phars Film stands as the largest film distribution and exhibition network in the Middle East. Through its unequaled distribution infrastructure and long-standing stakeholder partnerships, the company oversees the regional release and screening of more than 350 films every year. It remains solely responsible for the distribution and exhibition of a critical mass of global content, serving audiences across the Gulf and beyond.

What began as a bold experiment in 1960s Dubai has become a cornerstone of the region’s entertainment industry. Ahmad Golchin did not simply build cinemas—he built an ecosystem. One that transformed moviegoing into a shared cultural experience and positioned the UAE as a major hub in the global film distribution landscape.

As the UAE’s cinema industry continues to evolve, its foundations remain inseparable from the quiet determination and visionary leadership of Ahmad Golchin—the man who believed, long before it was obvious, that cinema could flourish in the desert.