In Iraq, like elsewhere in the region, cinemagoing became a popular form of leisure in the 1920s and 1930s. The emergence of permanent indoor and outdoor cinemas during this period gave rise to new consumption practices, ways of inhabiting the city, opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs, and the creation of a leisure and entertainment economy that was both modern, international, and Iraqi. In the early 1930s, three Jewish brothers, Ezra, Meʾir, and Hayyawi Sawdaʾi, began transforming their family's wealth from one based in regional trading to a modern cinema business. During the period of British colonial rule, Iraq was forcefully integrated into a global, Western dominated market economy and the brothers tried their hands at several import and local businesses before eventually finding their niche in entertainment. They rented movie theaters, built cinemas, established themselves as prime importers of foreign movies, and left a deep imprint on the Iraqi film industry.

与该地区其他地方一样，在伊拉克，看电影在 20 世纪 20 年代和 1930 年代成为一种流行的休闲方式。在此期间，永久性室内和室外电影院的出现催生了新的消费方式、城市居住方式、投资者和企业家的机会，以及现代、国际和伊拉克休闲娱乐经济的创建。 1930 年代初期，三兄弟 Ezra、Meʾir 和 Hayyawi Sawdaʾi 开始将家族财富从区域贸易转向现代电影业务。在英国殖民统治时期，伊拉克被迫融入西方主导的全球市场经济，兄弟俩尝试过几家进口和当地企业，最终在娱乐业找到了自己的位置。他们租用电影院，建造电影院，成为外国电影的主要进口商，并在伊拉克电影业留下了深刻的印记。