Since the dawn of the cinematic experience in the early 20th century by French and American individuals and organizations, cinema has stood the test of time in order to provide the world with a clear and significant medium that would encompass a range of stories, styles, and genres.

In the midst of such a creative way to narrate stories, there exists minimalism. Not only does minimalism stand in the fields of philosophy, but it also has had a considerable impact in cinema, particularly, arthouse films that focus more on a specific audience than the commercial success of cinematic work.

Minimalist cinema is the process of applying minimalism in artistic work. Usually demanding fewer and fewer materials either on set or in the film itself. It can be a film in which near or total artistic freedom is given based on decisions that would enable the crew to experiment.

The Youth Art Cinema Club is an arthouse-based club that was founded in 2022 by a group of independent artists stemming from concept art and independent filmmakers and young film critics in Duhok. First initiated by Walid Siti, a painter and printmaker by profession, the group soon developed into a modestly growing community with a weekly audience. It screens arthouse classics from history for free to an audience that is welcome to participate and interact. Not only were they able to witness the impact of minimalist films such as Tokyo Story but they also had an opportunity to discuss, analyze and educate themselves and others about films, their directors, and a style or a topic that is significant in a film.

The role the film club has can range between emphasizing the development of artistic expression using cinematic techniques that demand little to no technical usage in an effort to introduce a broader and class-conscious community into cinema.