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Giuseppe Tornatore with Shivendra Singh, founder of the Film Heritage Foundation in Dungarpur and Andrea Anastasio, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Delhi.
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Giuseppe Tornatore with Shivendra Singh, founder of the Film Heritage Foundation in Dungarpur and Andrea Anastasio, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Delhi.
giuseppe tornatoreemotional film of Cinema Paradiso (1989) made its way to select screens in Delhi and Mumbai this week as the director visited the country on invitation. Film Heritage Foundation and this Istituto Italiano di Cultura The Mumbai. After sharing anecdotes about the film with cinephiles in Mumbai and connecting with students, filmmakers and film lovers, Tornatore received an invitation from Andrea Anastasio, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Delhi, for another screening – an invitation that was He couldn’t refuse.
Giuseppe Tornatore at IHC
Last Monday, when the film was to be screened at the India Habitat Center in Delhi, Tornatore and Anastasio arrived well before the show time. To his surprise, film lovers were already standing in queue for hours, eager to watch the classic. Many movie buffs mentioned that they came with little expectation of getting in, feeling that the effort was worth it even if there was no chance of getting a seat.
IHC’s Stein Auditorium filled within minutes, but an equal number of hopeful moviegoers were still outside, seeking entry. Film Heritage Foundation founder and filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur suggested, “I saw many people sitting outside. Let’s make it like Cinema Paradiso. Let them come inside and sit in the aisles. After all, we have the maestro himself, Just like they showed in the movie.” However, safety regulations dashed the hopes of hundreds of people as entry was ultimately not allowed.
‘Watching the same movie on a tablet and in a theater makes it feel like a different movie’
As the audience interacted with Tornatore during the screening, questions arose about whether returning home might be the only way to break with the past, the significance of the scene set against the ocean, its symbolism, the search for meaning in life, and Was the film autobiographical?
Introducing the film to audiences, Giuseppe Tornatore said, “It’s unusual to go back 40 years and introduce audiences to a film and have so many people come to the theaters. It’s really strange; I don’t know how to explain when I When I made the film, I never imagined that something like this could happen. Watching a film on a tablet and in a theater is a different experience, it’s a different film.”
He said that despite the crises around the world, cinema has survived because people still want to watch films. He further said, “Despite the numbers movie theaters In the last few years, the number of people watching movies is increasing day by day. We are forced to make films because people want to watch them.”
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, filmmaker and founder of the Film Heritage Foundation, with Andrea Anastasio, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Delhi
‘I don’t believe in the death of cinema, it’s impossible’
Cinema Paradiso is a nostalgic celebration of the power of cinema not just as films but as a community experience. One attendee asked if the film first came out, whether it was considered a swan song to see the film – and now, more than 35 years later, when Tornatore is still showing the film in theaters, he What do you think about death? Tornatore replied, “My answer is very simple – I do not believe in the death of cinema. It is impossible. I can give you a very simple reason – despite the crisis, the number of movie theaters is always decreasing, And yet, the number of people going to watch movies is increasing day by day. So, we are forced to make movies because people want to watch them? The only thing that is changing is the people watching movies. Method.”
He further added, “In the last 4-5 days when I was in India, probably 90% of the youth I met told me, ‘I am a filmmaker, I am a filmmaker.’ These are all young filmmakers. This means that the language of films is becoming like the language of writing and today, everyone can make films (on their phones).”
Andrea Anastasio, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Delhi, said, “We collaborated immediately, not only because we had the director, but also mainly because it is a rare opportunity to see a restored copy of a film. It was just a celebration of Celebrating not only the amazing film that brings together cinema, life and history in a universal way, but also because restoring films means caring for future generations.”
Film lovers stood in queues for hours to attend the screening
When The Sound of Music director reviewed Cinema Paradiso
Cinema Paradiso exists in two versions, and when asked if the shorter version belonged to the director, he quipped, “I’m the director. Both versions are mine.” He then shared an anecdote – when he first went to LA for a screening of a shorter version of the film, The Sound of Music director Robert Wise introduced himself and discussed the film.
Tornatore recalled, “I was trembling. He was a big director, and he gave me a lot of compliments. But then he said, ‘I only have one criticism of your film. If I were you, When Toto (the central character) comes back to his village, I will introduce him to the girl he loved.”
This scene was part of a longer version of the film, but Tornatore had it removed. He told Wise, “You’re probably right. But I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
He told the audience, “At that moment, for us (Tornatore and the producers), it felt like a mistake, and we felt like hiding it. It was normal – many movies start with the longer version. So, If the story works, it will work even after you manipulate it, as long as you manipulate it well.”
Tornatore recalled, “In my village, there was a projectionist working in the church, and the priest would watch the film himself first (to cut out the kissing scenes). The legend in my village was that a young altar boy watched Those scenes, but no one else saw the kiss (because they were cut from the film).” There’s an entire scene in the film where a priest is censoring films, and in another scene, an audience member yells, “I haven’t seen a kiss in 12 years, and we never will.”
He said, “My first job was as a photographer. My master was both a photographer and a projectionist, and he gave me the opportunity to learn. I was 10 years old when I started. When he walked around I It is necessary to take photographs of the village and observe the activities of the people – even if you are shooting a fictional film, you need to know the behavior of the people.”
Cinema Paradiso was a hit at the 1989 Cannes International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize. It also won the Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film.
