They say the magic of film happens on the big screen, but the Italian filmmaker giuseppe tornatore Reminded us that there is an equal surprise behind the rectangular hole of the projection room in his 1988 film ‘Cinema Paradiso‘On the bittersweet memories of old film houses and the friendship between a boy and a projectionist. So, who better to honor these unsung heroes of cinema than an Oscar-winning director who was once a projectionist himself? A rainy Friday morning in Mumbai, before the awards were presented to two Indian launchmen. Film Heritage Foundation(FHF) festival, ‘Cinema Italian Style-Celebrating Tornatore and the Masters of Italian Cinema’, the 68-year-old director talks times of India About the enduring legacy of Cinema Paradiso, the urgent need to preserve old theaters, and his unexpected enthusiasm for AI.
Welcome to Mumbai! This is your first time in India, any first impressions?
Yes, this is my first time in India, thanks to Shivendra (Founder of Dungarpur, FHF) and the Film Heritage Foundation programme. I arrived two days early and had some time to explore. The city has a familiar atmosphere – some of the streets and people remind me of Palermo when I was very young, about five or six years old. The crowd, the attitude—they’re very polite and open. I have taken many pictures. The only thing I don’t like is the sound of the klaxon (Italian for car horn), pom-pom, pom-pom! (laughing)
This is a common complaint from first-time visitors!
It’s a short trip, but I’m very happy to be here. I have been getting invitations to India for years but never got the chance till now. I’m fascinated by the culture and the people—not just from a tourist perspective.
Are there any Indian filmmakers or films that you admire?
Tornatore: The last Indian film I saw a year ago was Pan Nalin’s ‘The Last Film Show’ (Chello Show), which was inspired by Cinema Paradiso and represented India at the Academy Awards. I really liked it. However, for me, the most important filmmaker of India is Satyajit RayIn many of his films, I sensed an original point of view—an authenticity about his world. Some aspects remind me of our Italian neorealism. I like that kind of cinema. But I am not familiar with new Indian films. I have never seen any Bollywood movie. I would like to, but in Italy, we don’t have any distributors who would bring those films to us. We hear about them with great curiosity. I’ve been told that a lot of people here know some of my films – it’s a privilege and a huge honour.
It is extraordinary that Cinema Paradiso is still celebrated 36 years after it initially struggled at the box office before becoming a worldwide hit. Why do you think it still resonates with people?
This is a mystery. I don’t know why this slowly made film is liked so much even after 36 years. Perhaps this is a shared experience across generations of cinema-goers – something universal. The story is simple, about the end of a small village cinema. Perhaps it touched the emotions of everyone who loves cinema. There is no other explanation. It’s a normal film, nothing special, yet people like it. Nearly 40 years later, I’m still busy presenting it in interviews and at big events – even more so than when it first came out. (laughs) This is very unusual!
Do you discover something new about the film every time you screen it for a new audience?
Yes, that’s why I say it’s a mystery. Some people tell me they watched ‘Cinema Paradiso’ again and cried – even their kids love it. The younger generation has an immediate, strong emotional connection with film. This is one of those mysteries that only movies can give us.
Cinema Paradiso was inspired by your days as a projectionist and the closure of a beloved theater in your village. India’s lavish single-screen movie houses are hanging on by a thread. Any thoughts on preserving these places? Does he still have a place in modern cinema?
First of all, I have to say that I envy your country because you still have many movie theaters. In Italy and most of Europe, theaters are not as numerous as they were 20 years ago. It is important to preserve these special places. The biggest mistake theater owners made was that they built a cinema and then forgot about it for years, not keeping up with modern comforts and technology. That’s why people love their plasma screens and surround sound at home. This is a big issue in Europe also. Theaters with uncomfortable seats or poor lighting are forgotten. But when people enter a beautiful, well-maintained cinema, they come back. In Rome, there are not many theaters left, but the few that are well-kept put on very good performances. Take Gian Luca Farinelli who has renovated a historic theater (Modernissimo Cinema) in Bologna. Today, when technology is changing so rapidly, you have to provide the best quality to keep people coming back.
In Cinema Paradiso, you beautifully portrayed how these cinema houses were not just about watching a movie, but about community and a much-needed escape.
yes of course. When I created Cinema Paradiso, Italy was facing a crisis of movie theaters. Many were closing every day. I had been living in Rome for many years, but when I returned to my village to meet my family, I saw that all the theaters were closed. It was a shock, really painful for me. In my childhood, there were seven cinema halls in my village, but when I turned 25, none were left. I wanted to capture it, show the world what life was like in cinema, especially at a time when people were beginning to forget that experience. The emotional drive behind Cinema Paradiso was a deep nostalgia for that world – the energy of theaters, with kids screaming, people laughing, everyone knowing each other. In a village, you know everyone, and to have 200, 300 people in a room, all watching the same story – it’s a special feeling. That energy is slowly disappearing, and I wanted to preserve it.
The feeling of nostalgia in your films is very deep. What is the piece of the past that you most cherish today?
Many young people don’t know what life is like in a cinema. Many of them do not even go to the cinema. Of course, they love movies, but most often they watch them at home or on their phones. They don’t have that communal experience. It is important to show them what they are missing. But this is not a new phenomenon. When I shot Cinema Paradiso, there were no cinema halls left in the village where we filmed. The young boy playing the lead role did not know what a movie theater was. While we were building the set, he and his friends were curious and asking, “What is this?” One Sunday, I organized a free screening of ET for the village children, but no one came. When I asked the boy why, he said, “We’ve already seen it on television.” So this decline in cinema attendance has been happening for a long time. We need to stop losing this experience from our culture. We need to educate young people to participate in this special way of seeing stories, in that silent communication that only happens with others in a movie theater.
Any modern storytelling techniques in cinema today that you would like to try?
artificial intelligence! A few months ago, he conducted an experiment in which he described a scene in just three lines – a young girl walking in Tokyo, her attitude, the way she looked around – and the computer, using AI, without Made a shot of some filming. Incredible.
So, do you see promise in AI?
Yes! In the future, I may not need a producer or a crew. I can write a story and make a film without wasting any budget or time. Making films has always been difficult and time consuming. It’s not easy to spend years finding people who love the project as much as you do. The idea of making a film without those constraints sounds amazing!
However, some people find it dangerous.
I know I know. This technology is both amazing and dangerous. But making movies has always been difficult, so the prospect of making a movie without any constraints is exciting. Another thing I like is experimenting with virtual reality, this immersive experience. A few months ago in San Francisco, I tried a VR headset and it was incredible – a new way to tell stories through images. So when people ask me if cinema is dying, I tell them, no, we’re not at the end of movies, we’re at the beginning. Entering a world of infinite possibilities for developing the language of cinema. Cinema will never die.
