Shadows of light
Director Paolo Pochettino, Simonetta Cappello
Countries Italy
Duration 70 min
Synopsis
This is a journey into the world of cinema theatres, a tribute to the film and to the analogue, mechanical projection. Projectionists, cashiers, managers and technicians relate their work experiences. From the time of regularly sold-out shows in the 50s and 60s, to the audience crises in the 80s and in the past decade; from the time of entire lifes spent in projection rooms with carbon arc projectors, to the digital revolution. These stories are set against the backdrop of Turin, one of the first cities in Italy where the Lumiere's Cinématographe was demonstrated to the public in 1896. The film focusses on the stories, the personal motivations, the specificity of the professions that every day guarantee the projection of the films on the screen. Through interviews both with people who work in cinema theatres today and with people who worked there in the past, the film shows how the nature of this work has changed over time, and how it will continue to change with the arrival of the digital projection. The film is also a testimony for the new generations, who grew up with movies on DVD or downloaded from the internet, an invitation to reflect on the meaning of sharing a film in the dark of a cinema theatre, to appreciate the role that film has played, its fascination and its history.
This is a journey into the world of cinema theatres, a tribute to the film and to the analogue, mechanical projection. Projectionists, cashiers, managers and technicians relate their work experiences. From the time of regularly sold-out shows in the 50s and 60s, to the audience crises in the 80s and in the past decade; from the time of entire lifes spent in projection rooms with carbon arc projectors, to the digital revolution. These stories are set against the backdrop of Turin, one of the first cities in Italy where the Lumiere's Cinématographe was demonstrated to the public in 1896. The film focusses on the stories, the personal motivations, the specificity of the professions that every day guarantee the projection of the films on the screen. Through interviews both with people who work in cinema theatres today and with people who worked there in the past, the film shows how the nature of this work has changed over time, and how it will continue to change with the arrival of the digital projection. The film is also a testimony for the new generations, who grew up with movies on DVD or downloaded from the internet, an invitation to reflect on the meaning of sharing a film in the dark of a cinema theatre, to appreciate the role that film has played, its fascination and its history.