Synopsis
USA, 2016; 96 min.
Once every year, traveling projectionists bring the magic of the movies to faraway villages all over India. But as their caravans and film projectors begin to fall apart and their film reels become scarce, their once faithful audiences are lured away by slick new digital technology. Filmed over five years, this lyrical, humorous and cinematic journey follows a shrewd exhibitor, a benevolent showman and a maverick mechanic who are all struggling to keep their fading tradition alive. Winner of the Best Documentary prize at the Cannes Film Festival, The Cinema Travelers is a lush and memorable real-life Cinema Paradiso—“evocative, subtle and heartfelt” (The Guardian) and a “spellbinding” “masterpiece” (Huffington Post) about the “the way in which a cherished, antiquated yesterday is buried by a new, hopefully brighter tomorrow” (Variety).