EXCLUSIVE: Indian and Italian cinema are rooted in realism, says ‘Cinema Paradiso’ director Giuseppe Tornatore

Giuseppe Tornatore in Mumbai (inset), a still from his Oscar-winning film Cinema Paradiso

“I don’t like my daughter watching movies on her phone. But I would prefer her watching the movie on her phone instead of not watching the movie at all. People need movies. Movies never die” – Giuseppe Tornatore

You don’t merely grow up watching the movies but living vicariously through them. Legendary Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore’s

Oscar-winning film

‘

Cinema Paradiso

’ (1988) exuded this sentiment, working as the most heartening love letter to cinema.

The coming-of-age dramedy as seen through the eyes of a young boy Toto and his heartwarming friendship with an ageing projectionist Alfredo, reflects upon cinema not only shaping but defining our life journey – childhood, friendship, nostalgia, first love, loss and longing. It was thus fitting for Tornatore in his maiden visit to India, an initiative of filmmaker, archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s ‘

Film Heritage Foundation

’ to felicitate the movie industry’s unsung heroes – the

projectionists

. The three-day festival, which culminates today, showcased

restored Italian classics

. In an exclusive chat, Tornatore, accompanied by Dungarpur, shared his thoughts about India, Indian cinema, the longevity of his iconic movie and more. Excerpts…

You made Cinema Paradiso 36 years ago, and it’s a film that continues to be watched and discussed among movie lovers. What would you attribute its longevity to?
You are too generous. It’s a big mystery to me that 40 years after its making, it continues to be so popular and close to the people in every country. I introduced it as the opening film of the festival here. People of every age call me, write to me about this movie even today. Yes, the movie is autobiographical in some parts. But not all autobiographical movies receive this kind of love, affection. It probably worked because the movie theatre is a space where generations of people grow up and see their lives unfold. Probably there was a certain honesty to it that touched people’s hearts.

Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, another Italian great, was in the city last year and he told us that India and Italy are similar in many ways. What do you think?

I agree with him. Yesterday I was walking down the street in the city with the crowd, and I immediately felt some familiarity. I asked myself why I felt this connection with this place, these people.Life in the streets of Mumbai, the pace, vibe here reminded me of the first big town I knew of back home when I was young — Palermo in Sicily. Until six years ago, Palermo was the same… the sound, chaos, screaming, shops, street food, colours, fruit sellers. It was a very strong experience yesterday and I hope to spend some more time here before I leave.

You have been fascinated with film projectionists since your early years and were one yourself, so would you say it was apt that during your first visit to India, you felicitated the unsung heroes of our cinema here- the projectionists?
I’ll confess a secret to you. Initially, I thought movies were made in the cinema projection room. The concept of screening was not known to me. I started to go to a movie theatre like this (points to Mumbai’s Regal Cinema) when I was six. I didn’t understand how it was possible that the characters that looked so huge on the big screen managed to get there from the small window of the theatre at the back. For a long time, I believed that the shadow of this man (the projectionist) was the maker of the movie. I thought movies were made in the projection room. When I had the opportunity to check out that room, the projectionist seemed like a legend to me. I figured the movies were not made there, but the idea that I had of it before decoding the real situation stayed with me. I met other projectionists and became one when I was nine. That was my world. So, I’m very happy to have felicitated the projectionists here because it felt like I gave an award to all the projectionists that I met when I was young.

Are you familiar with Indian cinema?
I feel what binds Indian and Italian cinema is realism. There’s a lot of fantasy in both, but the soul and origin of this poetic cinematography in both cinemas are realistic. Satyajit Ray was the first big director I knew of when I was young. About a year ago I watched a movie, (Pan Nalin’s) ‘Last Film Show’, which I believe was inspired by Cinema Paradiso. The film was India’s official Oscar entry, (didn’t win a nomination) so it was a big honour for him and for me. I have also watched some clips of commercial Bollywood movies, and I am curious about this world. Shivendra (Dungarpur) has promised me that he will take me to the shoot of these big Bollywood movies someday. I am pleasantly shocked by the number of movies India produces each year. The Indian film industry is one of the largest in the world. A country where around 2,000 movies are produced every year is a paradise for me.

In a constantly evolving digital world, how important is film preservation and restoration?
Tornatore: People connect with each other through movies. Even politically, they are important because art transcends borders. Movies are not restricted by any language anymore. Shivendra and people like him are working to preserve and restore big movies that are part of the history of humanity. Be it the work of Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, John Huston, or Alfred Hitchcock, to name a few. In the future, if people will have the opportunity to see these iconic movies, it’s thanks to Shivendra and all the people who work for this cause. They are important. They give eternal life to movies.

Shivendra: It’s an unbelievable feeling to have him here, because to me, his film (Cinema Paradiso) embodies our collective love for cinema. His film represented all that I went through as a child. I was the Toto of his film. I continue to be Toto because my life is about showing films. We show films to people for free. It is probably the most emotional moment for me. That not only he’s come here as a director, as an artist, but somebody who’s kept cinema alive. And the fact that he started his career as a projectionist. He was a photographer, then he became a projectionist, and he honoured our projectionists. It’s the most beautiful thing to have happened to cinema.
The Film Heritage Foundation is doing some great work to restore classics, but looking at the advent of technology and OTT platforms, do you fear that the longevity of theatres will be affected?
Shivendra: From my point of view, we’ve kept cinema alive. Going by the number of people who have come for us (at this festival), it shows that basically, classic films are back. Today, look at the number of classics being re-released in multiplexes. All that has happened because of Film Heritage Foundation’s initiative to bring back classics into theatres. Also, the fact that we are keeping single screens alive is great. Over 1800 people registered for this Italian festival. These films are available online, yet people thronged to the theatres for that experience.
Tornartore: People watch more movies today than they did 50 years ago. Thanks to the technology that gives you the opportunity to watch movies wherever you want and whenever you want. Okay. I don’t like my daughter watching movies on her phone. But I would prefer her watching the movie on her phone instead of not watching the movie at all. People need movies. Movies never die. Maybe the traditional movie business is anachronistic, but that will change and they will find a new way to go ahead because today, the financing of a movie is crazy complicated. When the technology of movies change, we can produce movies in a simpler way than the past. But one thing I am sure of. In this world, people will always have the necessity to watch movies. So we have to make movies. Even if we don’t want to, we’ll have to make movies. (laughs).