A Night at the Silent Movie Theater (2012)

Handbook of Movie Theaters' History

Handbook of Movie Theaters' History is a documentary about the history, the development in the present days and the future of movie theaters in the city of Turin, Italy. It mixes the documentary language with comedy and fiction, and is enriched by interviews to some of the most important voices of Turin cinematography. The film follows the evolution of movie theaters by enlightening its main milestones: the pre-cinema experiences in the late 19th Century, the colossals and the movie cathedrals of the silent era, the arthouse theaters, the National Museum of Cinema, the Torino Film Festival, the movie theaters system today and the main hypothesis about its future. The mission of Handbook of Movie Theaters' History is to explore and give back to the audience a deep reflection about the identity and the value of movie theater, in its social and anthropological role and as a mass media, and to analyze the experience of the viewer.

Fallen Leaves

In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

Notting Hill

London bookstore owner William Thacker's quiet life turns upside down when a chance encounter with famous actress Anna Scott sparks an unlikely romance challenged by their vastly different worlds.

Goodbye, Dragon Inn

On a dark and rainy night, a historic and regal Taipei cinema sees its final film: 1967 martial arts feature "Dragon Inn".

The Parson's Widow

A young man is elected by a small village to be its parson. As part of his duties, he is required to marry the widow of the parson before him. This poses two problems--first, the widow is old enough to be his grandmother, and second, he is already engaged to another woman.

Cat Person

When Margot, a college sophomore, goes on a date with the older Robert, she finds that IRL Robert doesn’t live up to the Robert she has been flirting with over texts.

Shortcomings

When his girlfriend leaves for New York City on a 3-month-long internship, a strongly opinionated Berkeley arthouse movie theater manager begins exploring life as a bachelor.

The Last Drive-In Theater

When returning to his hometown with his ill mother, Marlombrando meets again his father and the Drive-in cinema where he spent his childhood. Almeida keeps the cinema functioning with the assistance of only two employees: Paula, who takes care of the projection and the snack bar; Jose, an old friend of Almeida, who helps selling tickets at the cashier and cleaning up the place. The arrival of Marlombrando and the demolition threatening of the Drive-in will bring new directions to their lives.

In Person

Carol Corliss, a beautiful movie star so insecure about her celebrity that she goes around in disguise, meets a rugged outdoorsman who is unaffected by her star status.

Freaky Tales

In 1987 Oakland, a mysterious force guides The Town's underdogs in four interconnected tales: teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads, a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality, a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption, and an NBA All-Star settles the score.

Borodino

An experimental sitcom, shot in the style of silent films of the early twentieth century. A parody of military-patriotic films. The plot of the film is the battle of the Russian army with Napoleon in 1812.

Blood Theatre

Three young movie theater employees are given the task of re-opening a long-closed, old-time theater at which, many years before, a shocking series of grisly murders took place. It seems many more murders have occurred since then but all of this remains unknown to these three young upstart employees hoping to finally make it big on their own. As they approach the grand re-opening night, things keep getting stranger and more unsettling with items suddenly starting to move around by themselves without any seen aid and a terrifying old man seemingly haunting the premises.

Hare Do

Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny all the way from the woods to a local movie theater, where cinema-related hijinks ensue.

I Am Your Punishment

An avid moviegoer sees several films depicting grisly murderers and decides to commit a crime himself, only to discover that there's quite a difference between fantasy and reality.

As Long as You've Got Your Health

An anthology film consisting of four stories. (1) A man reads a Dracula novel while in bed, but cannot seem to tell the novel from reality, causing sleep troubles. (2) A man cannot escape the absurd ads he saw at the movie theater that day. (3) A polluted and construction-ridden town keeps everybody on edge, sending one man to the doctor. (4) A hunter, a farmer and a couple on a picnic unknowingly cause continuous trouble for one another.

The 4:30 Movie

In the summer of 1986, three sixteen year old friends spend their Saturdays sneaking into movies at the local multiplex. But when one of the guys also invites the girl of his dreams to see the latest comedy, each of the teens learn more about life and love.

At the Drive-In

Unable to purchase a $50,000 digital projector, a group of film fanatics in rural Pennsylvania fight to keep a dying drive-in theater alive by screening only vintage 35mm film prints and working entirely for free.

Coming Up Roses

An award-winning comedy set in a depressed town in the South Wales Valleys. When the local cinema is closed down, the former projectionist, plagued by money problems, devises an ingenious plan to make money.

The Day Tomé Was Shot

A man is robbed and creates a plan to get his money back from the robber.

The Regulars

Set in London's iconic Prince Charles Cinema, The Regulars follows a day in the life of its hapless employees. During their shift they watch movies, argue with customers, and, above all, deal with each other.

Work

In this follow up to the mockumentary Finals, we see high school senior Matthew Reese filming himself working a boring shift at the local movie theater, Phoenix Theater on the first day of winter break.

100 Reais

Plot unavailable

The Mystery of Puerta del Sol

Pompeyo and Rodolfo work in a newspaper, but they dream of becoming film actors, so they go to a casting for an American film that will be shot in Madrid for a few days; but things will not turn out as they expect…

No No, Homo

Alone at a matinee together, with a big, mouthwatering bucket of popcorn.

Masterclass

Plot unavailable

Candela

An insoluble quest.

Labyrinth of Cinema

When lightning strikes a theater about to close its doors, three moviegoers are thrust back in time to the world inside the screen.

Midnight Movie

At a seedy theater in a sleepy suburban town, a group of friends get together for a midnight screening of an early 1970s horror film, unaware that the director has something more in store for them.

Coming Soon

Two projectionists discover a disturbing film featuring the lynching of a woman. Not only are they troubled by the content of the movie, but strange events befall them following the viewing.

Empire of Light

The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.

Cinema Paradiso

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

The Tingler

A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.

Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre

Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson and other film luminaries look back at LA's historic Egyptian Theatre as it returns to its former movie palace glory.

BAUS: The Ship's Voyage Continues

Plot unavailable

Scala!!!

This feature-length big screen documentary tells the riotous inside story of the infamous sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll repertory cinema which inspired a generation during Britain's turbulent Thatcher years.

Hot Ticket

Short film written, directed, and starring Zoë at the Rotterdam Film Festival.

I Saw the TV Glow

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate Maddy introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

Ghosts Behind the Screen

In the excitement of the roaring 20s, a new kind of movie palace was constructed by the Bay. More than 90 years later, Tampa Theatre has become known as one of the most haunted buildings in the city, This Documentary uncovers the rich history and explores the unexplained events with a Team of Historians, Ghost Hunters and Staff.

Man of a Thousand Faces

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

Nana

Count Moffat becomes infatuated with Nana, a presumptuous stage actress, vulgar, hypocritical and promiscuous, willing to do anything to succeed.

Cigarette Burns

With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.

Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis

In 1984, Academy Award winning composer Giorgio Moroder introduced Fritz Lang’s science fiction epic Metropolis to a new generation of filmgoers. Working in collaboration with film archivists globally, Moroder supervised a special reconstruction, with color tinting, fewer intertitles and newly restored footage. A pioneer in the field of digital music, Moroder backed this special edition with a throbbing new score, punctuated with pop songs from some of the biggest stars of the early MTV era: Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Adam Ant, Bonnie Tyler, Loverboy and others.

Sala Escura

A movie preview session for just nine spectators takes place in a large city hall. The movie starts playing and everyone gets ready to enjoy the entertainment, but the screen goes dark. After an initial confusion, an image appears of a girl being coldly tortured by a man dressed as Bate Bola, the carnival clown. The spectators are confused and worried. Then they discover that they are trapped inside the movie theater. From then on, they are tortured and killed. Will there be a survivor?

Italia: Fire and Ashes

The epic and poetic tale of the early years of Italian cinema, from 1896 to 1930: how peplum was born, how the first stars shone, how many daring filmmakers were able to create an original style amalgamating literature, theater, painting and opera; a tale of splendor and decadence.

AHAM

Aham is a Sanskrit term which means "self" or "I." Aham Brahmasmi is a popular saying used in the Upanishads, the ancient philosophical texts of Hinduism. With Brahmasmi referring to Brahman, or the Absolute Reality. We focused on the self. We chose not to have any dialogues. Silence offers opportunities for self-reflection and daydreaming, which activates multiple parts of the brain. It gives us time to turn down the inner noise and increase awareness of what matters most. And it cultivates mindfulness — recognition and appreciation of the present moment. The ability to focus on different tasks is often accompanied by a little background noise, the BGM will guide you through the film.