The Return of the Projectionist – Films

Le Retour du projectionniste

Orkhan Aghazadeh
France, Germany | 2024 | 87 min
World premiere
Languages : Azerbaijani, Talysh
Subtitles : English, French

There may be a 50-year age gap between Samid and Ayaz, but they share a passion for film. Both are brimming with ideas to revive the cinema in their village nestled in the hills of Azerbaijan. Once the long-awaited Holy Grail – a projector bulb – arrives after many months, the cinema is packed out with locals... But will the magic work?

Legal age: 12 years, suggested age: 14 years

Since losing his son in an occupational accident, Samid has been struggling with feelings of loneliness and melancholy. Bringing his village cinema back to life becomes an obsession, an endeavour in which he has no trouble encouraging the young and brilliant Ayaz to join him. Together, they must climb hills to find signal and order a bulb, convince the village to build and sew a screen, weld old video recorders, get past the censorship committee and ignore the rumours surrounding the project, all while trying not to become disheartened. Samid passes on his craft, patience and knowledge as a projectionist, while Ayaz, a budding filmmaker, provides a link with the modern world, that of social networks and a different relationship to images. One is progressing through his life, the other through his grief. This charming story moves with the seasons, reminding us that here, as in Sym, this small Azeri village, cinema – resilient, collective, and magical – is truly a part of history.

Anne Delseth

The Return of the Projectionist, 2024
The Womb, 2021
The Chairs, 2018
Letter to Lenin, 2009