Director Guiseppe Tornatore's award-winning film focuses on the effect that cinema had on the inhabitants of a small Sicilian village during World War Two. After receiving news of the death of an old friend, director Salvatore Di Vita (Jacques Perrin) returns to his home village after spending 30 years away. In flashback, Salvatore (Salvatore Cascio/Marco Leonardi) recalls his fatherless childhood, his fascination with the films he saw at the local cinema and his adventures with Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), the cinema's projectionist.