Cinema Paradiso Synopsis - Cinema Paradiso is set in a small Sicilian village and centres around a famous film director who returns home for the first time in 30 years when someone he knows has passed away. Going back to the village he reminisces about his childhood spent at the cinema where he befriended the projectionist Alfredo, who helped him fall in love with movies that would eventually take him away from his village. But he is also reminded of Elena, his first love, whom he left behind.