Once Upon a Time in a Cinema Is for Movie People

By The Backlot

@backlotfriends

A cinema audience smiles and laughs together in the warm glow of a projector light, a mix of ages watching something on screen in a period theater.

David Gleeson's father worked in the Irish cinema business for 78 years. That might be the longest career in cinema in Ireland, if not the world.

So Gleeson made a film about it.

Once Upon a Time in a Cinema is set in a small Irish town in 1984, told in real time over a single Friday 8PM showing of Breathless. The cinema owner is dealing with burst pipes, a drunk projectionist, rodents, and the real threat of VHS replacing everything he has built.

It premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival in February. It opens in US theaters July 31.

This is the one for people who love movies about loving movies. If that is you, put Cinema Paradiso on your list too.

Quick Facts

Once Upon a Time in a Cinema Is for Movie People

DirectorDavid Gleeson

CastColin Morgan, Calam Lynch, Clara Crichton, India Mullen, Niamh Cusack

GenreDrama

Release2026-07-31

Runtime92 min

Rated8.0/10

Instagram caption

David Gleeson's father worked in the Irish cinema business for 78 years. He made a film about it. Once Upon a Time in a Cinema opens in US theaters July 31. #Cinema #Backlot

X caption

David Gleeson's dad worked in cinema for 78 years. He made a film about it. Once Upon a Time in a Cinema opens July 31. #Cinema #Backlot