On the day of the screening, the place was packed.
Everyone in the village, men and women, young and old, had turned out. Those who arrived late couldn't find a spot and had to stand on their tiptoes at the very back to watch. People were perched everywhere—in trees, on top of firewood stacks.
The screening location itself was quite informal.
Usually, they would just pick an open space, tie the movie "screen"—a sheet of cloth—between two trees or hang it on a wall. As soon as it got dark, they'd turn on the light, and just like that, the show would begin.
No matter how rowdy the crowd was, the moment the movie started, it would fall completely silent.
Every member of the audience held their breath, craning their necks as they stared, hungry for the bizarre and fantastic world they had never seen before.
Later, as the standard of living in the countryside improved, every household got a television and broadband internet, and open-air movies became a thing of the past.
