Photo : Simon Edelstein
Close-up Festival: The Mortal Beauty of Cinemas / Indian Travellings exhibition
Simon Edelstein is a photographer who has been traveling the world since 2006 in search of old cinemas. Some 150,000 images bear witness to this insatiable and loving quest, between delight and nostalgia.
Médiathèque Marguerite Duras (Paris 20th)
About
The Mortal Beauty of Cinemas
Simon Edelstein's photographs conjure a loss: ruin or disfigurement. They proceed singularly from what Roland Barthes identified as the essence of all photography: that-has-been. That already is no more, as many of these abandoned cinemas have disappeared. Or is different, often for the worse—so many cinemas disfigured and reduced to other uses—sometimes for the better—saved and restored.
If the photographs thus seem to confront us, it is because cinemas are intense places of humanity. They are as many faces of the world, smiling or pallid, decomposed or made up.
One by one, their tragic beauty stirs our desires for cinema(s).
Indian Travellings 2006 - 2025
India occupies a preeminent place in the photographer's peregrinations, who holds a particular affection for this inexhaustible continent, its cinematography and its architecture, both so singular, but perhaps even more so for the frenetic, exuberant, and festive desire for cinema that stirs this kaleidoscope country.
Some thousand cinemas have thus fed this passionate en-quiry pursued by Simon Edelstein through a dozen Indian states.
Yet, here too, large movie theaters are now closing one after the other, leaving behind their gutted seats, extinguished projectors, and the memories of a popular cinema so lively, vibrant. Faded facades, squeaky ticket booths, spectators drowsing in the heat...
The photographs gathered here unfold their rushed sequences. Like a final screening, before extinction.
Opening in the presence of photographer Simon Edelstein on Thursday, November 19 at 6:30 PM.
This exhibition was designed and produced by the Plaza Foundation in Geneva, as part of the Close-up festival
Simon Edelstein
Director of several feature films and about a hundred documentaries, Simon Edelstein has also been a director of photography, notably for Michel Soutter's films.
; Credits : © Simon EdelsteinOur take on this event
Behind every decaying marquee and velvet seat lies a fragment of cinematic history waiting to be remembered. Explore these hauntingly beautiful photographs that capture the silent, fading echoes of movie houses across the world, from local ruins to the exuberant halls of India.
As part of the Close-up festival, the Médiathèque Marguerite Duras presents a photographic exhibition by Simon Edelstein running until January 2, 2027. This dual series, titled La beauté mortelle des cinémas and Indian Travellings, explores the architectural fate and cultural legacy of movie theaters across the globe. The exhibition is free to the public and fully accessible to wheelchair users and visually impaired visitors. A special opening event featuring the artist will take place on Thursday, November 19 at 18:30.
The Close-up festival comes to the 20th arrondissement with a compelling photography exhibition curated by the Fondation Plaza. Simon Edelstein offers a visual investigation into the decline and transformation of movie houses. Through these photographs, viewers are invited to witness the fading facades, silent projectors, and evolving spaces that once served as the heart of local communities.
The exhibition features two distinct projects. Indian Travellings documents the photographer's passion for India's vibrant cinema culture, captured during his travels between 2006 and 2025 across a dozen states. Simultaneously, the series on the mortality of cinemas reflects on the universal loss of these social hubs, whether they have been restored, repurposed, or left to decay.
Located at the Médiathèque Marguerite Duras, the exhibition is open to all visitors free of charge. The venue is equipped to accommodate wheelchair users as well as blind or visually impaired guests. Please note that an opening reception with the photographer, Simon Edelstein, is scheduled for Thursday, November 19 at 18:30. The exhibition remains open until January 2, 2027.
