It all started in the forties. The Astoria cinema had to be opened, in via Rossini, in Selargius , near the tower in the square. A licensed operator was needed, in short, one in charge of the projections but also of the purchase of the films. A man with a "licence" and trust. Giuseppe Cabras , then 20 years old, now 95 years old , had obtained this license after doing the military, passing a not easy exam with a jury also made up of a firefighter, given that the films , at the time, were at high risk of fire . The five showed up for the appointment with the owners. The choice fell on Giuseppe Cabras. They certainly didn't regret it. He not only screened the films but also went by bike to Cagliari to buy them and also to pay. Salary 28,000 lire per month .
«I did it for 16 years – says Cabras with pride -. Back then the cinemas were full especially on holidays. I projected from 2pm to 1am the next day. I also chose the films: I bought them on behalf of the owners of the cinema, the Rundeddu brothers , owners of a large carpentry shop. I moved around with a bike with a cabinet specifically intended for film storage . And by bike I also went to the bank to pay the proceeds. During the screening I also happened to move to another cinema venue, in Quartucciu, a few hundred meters away. It happened in emergencies. I was always ready with the bicycle, my only means of locomotion. I slept at the cinema in a cot. I rarely came home. Selargius was then connected to Settimo by a dirt road. The most frequent failures? Film break. In a moment I was doing the repair using acetone. The projection resumed almost immediately, limiting as much as possible the inconvenience and sometimes even the noise of the spectators. This also happened. Good times".
«A tiring but rewarding job – says the operator of Settimo San Pietro today -. We happened to have even 1200 paying spectators in one day: The ? the one with Charlot, Gary Cooper, Anna Magnani, Gina Lollobrigida. There was no talk of porn then. I identified with the story of the film "Paradise" by Tornatore. The public? Whole families frequented them, boys, sweethearts: in short, everyone. At the time there was no TV and the Cagliari cinemas were far away». . He runs a bar on what was then Via Nuova in Settimo and then builds it in the suburbs: a challenge, given that there was still cultivated land there at the time. Today it is via San Salvatore. The , owned by Efisio Deiana, managed it until 1994, before moving to via San Salvatore where he built and opened the sports bar, today Gil bar, managed by his daughter Paola.
