Carlos Costa would never forget the summer day his grandmother took him to the movies. He was 6 years old when he first walked into a dark theater to watch "O Trapalhao nas Minas do Rei Salomao,” a 1977 Brazilian comedy that remains one of the country’s biggest box office hits.
"When I saw that giant screen, wow, I was mesmerized. I thought: someday I’ll have a movie theater of my own,” he said. "Fifty years later, that dream has come true.”
In 2022, Costa opened Cine LT3, a 35-seat cinema in Sao Paulo. Using his savings and credit card, he spent about 100,000 reais ($18,600) to renovate an old garage, buy vintage wooden seats - which he found in an old shuttered theater in the countryside - and transform the space into a movie theater.
The screening room now occupies what was once a studio - a space behind the garage of his small company that was left idle during the pandemic. Costa, who worked as a TV producer, opened the studios in 2012 and rents them out for screening tests and commercials. Where cars once stood, there are now tables and chairs where moviegoers can wait for their sessions, along with a small counter where he sells popcorn, snacks, soft drinks and wine.
There’s also a small box office where Costa sells tickets to walk-ins. To buy in advance, customers must send him a WhatsApp message to reserve directly.
"The movie theater is just me. I project the films, make the popcorn, sell the tickets, everything. For economic reasons, I can’t afford an employee,” Costa said. "But I also think that’s part of the charm. I know the regulars by name and that’s what makes this place different.”
Cine LT3 has established itself as a small haven for film lovers, slowly building a loyal neighborhood community and drawing movie buffs with programming that stands apart from the city’s multiplexes.
Costa's independent cinema is also part of a resistance of venues surviving outside the mall circuit. According to 2024 official data, there were only 423 screening rooms in small theaters like LT3 across the country. In contrast, nearly 90% of Brazil’s 3,542 cinema screens operate inside shopping malls.
Some of the country's most traditional stand-alone cinemas now rely on corporate sponsorships to stay open. Many others have shut down and been demolished. In Sao Paulo, where the buildings remain, the former screening rooms have often been repurposed into evangelical churches or adult movie theaters.
Even the venues that survived have faced the threat of closure in recent years. When that happens, local movie lovers often organize protests - and in some cases, they succeed. That was the case with Cine Belas Artes, located on one of the city’s most iconic corners, at the intersection of Avenida Paulista.
Maria Amelia Marcos, a 71-year-old teacher, was visiting LT3 for the first time on Thursday, though she often goes to other independent theaters around Sao Paulo. She believes these venues are essential to preserving the city’s cultural memory.
"Independent theaters are very important because they have a completely different appeal," she said. The film selection is fantastic. I imagine the curators are very thoughtful people who want audiences to see the kind of movies they themselves would love to watch.”
Costa curates the lineup himself, focusing on art-house titles from Brazil and abroad. When The Associated Press (AP) visited the theater on Thursday, the schedule included a restored screening of "Paris, Texas,” part of a citywide retrospective marking the 80th birthday of German director Wim Wenders.
Maida Alves, 63, a regular at LT3, had just left a screening of "Paris, Texas” when she spoke with the AP. For her, the venue holds deep emotional value. Having witnessed collective spaces emptying out during the pandemic, she sees the theater as a rare and essential common ground.
"I think Costa does a really great job,” she said. "I see him selling tickets, making popcorn, cleaning, running the film, answering the phone. That fascinates me. It shows how you have to take initiative to pursue a dream, which I imagine is his life’s dream."
Costa often hears people question his decisions, especially from a financial perspective. While he admits the work is challenging, he is happy doing what he loves. And he loves cinema, just like Toto, the protagonist of his favorite movie, "Cinema Paradiso,” whom he paid tribute to with a painting on the wall outside LT3.
The character bonds with a local cinema projectionist and, through that relationship, develops a lifelong devotion to movies. Costa said he sees his own life in Toto’s story and believes movies have the power to transform people.
"No one leaves a movie theater the same way they entered,” he said. Watching people come and go from his theater every day for the past three years, he says he has learned more about human nature.
"For example, I screen a film and some people leave crying while others don’t understand it at all. I can see the diversity of human beings,” he said. "What affects one person emotionally doesn’t have the same effect on another. I learn something new every day.”
