More than any other time in my life, as long as I can remember, last year seemed to be the time I was drawn to filmgoing experience the most.

I can’t explain why. Perhaps it was the constant worry on the dearth of cinema during our ‘cinema-blackout’ period, which I had repeatedly written, the latest being my kaleidoscopic article here.

But beyond the unfortunate incident, somehow it has always been “planted” in me that the best medium to watch film is in cinema.
There is something magical about sitting in a darkened hall, waiting for flickering lights to turn into escapism world of images and words, where we surrender ourselves and reality surround us for a good two hour or so.

If you find those words familiar, that’s because most of the entries in the blog revolve around the topic. In fact, my life does, too. Or so I made it to be.

When I spent my year-end holiday in my hometown, I watched Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in nearby cinema. It was a full-house session, despite no advanced sound system. Yet, the packed crowd shrieked and clenched their fists on their seats altogether when Tom Cruise climbed Burj Khalifa, holding their breaths anticipating the suspense and the thrill of that scene. As I sat on top rows, I could see clearly the collective movement, and it was such a joy, such an unbelievable sight at this time!

I still could not believe my eyes even when I reached home.
And as I looked around my room, tons of VCDs I collected when I was in college were stacked on shelves, collecting thick dust and zero care.
Having nothing to do during the holiday, and being thankful for relatively smooth Internet connection, I thought of VCDs giveaway via Twitter. One cannot live without twitting, right?

Thus, on the last day of 2011, either most people at their utmost relaxing mood or busy preparing for parties later, I asked my timeline:

“Do you remember the very first film you watched in cinema?”

Using hash-tag #movieandme suddenly answers started pouring in. What supposed to be film title turned out to be recollection of memories: when they watched the film, where (and many cinemas that are no longer present), and with whom they watched the film.
These answers still strike my emotions as I am re-reading them now.

What intrigues me most from this collective memory is how our childhood revolved around cinema, one part or another. Many of us were either going with parents, friends from school or relatives, and the choices, as you can see below, are mind-blowing!
Who would’ve thought that our past cinematic treasure could be this rich?

And look at how diverse the location is! Wherever you spent your childhood, cinema was around to lure you in, and good time was abound.

Guess a saying that goes “everybody must have a certain memory about cinema” is true.

While reading these #movieandme entries, can I ask you: what’s your very first film you watch in cinema?

@ilafi: saw Lion King when I was 4, with grandpa & my big brother. A big experience at that time, amazed with the screenplay. #movieandme

@vipertongue: “Pinocchio“. I was 7, her name was Leanne Slaney, and my mom chaperone’d. #movieandme

@ErzaST: gue nonton the ten commandments dulu waktu pertama kali nonton. Ketauan deh umur ya #movieandme

@fransMB: #movieandme if I told my first movie is Young Guns and I was 5, does it make me brondong ? I’m so brondong! (Nauval’s note: yet you can’t beat the boyish look of Emilio Estevez, still!)

@agieNOTagi: Home Alone 2 sama kakek di bioskop Palaguna Bandung, he cried on one scene, sleep on the other, bless him #movieandme

@ninoriano: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) a nice cinema experience, which makes me loves movie #movieandme

@AdiWriter: #filmlayartancappertama Juara Karate, Forced Vengeance, California Dolls Di lapangan RPKAD Cijantung #movieandme

@Banahere: Star Wars VI: Return of The Jedi at 1999. First time falling in love with cinema. The journey began slowly but certain for me #movieandme

@AdiWriter: #firstmovieIpaidwithmyownmoney Red Heat. Di Studio21 Thamrin #movieandme

@danieldokter: My first #oldandnew was The Spy Who Loved Me & Force 10 From Navarone #movieandme

@agusitem: nonton Gadis Bionik Eva Arnaz sama bapak & selingkuhannya. Pantes gue dibeliin Cocorico banyak buat sogokan :)) #movieandme

@nisattas: taun ’89 ntn Warkop (lupa judul) pulang tk sama om2 temennya om gw (kok ngeri ya). Di bioskop Caprina cijantung. #movieandme

@FarizVanJava: #movieandme pertama kali ntn film di bioskop, Rambo: First Blood. Kagum dengan ukuran, tidur pas film mulai :)) (Nauval’s note: Fariz! Ini ukuran apaaa?!? Hahahaha!)

@nadiadea: lupa,kyknya film indo, Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti gt ya? Tp plg inget nntn Romeo + Juliet wkt smp ditemenin bokap! #movieandme

@trisiska_putri: Pertama kali G30SPKI kelas 2sd di bioskop Vanda Jl.Merdeka Bdg, sisa terrornya berasa ampe skg! #movieandme (Nauval’s note: Agree, wholeheartedly! Jangan nyanyi lagu “Genjer-Genjer” itu, please …)

@danieldokter: Gonna share u mine. Alain Delon’s Zorro in age 2.5 yrs 😀 carnauval #movieandme

@foxyshei: #movieandme nonton Armageddon sampe nangis. Pengen cepet-cepet pulang pengen peluk nenek, karena takut nenek meninggal :’)

@vinodsteph: Pertama kali nonton bioskop film lokal, Saur Sepuh, ama bokap en abang. Begitu kelar, gue pengen bgt jd Lasmini! #movieandme (Nauval’s note: All I got from this movie, and its sandiwara radio, is the greeting “Sampurasun – Rampes”, and you want to be Lasmini?! Bitch! Hahaha!)

@AndaTriadi: 1992- nonton Lorenzo’s Oil di bioskop. Film selesai, keluar bioskop masih mewek kejer trus diliatin orang². #movieandme

@dkurniawan: Nonton bioskop pertama kali: Game Boy Kids di Bioskop Rama, Bekasi..taun berapa tuh ya film? #movieandme

@rimamitee: Si Kabayan Saba Kota. Di bioskop kecil di Bogor, tempat kakak gue kost. Didi Petet FTW! #movieandme

@rizaliwan: Lupa film pertama yg ditonton apa, tp yg paling berkesan wkt kecil: The Neverending Story, Ratu Plaza. #movieandme

@empap: pas masih TK, nonton pilem hello kitty terdampar di dunia sihir sendirian, bingung pulang, aku nangis, kasian, :’) #movieandme

@__aih: pertama nonton bioskop brg temen2, seingetnya itu Godzilla pas kls 5 SD,milih duduk paling depan biar jelas, taunya mata jereng.

@Agnescoco: nonton warkop yg ada eva arnaz-nya (lupa judul) di bioskop di bandung. Nontonnya.. Sama tante eva herself dong!! #penting 😀

@yohsandy: Pertama nonton film di bioskop: Saur Sepuh di bioskop RIA, Tulungagung. Sama ortu, antrinya masya Allah. #movieandme

@inestjokro: Pertama ke bioskop sama bokap nonton The Flintstones, umur sekitar 4, 1st comment: “BUSET, TV-NYA GEDE BANGET!” -___- #MovieandMe

@pepiprapto: #movieandme pas sd nonton She’s All That sendirian di 21 Jambi. Dari 9 penonton, yg serius nonton cuma gue, yg lain pacaran 🙂

@btari_durga: Serangan Fajar sama temen2 sekelas pas kelas 2 SD dulu untuk pelajaran sejarah…#yesimthatold #movieandme

@chaard: Grease, 1978. Diculik tante gue, pas gak lagi di Jakarta. #movieandme #tua

@fairuzalaily: Petualangan Sherina, waktu SMP, di Sinar Plaza Medan. Sejak itu jadi suka Saddam en suka nari² kayak di filmnya.

@pennybunny: Superman, at the age of 7, in Vanda theatre, Bandung. Christopher Reeves was my first cinema sweetheart. #movieandme

@editor_in_chic: “Grease“, Olivia Newton-John dan John Travolta, umur 7 tahun, dan nonton film itu 2 kali lagi di hometown. Still one of my faves.

@Agnescoco: kalo gak Ira Maya Putri Cinderella ya Jendral Kancil! Dua duanya di bioskop VIVA – Tebet! (Nauval’s note: time spannya jauh amat bo! Yang satu awal 80-an, satu lagi akhir 50-an, Nes! 😀)

@IrinaDewi: #movieandme Pas SD di Megaria, nonton ‘Si Boneka Kayu, Pinokio‘ versi Ateng. Pas Atengnya dimakan paus, gue nangis. *cemen*

@bernardls: pertama kali nonton Max Havelaar di Arjuna Theatre Madiun. #movieandme

@ivnlsmn: Warkop – Lupa Aturan Main, 91 atau 92, di Nusantara 21 Jatinegara, bioskopnya udah ga ada. 😐

@NNugie: Titanic, waktu masih umur 6 tahun di Mal Yogya Klender, tahun berikutnya bioskopnya kebakar karena kerusuhan 98. #movieandme

@BruceEmond: watched Brenda Starr with Brooke Shields in old bioskop in Pondok, Padang, in ’86. Don’t know how it made to RI so quick …

@oldeuboi: #movieandme The Buddha’s Palm. 82. Bareng bapak. Di Aceh Selatan. Belum bisa baca tulis. Tapi sudah mengerti jalan ceritanya. 😀

@a_gek: Pertama kali nonton di bioskop: Salah Masuk, Warkop, 1992. Di Plaza Theatre Medan. #movieandme

@andhiqscoza: as far as I remember, Scream. It became one of my fave installment movies of all time. #movieandme

@ochie_geeks: bioskop di Samarinda, Kalimantan Timur, nontonnya Saur Sepuh. Since then, I call everyone kisanak. #movieandme (Nauval’s note: Wow! You guys really amazed me with details of Brama Kumbara and his troops! *bow*)

@tatoet: “Ira Maya Putri Cinderella“. Nontonnya di bioskop Mayestik. #movieandme

@tajakusumah: #movieandme Beauty and The Beast di Bandung (lupa nama bioskopnya) when I was 5 years old, with my parent and lil bro.

@McMahel: Kalau enggak salah “Jurassic Park“, tahunnya lupa. Teriak2 histeris gara2 liat raptor. 😀 #movieandme

@kangatot: pertama kali nonton di bioskop filmya: Cut Nyak Dien, bioskop: Empire 21. #movieandme

@lisadepe: The Ten Commandments, sepulang sekolah, di bioskop President, Malang bareng mama papa. Sekarang bioskopnya udah jadi dept. store.

@chaerani: yg ada di ingetan gue nonton Tjoet Nja’ Dien di bioskop Panti Karya, Bandung, dekade 80-an. #movieandme

@astridnm: Batman th90 kl ga slh,br msk sd ga ngerti ntn apaan,w/ dad di bioskop imbi jayapura (skrg udah ga ada bioskopnya) #movieandme

@bowdat: Arie Hanggara, nonton tahun 1986 di bioskop Irama, Malang. #movieandme

@myuts: #movieandme pertama bgt ntn di bioskop: Kindergarten Cop, 1991. Di astor 21 sebelum jd mal arion 2! *anak rwmgn asli

@kun6manuk: Jebakan umur bgt kayaknya pagi ini. As far as my toddler’s mind can remember…It’s Jurassic Park! #movieandme

@ikanatassa: Maju Kena Mundur Kena waktu anak2, gue inget banget pas libur lebaran bareng sepupu2 gue sama bokap gue #movieandme

@emmyfitri: Sempet nonton Darna Ajaib ga? Pls don’t judge me, it’s the first film I watched in cinema 😦 *palmface* #movieandme

@ekamiauw: pertama kali banget nonton Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?. OMG! Nicholas Saputra ganteng! #movieandme (Nauval’s note: And so am I. Trust me?)

@cuckoofeb: Once Upon A Time in China. Nontonnya di bioskop di Bengkalis, Riau when I was 8. Bioskopnya masih dari kayu. #movieandme

And yours?