Title: Cinephon: on how the talkies have boosted the manufacturing of film projectors in Brazil

Abstract

This article explores an economic and technological history of film exhibition in Brazil, focusing on film projectors.  We indicate how, in the silent film period, film projectors used in Brazil were imported from abroad, but with the arrival of sound cinema and the need of technological updating, Brazilian companies began manufacturing and assembling national film projectors. The company J. Barros & Cia., which started its sales in Rio de Janeiro in 1930, exemplifies this change through the creation of the Cinephon brand. Thus, we highlight the relevance of researching the companies involved in the supply of equipment for the exhibition market as part of the "Brazilian film industry".