At the beginning of the 20th century, many rulers began to concentrate resources on transforming Brazil into a modern and civilised country, in line above all with European standards. This process was also seen in Bahia, where many saw it as backward and opposed practices that were considered ancient - almost always associated with African heritage - to those that would be modern. In the state capital, Salvador, an ideal of modernity and civilisation was constructed through urban interventions and also linked to leisure, while practices that were unsuited to the new times were repelled. Cinema and sports appear as an important means of disseminating these ideals. To discuss these issues, the main source used in this work was Revista Artes & Artistas, a periodical that was published in Salvador from 1920 to 1924 and is considered to be the first cinema magazine in Brazil.