A projector controller (200, 700, 800) for protecting audience members from intense light imposing an exclusion zone in which light intensity may exceed an eye-safety threshold in front of a projector for emitting screen illumination onto a screen, comprising: an object detector (210, 710, 810) configured to optically sense a presence of an object in a detection region beneath the exclusion zone and above the audience members; and control electronics (220, 720, 820) configured to control the projector when the object detector indicates the presence of the object in the detection region; wherein the object detector comprises: a light source (712, 812) configured to emit sensing light (230, 630, 830) at a depression-angle interval and in an azimuthal-angle interval, the depression-angle interval and the azimuthal-angle interval defining the detection region, said light source comprising a pulsed laser emitting a pulsed sensing light; an optical receiver configured to receive scattered light (736, 836) produced by the sensing light scattering off of the object; and localization electronics (716, 816) configured to receive an output of the optical receiver and generate a signal (738, 838) indicating presence of the scattered light on the optical receiver, the localization electronics configured to measure a time-of-flight between the pulsed sensing light and pulsed scattered light originating from scattering of the pulsed sensing light off of the object; characterized by said control electronics being configured to control the projector by reducing intensity of light projected by the projector based on the measured time-of-flight when the time-of-flight corresponds to a distance between the object and the projector that is less than an exclusion range, wherein the distal end of the exclusion zone, beyond which the light intensity of the projector does not exceed said eye-safety threshold, is located at the exclusion range from the projector, said distal end being located between the projector and said screen. an object detector (210, 710, 810) configured to optically sense a presence of an object in a detection region beneath the exclusion zone and above the audience members; and control electronics (220, 720, 820) configured to control the projector when the object detector indicates the presence of the object in the detection region; wherein the object detector comprises: a light source (712, 812) configured to emit sensing light (230, 630, 830) at a depression-angle interval and in an azimuthal-angle interval, the depression-angle interval and the azimuthal-angle interval defining the detection region, said light source comprising a pulsed laser emitting a pulsed sensing light; an optical receiver configured to receive scattered light (736, 836) produced by the sensing light scattering off of the object; and localization electronics (716, 816) configured to receive an output of the optical receiver and generate a signal (738, 838) indicating presence of the scattered light on the optical receiver, the localization electronics configured to measure a time-of-flight between the pulsed sensing light and pulsed scattered light originating from scattering of the pulsed sensing light off of the object; characterized by said control electronics being configured to control the projector by reducing intensity of light projected by the projector based on the measured time-of-flight when the time-of-flight corresponds to a distance between the object and the projector that is less than an exclusion range, wherein the distal end of the exclusion zone, beyond which the light intensity of the projector does not exceed said eye-safety threshold, is located at the exclusion range from the projector, said distal end being located between the projector and said screen.