The First Filmmaker features recently restored films by the Lumiere brothers, and is made possible by the Institut Lumiere. It includes the Lumieres' first public exhibition of the moving pictures, which was presented before 33 spectators at the Grand Cafe in Paris on December 28, 1895.
Pioneers in silent shorts, the Lumieres crafted "actualities", or shorts depicting everyday people doing everyday activities that are made extraordinary through the mutative force of the camera. The Lumieres filmed the first tracking shot and close-up, as well as the first comedy--and even the first suspense film.
Scenes presented include the following: a young scamp sprinkling the gardener with water from his hose, Russian sailors relentlessly rowing, Augustin with his wife and baby daughter, Spanish soldiers dancing wildly, 5,000 Boston policemen on parade, an energetic snowball fight, and workers leaving the Lumiere factory.
These classic films will be accompanied by commentaries from filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier and film scholar Thierry Fremaux. Tavernier has directed such remarkable films as Coup de torchon, Sunday in the Country, 'Round Midnight, and L'appat. He is the president of the Institut Lumiere and a distinguished film critic. Fremaux is the artistic director of the Institut Lumiere.
Almanac
March 26, 1996
Volume 42 Number 25
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