At the beginning, the association wanted to screen the complete diptych dedicated to the two brothers, Auguste and Louis, starting at 6:00 pm with the first part “Lumière! The adventure begins,” then followed by the second part “Lumière! The adventure continues.” “In the end, we changed the program a bit, as it turns out that the two films are very similar with common scenes, so we will only show one,” warns Nicole Cornibert, the president of Eurociné.
The evening will start at 6:30 pm with a one-hour presentation by the director Bertrand Desormeaux from Trafic Image (a “film memory” network) invited by the association to shed light on the beginnings of cinema, the obstacles, rivalries, and feats that marked this emerging art, especially in the region. “With excerpts and images from old films,” says Nicole Cornibert.
After a snack offered to the viewers, the first part of “Lumière!” (1h30) will be shown to the public.
“These two documentary films were written and commented on by Thierry Frémaux, director of the Institut Lumière and general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival since 2007, based on a series of cinematographic views shot by Louis Lumière and his operators starting in 1895. We see their most famous films like “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory” or “The Sprinkler Sprinkled,” but also many unknown, funny, or touching gems. All accompanied by the music of Camille Saint-Saëns.”
“Thanks to the restoration of over 120 unpublished Lumière views, the film offers us the intact spectacle of the world at the beginning of the century and a stimulating journey to the origins of a cinema that has no end,” comments Thierry Frémaux.
Upon its release in 2017 for the first part, and then in 2025 for the second part, on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the filming of the first film in history, “Lumière! created a sensation in the world of cinema. Several famous directors applauded enthusiastically: “so beautiful and moving” for Jean-Pierre Dardenne, “an emotional thunderclap” for Xavier Dolan, “a global treasure”, even, for Martin Scorsese. For Nicole Cornibert, the president of Eurociné, it is simply “enchanting.”
Thursday, May 21st, 6:30 pm, at the Galaxy. Price: $10.
